JHU SGAThe 114th Session
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Senate General Body Meeting #23 — Agenda (03/25/25)

Minutes / Senate · agenda · 112th session · dated March 25, 2025 · updated March 25, 2025

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112th Johns Hopkins Student Government Association

Senate Meeting #23

March 25, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman B17

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

    1. Excused Absentees: Jordyn Craig-Schwartz, Jazzlyn Fernandez, Jaden Garcia, Ivan-Alexander Kroumov, Justin Pokrant
    2. Unexcused Absentees: Vishnu Dontu, Danial Nabizadeh, Sumire Sumi

  2. Convening Business (40 min)

Presentation from Dr. Lee Hawthorne

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

  2. Public Input (3 min)

  3. Reports (5 min)

    1. Cabinet Reports (4 min)
    2. Advisor Report (2 min)

  4. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

  5. Presentation from Dr. Lee Hawthorne

First Reading

  1. Board of Directors Amendment- Senator Daarian Rouhani
  2. JHU Snack Packs Bill- Chair Tim Huang
  3. Chair of Programming Bylaw Amendment- Chair Tim Huang
  4. Chair of Programming and Meetings Constitution Update- Chair Tim Huang

  5. Second Reading

  6. Miss Black & Gold Pageant Funding Bill- President Oluwakemi Abidoun
  7. Earth Fest Funding Bill- President Jason Yu
  8. Academic Affairs Event- Senator Amy Xu

  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 #23

March 25, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman B17

MINUTES

  1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

    1. Excused Absentees: Jordyn Craig-Schwartz, Jazzlyn Fernandez, Jaden Garcia, Ivan-Alexander Kroumov, Justin Pokrant
    2. Unexcused Absentees: Vishnu Dontu, Danial Nabizadeh, Sumire Sumi

  2. Convening Business (40 min)

    1. Presentation from Dr. Lee Hawthorne

      1. Hawthorne visited the meeting a month ago, and she is visiting again to provide more updates. They made the decision for the fall semester to open it for only Hopkins affiliates. It will open to the public after. Swipe access only. Hopkins students are free to bring outside guests, but they will be responsible for the actions of their guests.
      2. There will be a student exhibit space. They hope to have a student committee who will be responsible for picking the artwork that will be exhibited. Right now, they are planning to exhibit 2D space.
      3. Some SGA members got invitations to tour the student center on April 3rd, at 3-5pm. If anyone else is interested, they can inform the SGA advisor Charles Norman.
      4. They are setting up the meeting rooms at Hopkins Student Center. There are students who are helping out with the welcome desk. They plan to hire starting at the end of the semester throughout summer.
      5. Junior Class Senator Srigouri Oruganty asked if the food vendors had been chosen. Hawthorne said that the proposal went to the leadership team and should be announced in two weeks. She is confident that the students will enjoy the selections.
      6. Chair of Programming Tim Huang asked if the student center will be open in summer. Hawthorne said that around July, they will be testing the space and there will be limited occupancy. Students are not expected to be in the student center until early August. Students could visit and try out the food from the vendors.
      7. Huang asked what currency the food vendors will use. Hawthorne said that they will use dining dollars. They are also working on platters and menus to take away for events.
      8. Akosa Obianwu asked if people will be able to pick up their food and then leave to eat it wherever they want, which Hawthorne confirmed.
      9. Hawthorne reminded that there will be a Furniture Fair tomorrow from 10 am to 5 pm at the Great Hall in Levering- testing furniture for MSE.
      10. Hawthorne said that membership is now open for the Cross-Institutional Student Advisory Committee. Students interested can check the application from the Word from the Bird tomorrow.
      11. Executive President Stone Meng asked which of these announcements should be promoted by SGA, to which Hawthorne said everything except for the tours.

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

    1. President of Senate Nasreen Naqvi asked for a motion to move some urgent bills to second reading. The motion was given and passed.

