Senate General Body Meeting #21 — Minutes (02/25/25)

112th Johns Hopkins Student Government Association Senate Meeting #21 February 25, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman B17 AGENDA

1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

a. Excused Absentees: Prisha Agrawal, Vishnu Dontu, Nayshawn Ferebee, Ivan-Alexander Kroumov, Cynthia Sanchez Hidalgo, Zaynab Mirza b. Unexcused Absentees: Moses Frumkin

2. Convening Business (40 min)

Presentation on Construction- Lee Hawthorne & Kerby Nelson

3. Amendment and Approval of the Agenda (1 min)
4. Public Input (3 min)
5. Reports (5 min)

a. Cabinet Reports (4 min) b. Advisor Report (2 min)

6. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

a. Study Spaces Survey- Senator Kevin Xu & AA b. Student Services Committee's Grievance Hall Initiative- Senator Omotara Tiamiyu & SS c. SGA-Sponsored Bills - Senator Ryan Alezz & Tim Huang

7. First Reading

a. Senior Memorabilia - Chair Tim Huang

8. Second Reading

a. SGA - Alumni Bill- Chair Tim Huang

9. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)
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 9:00 PM and SGA members are expected to remain in the Senate chamber until official adjournment by motion, whether before or after the adjournment estimate. 112th Johns Hopkins Student Government Association Senate Meeting #21 February 25, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman B17 MINUTES

11. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

a. Excused Absentees: Prisha Agrawal, Vishnu Dontu, Nayshawn Ferebee, Ivan-Alexander Kroumov, Cynthia Sanchez Hidalgo, Zaynab Mirza b. Unexcused Absentees: Moses Frumkin

12. Convening Business (40 min)

a. Presentation on Construction- Lee Hawthorne & Kerby Nelson i. Lee Hawthrone and Kerby Nelson from the University Leadership came to introduce the Hopkins Student Center (HSC). ii. Hawthorne explained the rationale behind the construction of HSC. They intend to create a space for gathering, relaxing, creating, performing, and more. This will be a place to connect with others. There will be nutritious offerings. It is not only for Homewood students but open to the general Hopkins community. It is also welcoming to the Baltimore community. iii. The HSC is built on six tenets:

1. Welcoming Destination to Congregate & Socialize
2. Social Spaces that Complement Academic Life
3. Flexible, Open & Multipurpose Spaces
4. A Dynamic Entrance to the University
5. Spaces that Support & Celebrate Diversity
6. Usable Outdoor Spaces

iv. There were several opportunities for students to provide feedback. In numerous events, students have been asked what they would like to see in this center. Focus groups have been formed to create this center. v. Other student engagements featured a furniture showcase, where students got to communicate what they liked and didn’t like. vi. There were video shoots conducted to be used in social media and during Lighting of the Quads, tote bag giveaway was organized. vii. In Spring 2025, there will be site tours and scheduling training. viii. Hawthorne showed what will be featured in every single floor.

1. Food Hall, Theater, Scene Shop…
2. Information Desk, Blue Room Conference Room,

Multipurpose Rooms, entrance from 33rd Street, Reflection Lounge, Student Project Lounge (exhibition space)...

3. Studio Spaces, Gaming Tables…
4. Student Engagement Hub, Creative Media Center,

Multipurpose Rooms… ix. Hawthorne showed a video that depicted what HSC will look like when it opens. Food at HSC will take dining dollars, not meal swipes. x. Some of the sustainability features are mass timber construction, carbon sequestering concrete, bird safe glass frit, and rainwater treatment system. There are features to help maintain a stable temperature in the building. Hawthorne said that there are a lot of efforts made to create a sustainable space. xi. Nelson discussed the guiding principles for space reservations. They wanted to make this a student focused space open to all students. They want to get as many students as possible to have meetings at HSC. Since it is open to students from other campuses, they will be introduced to how to access and use this building for club meetings. xii. Nelson introduced the priority booking schedule, which consisted of five waves:

