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News-Letter article · 96th session · dated December 17, 2008

Reporting about the SGA, not a record of it: The Johns Hopkins News-Letter published this and the SGA did not write it, file it, or approve it. The archive holds it because the article itself uses the phrases “sga” and “student government”.

Read this article in The News-Letter ↗

Translating data into change

The Johns Hopkins News-Letter · December 17, 2008

Last month the Student Government Association (SGA) sent out a survey to the undergraduate body to guage students' overall happiness, sources of academic and social stresses and their general college experience at Hopkins. The survey demon- strates an active effort on the part of the SGA to assess the causes of student discon- tent, which was largely attributed to academic pressure. The results, once analyzed, should provide an opportunity for the administration, including the new president, to appropriately address students' concerns.

The survey will hopefully help bring to light some mechanisms that could ease the pressures of academics, improve the social life and strengthen the undergradu- ate community. For example, the majority of those who responded said that they would use a Student Union if one were constructed. The survey itself was well- executed, containing a comprehensive set of pointed questions regarding various aspects of student life.

However, the SGA's failure to inform the administration about the survey dem- onstrates a lack of judgment. Whether or not they deliberately neglected to convey their intentions, it is clear they are not effectively communicating with administra- tors. This does not bode well for implementing the changes that the SGA wishes to see in response to their survey. In the future the SGA should avoid actions that may be regarded as hostile by the administration. This is necessary in order for the SGA to generate good relations with the administration, which will prove essential for the SGA to be an effective advocate for the student body. Students should understand that there is only so much that the University (or the SGA, for that matter) can do to ? x their problems. Students should view the pend- ing results of the study as an opportunity to asses what changes they themselves can enact.