  4. Public Input (3 min)

  5. Reports (5 min)

    1. Cabinet Reports (4 min)
      1. Meng said that a meeting will be organized with the Office of Transportation. If interested, reach out to him. Anyone interested in having their SGA work covered on Instagram should reach out to Meng.
      2. Vice President Amy Li reminded the information sessions for the elections. She explained that none of the executive board members are rerunning, yet she said that the branch is excited to provide support.
      3. Huang reminded the Freshman Formal on April 12th, at 7-10 pm, in the Commons Banquet Room. The Freshman Festival is happening this Saturday. Those who volunteer to help out with these events will get free food. The Junior Formal is this Friday and all proceedings go to the Children’s Hospital.
      4. Naqvi yielded her time to Sophomore Class Senator Omotara Tiamiyu.
      5. Tiamiyu announced that the first Student Services Grievance Hall will be hosted this week at Levering Lounge on Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM. She said that people showing up would mean a lot.
      6. Sophomore Class Senator Tarini Basireddy said that the Academic Affairs committee is working on creating a website that consists of the reviews of students on certain courses, which is in the works.
    2. Advisor Report (2 min)
      1. Advisor Jessica Snell highlighted the times for the information sessions.
        1. Tuesday, March 25th : 8:15 – 10:15 in Hodson 110
        2. Wednesday, March 26th: 8-10 in Mudd 26
        3. Friday, March 28th: 5:00-6:00 on Zoom
      2. The timeline is below:
        1. 3/30 -- Applications due by 11:59 PM
        2. 4/1 -- Campaigning starts at 12:00 PM
        3. 4/1 -- Executive board debate
        4. Week of 4/1-- Meet and Greet at 12:00 PM
        5. 4/8 – ELECTIONS
      3. The schedule will be shared on Instagram.

  6. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

  7. Presentation from Dr. Lee Hawthorne

First Reading

  1. Board of Directors Amendment- Senator Daarian Rouhani
    1. KSAS Senator Daarian Rouhani hopes to streamline transparency and increase collaboration between the committees, raising awareness of issues going on.
    2. A section has been added to one of the articles, which states the goals of the committee and comprises of the committee chairs. The Internal Affairs chair can be the leader of the meetings, responsible to send it to the President and Vice President. This can be weekly or bi-weekly.
    3. WSE Senator Moses Frumkin raised a question about whether this provides more benefits than just enforcing rules about committee chairs documenting the meetings and having them look up notes from other committee chairs. He asked if there is a reason why this addresses the issues rather than something like that.
    4. Rouhani answered that one could read the other meeting minutes but he said that nobody does that. He said that creating an official meeting time does not have to be a lot of time per week as even 30 minutes per week would work. This was brought up a couple weeks ago and everyone thought that it would be useful.
    5. Motion to move the bill to the Internal Affairs Committee was passed.
  2. JHU Snack Packs Bill- Chair Tim Huang
    1. Oruganty said that they hope to rebrand the snacks program. They hope to promote “Sleep, Nutrition, Activity.” Counsellors will come in while the students are making their snack packs and ask them questions. They can engage meaningfully with people and think about why the different items can be beneficial. They want catering to provide more incentive to come. They were asked to add face masks to the snack packs.
    2. Huang said that this is more of an educational, mental health support program. It will probably happen during reading week, either this Tuesday or Wednesday.
    3. Oruganty will let us know what they need help with, and she asks to stay on the lookout.
    4. Motion to move the bill to Finance Committee was passed.
  3. Chair of Programming Bylaw Amendment- Chair Tim Huang
    1. Huang is concerned that nobody is running for this position, and he explained that this is probably because it requires a lot of work. His position is being part of the executive board, and handling SGA events. It requires 14 hours per week and sometimes four extra hours for other things. This is a lot of work and it needs to be transformed into a liaison role. The coordinator for class council will be the one leading it, which Huang’s friend Hannah agrees with. The bill will now focus on the liaison between the Chair of Programming and SGA. This connects what SGA is doing with the Chair of Programming. The second bill is tied into this. Huang asked a question to the Judiciary on whether changing the role or position during election time creates any constitutional error.
    2. Head Justice Luc Mazzanobile stated that it would be better if it was done outside of the election period. This has happened before, although there isn’t something in the constitution that says you can’t do that.
    3. Huang asked what the case is for the bylaws as this bill is about the bylaws. Mazzanobile said that there isn’t anything about the bylaws.
    4. Motion to move the bill to the Internal Affairs Committee was passed.
  4. Chair of Programming and Meetings Constitution Update- Chair Tim Huang
    1. They will be in charge of SGA general events. The chair programming will still have a major role but it will be feasible. Considering the recent Writ of Certiorari SGA received, Huang believes that the executive board should not be open to the public. Committee meetings can still be kept open if wanted.
    2. Senior Class Senator Jennifer Tang Cabrera asked if these changes wouldn’t affect the outcome of the writ.
    3. Huang said that this is just for the continuation of the SGA.
    4. Tiamiyu clarified if this closes the executive board meetings but keeps the rest open.
    5. Huang said that this was the question, and it depends on what everyone prefers.
    6. Tiamiyu thinks that there isn’t an issue with committee meetings being open.
    7. Naqvi said that they will hold off on discussion on this until next week.
    8. Motion to move the bill to the Internal Affairs Committee was passed.

