JHU SGAThe 114th Session
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Senate Meeting #7 - 9/26/23

Minutes / Senate · 111th session · dated September 26, 2023 · updated January 15, 2025

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This document is from a previous session and is kept for the record. It may have been amended or replaced since.

369 JHU Student Government

Senate Meeting #7

September 26, 2023 / 07:00 PM / Hackerman B17

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

    1. Absentees:
      1. Excused:
      2. Unexcused:
    2. Present

  2. Convening Business (3 min)

    1. Vegetarian Options Survey - Virochan Pandit
    2. Dining Presentation - Assistant Vice Provost Matt Moss & Dining Administrators

  3. Amendment and Approval of the Agenda (1 min)

  4. Public Input (3 min)

  5. Reports (17 min)

    1. Cabinet Reports (4 min)

      1. Student Body President - President Ryan Chou
      2. Student Body Vice President - Vice President Jackson Morris
      3. Student Body Secretary - Secretary Amy Li
      4. Student Body Treasurer - Treasurer Jenny Chen
      5. Chair of Programming - Chair Shalala Leny
      6. Director of Communications - Director Milton Diaz
      7. President of the Senate - President Dalhart Dobbs
    2. Advisor Report (2 min) - Dr. Charles Norman

  6. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

    1. First-year Committee Placements - President Dalhart Dobbs
    2. Mental Health Resources Discussion - Vice President Jackson Morris, Senator Oluwakemi Abiodun, Senator Jennifer Tang Cabrera
    3. President of the Senate Announcement - President Dalhart Dobbs

  7. First Reading

  8. Second Reading

    1. JHUMSA Barbecue Funding Bill - Vice President Nasreen Naqvi
    2. Student Perspective Interview Initiative Bill & Presentation- Senator Christian Bakhit(Tabled)
    3. Sustainability Plan Tabling Funding Bill - President Rachel Huang

  9. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)

    1. KSAS Shared Governance Council - President Ryan Chou
    2. Academic Affairs + Barbie - President Resham Talwar
    3. Attendance Check-Out - President Dalhart Dobbs

  10. Adjournment (Estimated 9:00 PM)

Time-length and adjournment estimates are provided for the benefit of guests at Senate meetings. However, SGA meetings are always slated to extend until 10:00 PM and SGA members are expected to remain in the Senate chamber until official adjournment by motion, whether before or after the adjournment estimate.