1. Annual Institutional student focused events and

theater rehearsals/performances

2. Undergraduate and graduate registered student

organization events

3. Rehearsals and performances for student art

organizations (except theater which is included)

4. Departments hosting nonacademic, student-focused

signature events. Reoccuring student-focused and weekly student organization meetings, events, and tabling requests

5. All other department reservations (8AM - 3PM).

During Fall 2026, HSC will hold two multipurpose rooms for student organization reservations. xiii. When HSC actually opens, the spaces that are available will be on 25Live, although the process will be different before priority booking concludes. xiv. The center will prioritize students. Opening is scheduled for May 1st with wave 1, which is Family Weekend, Alumni Weekend and Commencement Registration. xv. Wave 2 is for clubs to schedule their events that will happen throughout the semester. There are some spaces with designated features, like ballet and piano. xvi. Wave 4 is for departments who organize student-focused events. xvii. During final wave 6, the center will truly open up to everyone. Lenson does not recommend until we wait for wave 6, but rather handle the registrations for spaces during wave 2. After 3PM, registration for spaces is for students only. xviii. Sophomore Class Senator Tarini Basirreddy asked if HSC could have the class flags. They will consider it. xix. Executive President Stone Meng asked whether there will be indoor tabling spaces. xx. Nelson responded that there will be both indoor and outdoor tabling xxi. Meng asked about storage places in HSC. Hawthorne said that there are some cubbies but she will check. xxii. Programming Chair Tim Huang asked if the timeline is still up-to-date. Hawthorne said substantial completion is in mid-summer, which will be followed by testing and inspections. After these take place, they hope to open up the building. Orientation itself won’t happen in this building but there will be some orientation events in this building. xxiii. Huang asked about performance spaces as the front of AMR 1 is mostly used. xxiv. Nelson said that the arts performance groups will be able to use plenty of spaces. They will be able to register those spaces. xxv. Huang asked how tall the rooms are. Hawthorne said that it depends, but some are 30 feet long. Some are mirrored while some have sprung floor. xxvi. Senior Class Senator Ryan Alezz was provided clarification by Hawthrone that HSC will open this fall. HSC is open to the public, and alumni are categorized as public. Some entrances are card access only. They are trying to create a balance to have space for students to stay safe until midnight. Alezz would appreciate it if there were late night openings. xxvii. Alezz questioned why the reflection room is not called a prayer room. It was the name it had before Hawthorne was working on this project. It is not a reservable space and has swipe access only as students would want a private space. It fits around 20 people and is a circular room. xxviii. Hawthorne, responding to Alezz’s question about the food court, said that it will function like a restaurant. xxix. Senior Class Senator Jacquelyn Slade asked what the process would look like for this cross-campus space. Activities that Peabody or other student organizations from other campuses will be submitted to the systems directly. There is no preferential treatment and all students are counted the same. Peabody is not in 25Live and this will possibly change. xxx. WSE Senator Amy Xu asked about the art room. She said that it has consumables, and wondered how those will be managed. Hawthorne said that there will be coordination with the CMC. xxxi. Xu asked if the rainwater collection is meant to supplement a drainage system because flooding in the area is an issue. Hawthorne said that topography was taken into consideration. xxxii. Women and Gender Minority Caucus Chair Karen Vasquez Luna asked about hours of operation. Hawthorne said that these are the proposed hours that are not approved. Proposed times are 8:30 AM to midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays, it will probably be open until 1 AM. It might open later on Saturdays and Sundays. This is not a 24 hour facility as that’s for the library. This is not an addition to the library space. xxxiii. KSAS Senator Daarian Rouhani asked what the parking situation will look like for the students. Hawthorne replied that there will be no additional parking facilities linked to the student center. xxxiv. Freshman Class President Jason Yu asked what the total building capacity is. Hawthorne said that there isn’t a specific count for the whole building, but the spaces do. Around the building, there are 370 seats. 14 multipurpose rooms exist. There are 157 seats in the food hall. There are a little less than 100 seats in the Mose Space. There is also outdoor space. xxxv. Yu asked about the donor wall. He suggested adding more historical Hopkins decorations and potentially memorabilia. Yu also asked about the seating on the stairs. Hawthorne showed the “living room” of the building. xxxvi. Yu asked about the trees that were seen in the video. Yu asked if they will be planting more trees and increasing the green space around the building. There is nearly an acre of open space. xxxvii. Yu asked if this could be shared with people outside of SGA by SGA members. Hawthorne mentioned that images are not allowed, but information can be. xxxviii. Nelson is the point person for Scheduling & Event Services. Hawthorne will be back monthly for updates for any additional information.

