The Student Government Association (SGA) held its seventh general body meeting (GBM) of the 111th session on September 26, 2023.
Vegetarian Options Survey
Sophomore Virochan Pandit presented a survey that seeks to expand vegan/vegetarian options. He stated that the lack of protein options and vegan alternatives, improper labeling, and no egg-free dessert options made it difficult for these students to access a healthy, full meal. The survey results indicated that 89% of the students are dissatisfied, and 3% responded that their protein needs were met. He suggested solutions like expanding protein options beyond just fake meat, and providing vegan eggless desserts.
Dining Presentation
Assistant Vice Provost Matt Moss and the Dining Administrators gave their presentation on recent changes to the dining program, i.e., rollover of dining dollars, opening Nolan’s for breakfast, keeping Levering open for dinner/meal exchange, and more meals in a minute dinner options. There are a couple of upcoming events listed in the presentation here. Issues regarding the decreasing food portion size, use of the same gloves for meat and meatless burgers, cross contamination of meats, quality control at Char Mar, and short meal plan change periods were brought up at the Q&A portion. The dining administration mostly responded with the solution of detailed training, further monitoring, and revisiting those concerns.
Cabinet Reports
Student Body Vice President Jackson Morris reported that he will be moving forward with the Board of Trustee resolution. Treasurer Jenny Chen indicated that around $25,000 are left for both semesters, and bills are expected to go through the finance committee. Chair of Programming Shalala Leny stated that Barbie at the Beach is rescheduled for October 7th.
Mental Health Resources Discussion
Vice President Jackson opened up a discussion about Hopkins’ mental health resources. There was an overall consensus that the psychiatric resources are understaffed and underfunded, with high demand and low counselor count forcing students to resort to outside therapists. Jackson suggested reaching out to the Vice Provost and the School of Education for more counselors to address the increasing demand. However, the issue stems from students not knowing where to start with the mental health services, or not knowing that those resources exist. To that, there were other potential solutions like categorizing the existing resources or spreading knowledge about the mental health services to students.
Second Readings
In the Second Reading of the JHUMSA Barbecue Funding Bill, Vice President Nasreen Naqvi reintroduced the bill, which was bypassed by the finance committee. The total amount, which includes drinks, chips, burgers, patties, vegetables, and vegetarian options, would be $675. The expected turnout is 100 students and the main change was that they will be removing buns and looking for halal options. The bill was passed unanimously.
The Second Reading of the Sustainability Plan Tabling Funding Bill presented by President Rachel Huang was also passed unanimously. To summarize, students are encouraged to provide feedback on the new draft of the Sustainability Plan released by Johns Hopkins University. The event is set to take place at the Breezeway on October 16th from 11AM-1PM, with candy and succulents based on whether they follow related instagram accounts and answer a question about the plan.
Committee/Caucus Updates:
- The Health, Safety, and Sustainability Committee met with the president of Engineers Without Borders to discuss possible combined events or talks related to engineering and sustainability. Additionally, the committee sent a funding bill for a tabling event to promote the JHU Sustainability Plan. They also discussed helping Homewood Recycling Plan Food Waste-themed events.
- The Committee on Finance met this week, where they unanimously passed the Joy on Wheels, the Sustainability Plan tabling (with one abstained), and the Student Perspective Initiative funding bills. Further, they passed a $20 event grant for the College Democrats at JHU for their RNC debate watch party, a $213.55 event grant for the Korean American Student Association for their Korean New Year's event, and lastly a $302 event grant for the Pakistani Student Association for their independence day celebration. All students are encouraged to attend these great events hosted by these wonderful student orgs!