369 JHU Student Government

Senate Meeting #7

September 26, 2023 / 07:00 PM / Hackerman B17

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

    1. Absentees: determined by clicker attendance system
      1. Excused:
      2. Unexcused:
    2. Present

  2. Convening Business (3 min)

    1. Vegetarian Options Survey - Virochan Pandit
      1. Sophomore at JHU. Seeks to expand vegan/vegetarian options. Problems with lack of protein, no protein options at non-peak times, lack of vegan alternatives, improper labeling, cross contamination. One case of bad allergic reaction. No egg-free dessert options.
      2. Survey results demonstrate 89% of students dissatisfied with vegan/vegetarian options. 3% say protein needs are met.
      3. Student testimonials demonstrate “no vegetarian food that is edible,” “consistently disappointed by vegan options on campus…”
      4. Situation is important because dietary and religious concerns.
      5. Solutions: expand protein options besides fake meat, have vegan alternatives like eggless desserts, prevent cross contamination of meat, screens need to be accurate/up to date.
    2. Dining Presentation - Assistant Vice Provost Matt Moss & Dining Administrators
      1. Matt Moss introduction: appreciates student feedback.
      2. Present is head executive chef, marketing specialist, director of marketing/comms, and others.
      3. Brianna Williams: mentions changes to dining program, upcoming events.
        1. Dining improvements - year to year rollover of dining dollars, nolans open for breakfast, levering open for dinner/meal exchange, meals in a minute offers dinner options
        2. Seeks to improve dining experience further
        3. Daily menus via nutrislice, code on PPT to website.
        4. Nourish the Nest: new performance icon
          1. Collab bw hopkins dining/hopkins athletics, different colors represent different things you should have in late
        5. Upcoming events:
          1. See powerpoint for specific details on 4 events in Sep and Oct
          2. Hopkins cooking series for Catring Executiv Chef.
        6. Q/A
          1. There exists a student advisory board that meets every month
          2. Stone Meng: Thanks for presentation. Friends and I applied for dining advisory board but received no response. Brianna Williams says follow-up pending.
          3. Executive chef: we are always welcome to detailed feedback. Strive to really do well in the area. Thinks options are enough, but feedback indicates otherwise. Options could be the incorrect options.
          4. Matt Moss: “low hanging fruit” - accuracy of nutrislice. Root station is available for breakfast and dinner, seeks to extend hours for vegetarian options during the weekends.
          5. Srigori: levering takes meal swipes, but portion sizes in the wok station has decreased. Why did this occur?
            1. Executive chef: no conscious effort to diminish food portions. Could be training issues.
            2. Matt moss: seeks clarification- is portion size in general smaller?
            3. Srigori: wok container was larger last year, for every meal, same for taco station.
            4. Executive chef: sustainable containers are limited, thus could be smaller.
          6. Vishnu: add to vegan options. Cafeteria cooks use same gloves/grill for meatless/meat burgers, is issue for ppl with religious concerns, same issue with sandwiches.
            1. Executive chef: staff is not trained like that.
            2. Vishnu: can nutrislice qr code be displayed in front of dining halls?
            3. Brianna Williams: we are considering options
            4. Vishnue: levering hall question - recently goes 4-7 times for levering, could extension to lunch be possible?
            5. Matt Moss: meal exchange driven around one convenience: to manage traffic flow. Still monitoring operation effects. More traffic may not be feasible.
          7. Adi: Can dining elaborate on how they can cut down on cross contamination of meats? Vegetarian options in sandwich bar could include vegetarian options like bean burgers. Late night foods tend to be very snacky, but can there be lower fat higher protein options? Would be cool to have keto friendly labeling on foods.
            1. Executive chef: yes to first two. For cross contamination - we have supervisors that are supposed to be monitoring. There will be 4 hr sessions of training
          8. Jackson: Not a lot of fruits to choose from. Would it be possible to have there be healthier drink options as well? Seems that prices are quite high at Char Mar, moreso that other taxed places.
            1. Executive chef: Hopkins uses about 32% local products, which cost more.
            2. Jackson: Comparison of bag of doritos, a drink, which have reference point of other stores. Feels like students are paying a lot more bc forced to use dining dollars. Seeks maximum utility.
            3. Matt Moss: purchasing for a single store. Streets market, walmart, has purchasing power. Purchasing price for Char Mar aligns.
          9. Tim: Few questions abt quality control abt Char Mar products. Other week, bought bread for Char Mar, 5 -> 7.64 dollars at 11 pm. Entire thing was filled with mold. Went back in, there’s lots of mold. At least 3 other loafs with mold.
            1. Executive chef: We have training, may need to revisit. Get deliveries 3 days a week, should be enough fresh food every day.
            2. Tim: second question - as first year mentor, told that nutrislice would have options updated, but mentee says that options were not updated.
            3. Brianna williams: Nutrislice updates can be impacted by supply issues. They try best to update menus, but sometimes team may not be able to update screens in time. Did friend look for vegetarian option? Where was disconnect?
              1. Tim: Mentee said there was specific mushroom dish that was different
              2. Executive chef: some foods may sell out. Shortages account for a lot of disconnect.
          10. Danial: 3 suggestions. Would like to see different offerings of nuts, but very little other types of proteins. Healthier late night options, there’s no other warm healthy vegetarian options. More seafood please - lots of shrimp options, would like more fish options.
            1. Matt Moss: we are nut free due to contamination issues.
          11. Resham: 2 suggestions - wishes there was more on campus advertisement of events rather than on social media. On advisory board, would be great to reach out to student groups with most dietary restrictions. Question: expand options for breakfast at levering, would they consider late night nolan’s options?
            1. Brianna Williams: seeking different ways to reach out to different involvement ways.
            2. Matt Moss: breakfast at levering - low participation. Participation at late night is ok.
          12. Hailey: For meals in a minute - says open from 10:30 - 1:30 pm, but not true. Hope to expand meal options. Why can’t meals in a minute be available for more time? There are prices listed at charmar and prices charged in system doesn’t correspond. Several items still don’t have listed price. Response to feedback - Want to ask if advisory board can send monthly transparent update with quantified amts of what is changing.
            1. Dining administrators: pricing all items is challenging. Will work on making pricing more aligned.
            2. Executive chef: hopes to have meals in a minute for continuous time. Will end when charmar closes.
            3. Matt Moss: Brody did not have swipe options at all? It is not somethin they are considering. They do take dining dollars (new this year)
            4. Brianna williams: Most beneficial to get info from advisory board. Trying to figure out best ways to contact, through either Jackson, Ryan, or Stone
          13. Brandon: Will be working as the dining liaison as part of student services. Was told dining is working with muslim student association on halal food, but have not seen much progress. Plans on bringing back stirling lunch:
            1. Brianna williams: will be bringing back stirling brunch, told about rebranding stirling brunch. Calling it spirit brunch. Will happen once of semester, hopkins theme. Chefs currently working on menu.
            2. Matt Moss: Hope to part ways from bon apetit. FFC was actually a trademarked brand by company from 2 companies ago.
          14. Tarini: When paid for meal plans, picked for entire year, short meal palan change period but passed. Would it be possible to make plans semester by semester. Inconsistency with meats.
            1. Lots of meats are undercooked during peak dinner/lunch time.
            2. Executive chef: need to find the person at the exact place and time. Additional training for cross-contamination for staff.
            3. Matt Moss: students need to inform dining for any bad experiences so they can address the issue at hand.
            4. Dalhart: Dining administrators can to SGA any week