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

a. Move to start the meeting passed. b. Agenda has been approved.

14. Public Input (3 min)
15. Reports (5 min)

a. Cabinet Reports (4 min) i. Meng congratulated the organizers for the Speed Dating Event. Meng confirmed that the executive board saw the petition and he said that committee leaders are welcome to stay after if they would like. The email to the student body will be sent once it is approved, which has been taking a long time. Advisor Charles Norman has been unable to attend today’s meeting, so he wasn’t able to provide information about the email situation. Meng said that, as far as he knows, the emails that are being sent out by departments and clubs are being heavily checked due to the changing policies of the newly elected U.S. President. ii. Vice President Amy Li said that the Executive Board got an email from Student Disabilities Services to join her in a meeting on March 13th from 9 to 10 AM to talk about student accessibility. If anybody is interested, message Li on Teams. iii. Huang said that Speed Dating was a success. 50 matches were made and a couple are going on dates. He thanked all the volunteers who helped. Only 50 registered to the Sophomore Garden Party, so he needs more sophomores to sign up. iv. Basirredy said that there are a lot of things happening on March 1st like science olympiad and other events, which is why sophomores are having some difficulty attending. v. Vice President Srigouri Oruganty said that the reels that they did last year worked well to get the word out there. vi. Huang said any other questions should me messaged to him. vii. Treasurer Brandon Benjamin said that Alezz and Huang will make a viii. Secretary Buse Koldas asked if Peter Jackson and Sarah Mishra were here, and they were not. There are committee leaders who are not updating attendance, which makes it difficult to track who is at the meeting. All committee leaders should upload attendance by Thursday. If not, Koldas will message you. A lot of people had unexcused absences last week, and Koldas assumes this is because people forgot to do iClicker or their iClicker didn’t work. If this is your case, you should check the attendance sheet. Members need to message Koldas if there are any mistakes in the attendance sheet and Koldas will see if she can prove your attendance. If iClicker doesn’t work for any reason, message her that day as it is important for attendance purposes. ix. President of the Senate Nasreen Naqvi said that on March 4th, there will be three different admin visits. She asked everyone to dress well, be on time, and not bring food. Dean of Admissions, Dr. Brittani Brown, and Director of Technology will come to the meeting. The seats in the middle are not filled so when people are presenting, please fill in the gap. Next week will be strict on the speakers list. x. Head Justice Luc Mazzanobile gave an update on Teams. He elaborated on the Writ of Certiorari submitted by the previous SGA member Jackson Morris. The petition targeted the executive branch and some legislative branch members. Mazzanobile said that if people have questions, they can contact him or any members of the Judiciary. xi. The Judiciary is still debating on how to address the amicus curiae. The form welcomes any thoughts and opinions on the case to be submitted. After granting the writ, the respondents can respond to the Judiciary. The response has to be submitted within four days after initial notification, which is on Thursday. The Judiciary asked for a uniform response to the content of the petition. Will create a new format for a more condensed petition. xii. Freshman Class Senator Kevin Xu asked if only senators can submit a response. xiii. Mazzanobile said that any Homewood student is allowed. xiv. Naqvi asked for the timeline of the senate elections xv. Mazzanobile said the week of 10th is when election information will be presented. Week of the 24th is the second in-person information session and zoom (mandatory to campaign). April 1st - 7th will be the approvals and when campaigns start. April 8th to 9th are voting days. xvi. Alezz asked about formatting. xvii. Mazzanobile said that we could have it during a GBM. Judiciary prefers the exec to respond but any other response is welcome and encouraged. xviii. Oral arguments for each party will be one or two people talking. Open to the public, so we will advertise this. In between the initial 20 minutes, there is time for Amicus Curiae. The branch is not submitting a recommendation, but a decision. The one back in August was a recommendation. xix. Petition also includes Jackson’s recommendations. xx. Ryan asked what the enforcement mechanisms are. xxi. Judiciary is modeled after the supreme court, so exec will need to abide or else there might be consequences. 3 other members are in the judiciary branch. xxii. Angela asked a clarification question about recommendations, to which the Judiciary clarified that those will be considered during recommendation but no such thing as one party will be fully favored. xxiii. Stone said regarding the elections, executives will be happy to talk to you. Would like to reinforce that exec will facilitate committee leaders. xxiv. Nas said not to be too stressed about the petition because there is only two months left. b. Advisor Report (2 min)

16. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

d. Study Spaces Survey- Senator Kevin Xu & AA i. Xu worked on the survey with Sophomore Class Senator Arihant Singh. ii. Xu said that in the Academic Affairs committee, they were discussing the study spaces, which can be sent out to the student body to hear the student sentiment on the spaces. This is a quite short survey. The first two questions are straightforward, which measures student satisfaction and preferences. The questions also target accessibility in study spaces and whether they meet the students’ needs on that aspect. iii. Singh said that a freshman told him that there are no quiet study spaces in AMR 2. They want to make sure that more people feel like they have access to student spaces. They will see if respondents are going to identify transportation as a big issue. If so, they might consider extending the hours for transportation. They ask for comments on how to improve on the form. iv. Alezz said a lot of people will think the transportation is nice. Curious about beyond the blue jay shuttle, what other transportation will there be? Singh said that the point is to see what is stopping people from going to these study spaces. They want to see whether it is a preference of quiet and collaborative spaces or transportation spaces. v. Alezz asked how they will define the accessibility issue. Xu and Singh clarified that there is a question enabling the students to define the accessibility issue themselves. Xu said that they will also see if it’s a preference for timing. vi. Li asked if the form could have a transportation issue. She knows that the Remington Shuttle has an extra stop now, so maybe by asking about transportation, they could see if this stop has been effective. A few weeks ago, Li recommended Brown to add stops to a nearby library place. vii. Singh answered that there could be follow up surveys if there is an issue identified, but he doesn’t see a problem with adding it. Li suggested adding subtitles, which might feature potential issues. viii. Meng said that the construction survey had similar questions, so the responses to that could be helpful. Meng said that this has been an ongoing topic that was discussed with the admin. Students don’t know about the interface space and the app. ix. Singh said that going with Li’s suggestion and asking whether students know about certain features could work. This survey is more catered toward freshmen, because freshmen don’t have great study spaces, especially those in AMR 2. x. Media Senator Tyler Turner said that we could ask the respondents to categorize study spaces as quiet or collaborative. xi. Alezz supports this and believes that this adds extra value. Alezz recommended question 3 to be a ranked question rather than a “select the best option” question. He also recommended adding a question about security and safety. Singh said that he also initially thought about the rank, but then due to his concerns about JHPD, he decided not to. He believes that many students will communicate feeling unsafe, but then admin might say that is why they implemented JHPD. xii. Amy Xu said that the admin might say the HSC will resolve this. Singh said that he is not against that happening as he is welcome to having more study spaces, but the admin themselves said that they don’t want HSC to replace libraries. He believes that people will use HSC to eat or hang out. Use this as leverage to extend hours. Singh said the admin is against having more 24 hour spaces as they are concerned that students will pursue unhealthy habits. xiii. Basirreddy thanked Kevin Xu and Singh for their efforts. e. Student Services Committee's Grievance Hall Initiative- Senator Omotara Tiamiyu i. Sophomore Class Senator Omotara Tiamiyu, Cultural and Identity Senator Jordyn Craig-Schwartz, Alezz and Yu presented their initiative. ii. Tiamiyu explained that the student grievance hall is a structured, open form designed to provide students with a space to voice concerns, report grievances, and communicate with C.S.S. iii. Craig-Schwartz explained that the goal is to have more students and admins to attend other than the SGA. They want the admin