JHU SGAThe 114th Session
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Senate General Body Meeting #26 — Minutes (04/07/26)

Minutes / Senate · minutes · 113th session · dated April 7, 2026 · updated April 7, 2026

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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.

113th Johns Hopkins Student Government Association

Senate Meeting #26

April 7th, 2026 / 07:00 PM / BSC 404

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

    1. Absentees:
      1. Excused: Jaden Garcia, Ryan Garza, Peter Tarpley,
      2. Unexcused:
    2. Present

  2. Convening Business (30 min)

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

  4. Public Input (3 min)

  5. Reports (5 min)

    1. Cabinet Reports (4 min)
      1. Student Body President - Vishnu Dontu (Absent)
      2. Student Body Vice President - Omotara Tiamiyu
      3. Secretary - Sumire Sumi (Absent - subbed by Sienna)
        1. Public Safety Video Actors needed
      4. Treasurer - Imad Ahmed
      5. Chair of Programming - Tyler Turner
      6. President of the Senate - Srigouri Oruganty
    2. Advisor Report (2 min)
  6. Non-Legislative Business (30 min)
    1. Committee Update Presentation - Committee Chairs
  7. Kevin, academic affairs. goals for next year: meetings are more structured, and minutes are always updated. Sample major pathways, make everything more student-driven. Potentially a policy adjustment for credit loading. Course manuals, more textbooks in libraries. More outdoor seating, standardized grading, synchronized midterms, and better teaching practices. Advice for incoming chair: hold meetings regularly, stand firm and keep pushing if possible, and publicize initiatives.
  8. Kirsten, civic engagement. Goals for next year: get even more engagement with the student body, implement Shreeman’s idea (basically more direction for committees), and continue to push for CSE reforms. Goals from this year: J-cash initiative (emphasis on efficiency), increased social media presence, increased student participation in elections, and more alumni interviews.
  9. Jazzlyn, CSO chair, reported some accomplishments from this year, including: had a great meeting with RSOs, set up RSO meetings – Town Halls, identified some inactive RSOs/helped with concerns regarding re-registration. Advice for the incoming CSO chair: have a lot more meetings at the beginning of the semester to set everything up, have some fun events, and set up meetings with RSOs early. Spend the first two meetings coordinating meeting times with RSOs, and try to get things started early so there can be room for fun activities. Goals for next year: potential ideas such as spotlight Fridays, SGA talent show, continue meeting w RSOs, making sure that the contact info is up to date.
  10. Amy, finance committee chair. Goals for this year: organize budget reviews better, do more tablings to increase our reach to the student body, and gain more experience in RSO funding. Advice for incoming chair: Be more strict with time and energy, be more effective at motivating people to lock in and do their work on time independently. Goals for next year: communicate with student groups often and clearly, coordinate with Crystal/LEED to anticipate or negotiate deadlines and financial policies. Improve our internal bills system, better funding for categories we see requested a lot but typically reject, and show up as a mentor.
  11. Tanisha, HSS. Progress on goals: sponsored bills for clubs, food/clothing drive for Red Emma’s, and nutrition tabling on April 10th. SNACK packs during reading periods, Earth Fest painting, working to implement Narcan trainings, donating meal swipes to the food pantries, putting health baskets around campus, and implementing more well-being activities/days around campus. Advice for incoming chair: Be super transparent with your committee and keep everyone in the loop. Utilize committee time, focus on a few big initiatives within the committee, and create smaller teams for this; don't get bogged down by financial barriers.
  12. Shreeman (Jaden), internal affairs. This term: by-laws update, constitution elections update, most of our actions are “learning from SGA’s mistakes”. For next year: having an official parliamentarian, new member onboarding more clear, and more accountability for SGA members.
  13. Jason, student services. Goals: putting students first, engaging with students, working with different groups and organizations, improve overall student life and experience. Initiatives: suggestion and feedback, celebrating student culture, collaborating with RSOs and departments. Advice: Have fun and enjoy the process, reach out and ask for support, engage with students, and spend quality time with your committee members.

  14. First Reading (20 min)

    1. FOIA 1 - Senator Seán
  15. NeuroCare funding bill. Students can get real-world insight from real doctors. Funding is used for free ekiben for students who would like to attend.
  16. Sean wants full transparency to the general public. Senators must take on full accountability.
  17. Moderated 10-minute caucus.
  18. Shreeman asked that students go through senators to get to SGA instead of students directly introducing their needs.
  19. Srigori disagrees with some parts of the bill.
  20. Sean still wants to push for full transparency to the public.
  21. Jaz doesn’t think transparency is the issue.
  22. Sid thinks the Senate should focus on why it is a nightmare for students to get information from the SGA
  23. Sean said that it is because SGA is not required to be accountable, so that’s why this is so important.
  24. Paul thinks there’s a better way to do this
  25. Jason thinks SGA has never restricted anyone and wonders what the point of a senator is if it's not to introduce things to the senate.
  26. Sean says senators have a duty to be transparent to the student body.
  27. Kirsten will not be voting for the 4th clause. Among other arguments made…
  28. Shab thinks this is going way too far and is just Sean trying to extend his power because he won't be returning as a senator.
  29. Sean thinks it is just unfortunate that the SGA does not have something like this right now.
  30. Table indefinitely passed via iClicker

  31. Second Reading (10 min)

    1. Hopthon Collaboration Funding Bill - Chair Tyler
  32. Caraline thanked the finance committee. Bill was passed.
    1. MSF Funding 1.pdf - Senator Seán
  33. Bill was passed.
    1. April 2026 Sex Week Funding Bill - Senator Honora
  34. Bill was passed.
    1. Spring Cleaning Funding Bill (SGA Closet) - Chair Tyler
  35. 5-minute recess approved
  36. Bill was passed.
    1. Initiatives Update Bill - President Veda
  37. Bill was passed.

Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)

Freshman academic advising is tomorrow, free ekiben! Please make your committee transition documents.

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.