  3. Amendment and Approval of the Agenda (1 min)

    1. Motion to approve the agenda passed unanimously

  4. Public Input (3 min)

  5. Reports (17 min)

    1. Cabinet Reports (4 min)

      1. Student Body President - President Ryan Chou
        1. Ryan: resignations from Director of Research Vanessa and one from Co-chairs of publications. May stick with one chair instead of co-chairs. Considering applications for the vacancies and IA will look at the applications for the Chief Justice. Preparing to reach out to undergrad leadership bodies and some cabinet members met with the new directors and will better communication.
      2. Student Body Vice President - Vice President Jackson Morris
        1. Jackson: Moving forward with the board of trustee resolution
      3. Student Body Secretary - Secretary Amy Li
        1. Ryan: Starting application for assistant secretary. On attendance, chairs and presidents of the council should update attendance on the attendance sheet
      4. Student Body Treasurer - Treasurer Jenny Chen
        1. Jenny: ~$25000 left for both semesters, so bills should go through the finance committee to save money and time
      5. Chair of Programming - Chair Shalala Leny
        1. Shalala: Barbey at the Beach rescheduled for Oct. 7. Planning a retreat on the weekends and a meet and greet with senators.
      6. Director of Communications - Director Milton Diaz
        1. Milton: Student initiative survey to be sent out tomorrow
      7. Director of Research - Director Vanessa Han
      8. President of the Senate - President Dalhart Dobbs
        1. Dalhart: Freshman should speak with Dalhart. Caucus and committee chairs to meet with Dalhart.
    2. Advisor Report (2 min) - Dr. Charles Norman
      1. Charles: Hopes senators got information from the dining presentation