to attend these meetings from time to time. Committee members’ attendance is not required, but they will try to have committee members participate as often as possible. iv. Yu elaborated that they want to ensure a structured, safe, respectful, and confidential space for students to easily come to the C.S.S. to openly talk to them. They target a flexible program. v. Alezz said that they are planning a circular room that doesn’t specifically focus on a speaker. The location will be accessible and not intimidating. They are thinking of organizing these in Shriver, the Glass Pavilion, or the Writing Center. vi. Tiamiyu said that the proposed frequency is biweekly, but they are open to feedback on this structure. They would like to have it at 5:15 PM on Sundays. They hope to have it on weekday evenings as well. They will launch it the week directly after spring break. Based on the initial session, they will make plans to integrate more. vii. The goal is to maximize student awareness about the subsequent engagement at the Grievance Hall. The game plan is to promote social media posts and hang banners in the dining hall. viii. They are planning to work with the admin for funding and reserving spaces. They will reach out to Brown. For any recommendations, message them. ix. The expected impact is to foster greater conversation between students, administrators, faculty, and all Johns Hopkins affiliates. They would like to increase transparency and provide additional venues for students to talk. x. They would like members to give feedback through Teams. They want to get feedback on the location options. If there are any other senators who would like to get involved, please message Tiamiyu. If there are any other student organizations or admin offices that they should bring to strengthen, they would be interested in reaching out. They asked if the proposed format makes sense. They also asked how to maximize engagement and impact. xi. Huang asked to link the slides to the document. xii. Kevin Xu asked how to differentiate tabling and this event. xiii. Tiamiyu said that they would like to have longer discussions than they are able to during tabling and be able to respond faster. xiv. Alezz said that SGA serves as a middleman whereas this initiative will be a more direct approach. xv. Xu asked how they plan to create confidential feedback when it is in person. Tiamiyu responded by saying they will provide an anonymous Microsoft Form. f. SGA-Sponsored Bills - Senator Ryan Alezz & Tim Huang i. Alezz said that in Finance, they realized that the SGA Event budget has been getting used as a route for extra money. In co-sponsorship events, SGA’s presence is not out there. SGA has been a silent partner this semester, and they want to change it. The events will need to be advertised as an SGA event and they will need to go through the co-sponsorship process. They will also increase SGA visibility (for example, by having them wear T-shirts). The Chair of Programming will have more oversight in these events. Class Programming Chairs will work with the Chair of Programming more actively next year so that the duties of the position are not as dense.

17. First Reading

b. Senior Memorabilia- Chair Tim Huang i. Huang stated the logistics for cords for graduation. He also wants to have something for the executive board as they will not be rerunning for next year.

18. Second Reading

b. SGA - Alumni Bill- Chair Tim Huang i. Presentation was given last week. The expenses cover the cost of the Blue Bird Room, food, and drinks. The Alumni association will be giving some money. We will give 2000 dollars at maximum, depending on how many people will be going to the event. ii. Motion to vote was passed and the bill was approved.

19. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)
20. Adjournment (Estimated 9:00 PM)

a. The meeting has been adjourned. Time-length and adjournment estimates are provided for the benefit of guests at Senate meetings. However, SGA meetings are always slated to extend until 9:00 PM and SGA members are expected to remain in the Senate chamber until official adjournment by motion, whether before or after the adjournment estimate.