The Student Government Association (SGA) held its tenth general body meeting (GBM) of the 111th session on October 17, 2023.
Cabinet Reports
Student Body Vice President Jackson Morris announced that an admissions presentation will take place next week about the ramifications of the recent Supreme Court decision. Student Body Treasurer stated that there are around $15,205 left in SGA Senate discretionary funds, and no group funds.
Non-legislative Business
Student Body President Ryan Chou, in consultation with members of the Executive Cabinet nominated Felix Titre for Justice of the Judicial Branch. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate.
Vice Provost Kevin Schollenberger of Student Health and Wellbeing presented all the services offered by the program. Overall, there will be an expansion of health and well-being services, including in Hopkins’ new building in D.C., 555 Penn Ave.
- Director of Health Promotion & Well-being Jacki Stone described the variety of health education campaigns and confidential gender-based violence prevention. She mentioned that first-year mentors are trained through the 90-minute Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) program.
- Director of Mental Health Services Jennifer Howes provided updates on expanding their services to include single session interventions, online scheduling capabilities, and ADHD medication protocol and support through a new Director of Psychiatry and two new Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners to help with medication management.
- Senator Hailey asked how the counseling center will improve the retention and diversification of staff for gender minorities and gender-affirming care. In response, they stated that certain staff members are trained and able to write letters regarding gender-affirming care procedures. They are also looking into hiring more representative staff.
- Director of Primary Care Roanna Kessler listed general services like in-person and telemedicine visits, immunizations, and more. The mandatory flu vaccine deadline is on November 17, 2023, which students can get for free at the health center or on-campus clinics.
- Director of Student Disability Services Cathie Axe reported they plan to expand the exam space in Shaffer with the addition of Shaffer 100 in an effort to enhance storage and reduce distractions. Students described concerns about the extra Exam Testing Agreement, which is sent out with the Accommodation Letter that faculty must sign in order for the student to schedule an exam. Director Axe encourages students to reach out directly to the faculty members to remind them.
There was a 30 minute closed session discussion with representatives from both Israel and Palestinian-affiliated organizations highlighting students’ experiences and concerns. A detailed press release summarizing what was said during this closed session will be released on the SGA website within the next few days.
Readings
The first reading of the “Phi Psi x Camp Kesey x TEA Haunted House” detailed the recurrent annual fundraiser’s plans to add a de-stressing Haunted House experience. Some of the items requested included vampire teeth, strobe lights, spray bottles, and more, adding up to a total of $800. For the time being, the Senate postponed this bill indefinitely, as the end of October is too soon.
The second reading of the Halloween Tabling Funding Bill passed 100%, which will take place on Tuesday, October 31st from 11:45AM to 2:30PM on the Breezeway, where insomnia cookies and candies and 600 stickers designed by Connie Weng will be handed out. Students will be asked what events they want to see on campus and issues they may be facing.
Committee/Caucus Updates
- The Caucus Chair of Women and Gender Minorities (WGMC) Hailey Saya Tomlinson met with the former Chair of the WGMC and current SGA Director of Advocacy Ireland Parrish to discuss handover of communications channels, goals of the WGMC for the upcoming year, and past programs and policies pursued by the WGMC. Tomilson created and distributed promotional forms and emails to SGA channels for public release and named Ireland Parrish the acting Vice-Chair of the WGMC, pending approval at the first re-vamped WGMC meeting, which will occur in the coming two weeks. WGMC will meet bi-weekly via zoom, and the Caucus Chair and acting Vice-Chair concluded their work by corresponding with the Trans-Task Force initiative at JHU.
- The Disability Caucus published an anonymous student feedback form where interested students can share any comments, suggestions, and experiences on how JHU navigates accessibility and accommodates its disabled students. The form can be found using the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/z35JDBeeLX.
- The Committee on Health, Safety, and Sustainability (HSS) had their Sustainability Plan tabling event this week. They had over 70 attendees and gave out succulents, candies, and baked goods (courtesy of JHU Office of Sustainability). Attendees engaged with the Sustainability Plan by leaving comments and following @JHUSGA and @JHUSustainability on Instagram. HSS invited JHU Health Promotion and Wellbeing to their most recent committee meeting, where they gained insight into what the department does and discussed potential collaborations. They are looking to host a series of sleep consults, where students talk to professionals about how to improve their sleep and find an accountability partner. HSS plans to have funding bills regarding these events very soon.
- The Committee on Academic Affairs discussed the Academic Affairs survey, which was presented at this GBM. They finalized the date and venue for the Major Fair and informed Life Design Lab (LDL) and Vice Deans. With LDL, they detailed the amount of support necessary and the conceptualization of the event. They also met with LEED to get approval for te event and understand further logistics. KSAS Curriculum Committee met with Vice Dean Rowe to understand the CUE-2 implementation policy for KSAS; WSE’s policy was already discussed thoroughly in their previous meeting. The Academic Affairs Committee will be sending out an email to HOUR to establish a Woodrow Wilson equivalent for WSE (discussed with Vice Deans Falk and Bassett) and also to SIS and SEAM management regarding recent updates. Finally, they are working on streamlining registration for dual degree students..
- Internal Affairs reviewed Jaden Garcia's bylaw update bill that detailed changes to better align with Robert's Rules and added a clause for the implementation of a Vice-President of the Senate Pro-tempore, which passed with a unanimous vote. They discussed future bill revision ideas at their meeting and plan to complete all introductory meetings with administration.
- The FLI Caucus held their first caucus meeting at 6 PM right before this weeks’ SGA GBM. Sun Moon has been in frequent contact with director Bryan Campers to get volunteers from SGA to help out with FLI Day. The FLI Caucus and the FLI Network have been collaborating to establish monthly FLI Study + Pizza nights. Lastly, the caucus will be hosting a table at FLI Day to get more public opinions on improvements.
- The Committee on Student Organizations went through all 40+ re-registrations from last week and voted on them. In terms of upcoming goals, the committee plans to finish uploading all re-registration files into teams and process them as they come in and reach out to student groups for the requested modifications via Hopkins Groups.
- The Committee on Finance approved $19.80 in funds for the Partners in Health event, $1500 for iGem to send 5 members to represent Hopkins in Paris’s iGem Jamboree (travel and lodging) and $155 for Sustainable Hopkins Innovative Projects and their bi-semesterly thrift shop fundraising event for local environmental groups in the Baltimore Area.
- The Committee on Civic Engagement set the foundation for increasing civic engagement in the surrounding Baltimore community, bridging the divide between current students and members of the greater Baltimore community, and hosting service events like a ‘President's Day of Service.’ They hope to work with LEED and the Center for Social Concern to create more volunteering initiatives and increase allocation for funding to clubs that are dedicated to increasing civic engagement within the Baltimore community. They are also helping plan ‘Capital Day’ at Annapolis so that more members of SGA can amplify student voices to state representatives.