  6. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

    1. First-year Committee Placements - President Dalhart Dobbs
      1. Dalhart: The committee sheet is updated already. Refer to the presentation for which freshmen joined which committee.
    2. Mental Health Resources Discussion - Vice President Jackson Morris, Senator Oluwakemi Abiodun, Senator Jennifer Tang Cabrera
      1. Jennifer: Wants to open up a discussion about Hopkin’s mental health resources and reaching out.
      2. Stone: moved for 10 min moderated caucus with 2 min speaking time passed
      3. Hailey: Counseling center hours are inconvenient for some students and is built for short-term problems. People have been removed from the counseling center after 6 times and it’s understaffed and underfunded
      4. Cynthia: Agrees with Hailey and psychiatric resources are understaffed
      5. Mufasa: People go to APTT late at night and testimonials that students are going to APTT for problems they can’t share with adults.
        1. Jennifer: a lot of resources are online
      6. Rachel: High demand and low counselor count make the counseling center move students to outside therapists.
      7. Rashem: Suggests categorizing resources and figuring out the problems with each resource to address demands
      8. Daniel: Different definitions of mental health so suggest to centralize mental health
      9. Jackson: Asks about reaching out to the vice provost and reaching out to the school of education for more counselors as a solution for increasing demand
      10. Brandon: TimelyMD as a resource and letting people know about it.
      11. Cynthia: Students don’t know where to start for mental health services. Counseling center has low psychiatric services and help for people of color
      12. Daniel: students aren’t using resources because they don’t know about them
      13. Dalhart: mentions Canvas for different uses than academics
      14. Jennifer: Suggests that students come to talk with some students in groups with a counselor
        1. Daniel: Worried about getting students to join and getting students to know more about the resources
        2. Jackson: student services can increase reaching out about APTT
      15. Mufasa: one alternative is spreading knowledge about mental health services to students
    3. President of the Senate Announcement - President Dalhart Dobbs
      1. Dalhart: Will be resigning from SGA next semester so someone can shadow him to learn about how the chair acts

  7. First Reading

  8. Second Reading

    1. JHUMSA Barbecue Funding Bill - Vice President Nasreen Naqvi
      1. Nasreen: funding bill for JHUMA for a barbecue and to help increase collaboration in the Muslim community
      2. Jaden: 10 min Q&A with 1 min speaking time passed. The finance committee bypassed. Mentioned that recent bills have been waived too much.
        1. Dalhart: Waiving committees will slow down in the future
        2. Dalhart: How many students will come, rain check, outreach?
        3. Over 100 students and advertising it through Groupme
      3. Christian: Question about the hotdog buns
        1. Speaker: Removing buns and looking for halal options
      4. Shalala: What about other Muslim organizations
        1. Speaker: organizations don’t have to contribute to the event
      5. Daniel: reaching out to the Iranian cultural society?
      6. Jordyn: how much is the organization contributing
        1. Nasreen: SGA is funding all of it
      7. Motion to strike hotdog buns passed
      8. Passed unanimously.
    2. Student Perspective Interview Initiative Bill & Presentation- Senator Christian Bakhit(Tabled)
    3. Sustainability Plan Tabling Funding Bill - President Rachel Huang
      1. Rachel: funding bill for promoting the Sustainability Plan.
      2. Jaden: Move to suspend the rules passed
      3. Rashem: Move to go into voting procedures passed
      4. Bill passed unanimously
      5. Motion to reinstate the rules passed

  9. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)

    1. KSAS Shared Governance Council - President Ryan Chou
      1. Ryan: will vote on SGC next week
    2. Attendance Check-Out - President Dalhart Dobbs
      1. Dalhart: Vacancy in WSE senators so people can apply.
    3. Academic Affairs + Barbie - President Resham Talwar
      1. Rashem: give feedback to academic affairs. Survey will not go out until later. Major changes will happen for next year students.

  10. Adjournment (Estimated 9:00 PM)

Time-length and adjournment estimates are provided for the benefit of guests at Senate meetings. However, SGA meetings are always slated to extend until 10:00 PM and SGA members are expected to remain in the Senate chamber until official adjournment by motion, whether before or after the adjournment estimate.