  5. Second Reading

  6. Miss Black & Gold Pageant Funding Bill- President Oluwakemi Abidoun
    1. Obianwu explained the pageant competition organized by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. They would appreciate financial assistance from the SGA. This will be held in Scott Bates Commons. Ticket prices are currently 7 USD. Sigma Sigma Chapter has already committed money to this.
    2. Oruganty gave a motion for a 5 minute moderated caucus, which passed.
    3. Oruganty asked if his is a co-sponsorship.
    4. Junior Class President Oluwakemi Abiodun explained that there was a new decision made in the Finance Committee. To make co-sponsorships more standard for all clubs or fraternities, the guidelines includes that the name has to be SGA x [name of event], and SGA can table at the event. There are fliers out for the event already. We all know how hard it is for SGA to get engagement, which is why it is already out.
    5. Meng is curious about whether there is anything listed here that will be reused.
    6. Obianwu answered by saying hopefully not. He elaborated that this is being done in Commons because they couldn’t get Shriver or Glass Pavilion due to Alumni Weekend.
    7. Basireddy wondered about the decorations and whether they are rental.
    8. Obianwu said that they are on loan and will be returned the next day.
    9. Huang calculated that the SGA should have around 9,000 USD left, which was confirmed by Treasurer Brandon Benjamin.
    10. The bill was passed.
  7. Earth Fest Funding Bill- President Jason Yu
    1. As part of the Health, Safety and Sustainability committee, Freshman Class President Jason Yu explained that they want to create an eco-friendly mural using bottle caps and create a model of the Earth and put it in the Student Center, calling it “Our Home.” Students will be able to paint it different colors like Paint By Colors.
    2. Responding to Frumkin’s question, Oruganty explained that the student clubs and committees are supposed to have their own tables.
    3. Oruganty said that the mural will be 30 x 30 inches, and also a bottle cap does not take a lot of paint.
    4. WSE Senator Amy Xu asked what if they can’t find enough bottle caps.
    5. Yu is currently collecting some with Junior Class Senator Anisha Rasamsetty.
    6. Huang is worried they are underestimating how big it is going to be, and that they may want to buy more resources.
    7. Li pointed out that the bottle caps are hollow. She suggested doubling the glue and the paint kits.
    8. The reason why they are getting a 24 color set for paint is because they hope to incorporate other things beyond just Earth, like different hands reaching in.
    9. They suggested buying three big bottles of blue, green, and white, and smaller ones for other colors.
    10. Tiamiyu states that brushes may not be suited for bottle caps, and considering the number of students, 24 paintbrushes should be enough. It won’t be hundreds of students painting together, it will be stations with limited people and students can visit as they please.
    11. The bill was passed.
  8. Academic Affairs Event- Senator Amy Xu
    1. Xu said that they are planning an event called “Study with Academic Affairs” because they want people to come to a space where they can talk about their academic struggles, so they can help them. Levering Lounge has already been booked on April 16th, 7:30- 10:30. Study materials and snacks will be handed out. You can stay and study or take stuff and go.
    2. The bill was passed.

  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.