JHU SGAThe 114th Session
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Senate General Body Meeting #1 — Minutes (04/15/25)

Minutes / Senate · minutes · 113th session · dated April 15, 2025 · updated September 16, 2025

Filed in Drive as “Minutes of Senate GBM #1”

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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 #1

April 15, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman Hall

MINUTES

  1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

    1. Absentees:
      1. Excused: Zaynab Mirza, Emin Soguktas, Jacquelyn Slade, Mamadou Thiam
      2. Unexcused
    2. Present

  2. Convening Business (50 min)

    1. Administration Presentation
      1. Dr. Brown congratulated all the inaugurated members. She appreciated all the collaborations that happened this 2024-2025 academic year. She introduced her colleagues following her speech.
      2. Amynah Mithahi: Associate Vice Provost and University Registrar, Lee Coyle: Senior Director/ planning & architecture of Johns Hopkins Facilities and Real Estate (JHFRE), Mary O’Connell: Associate Vice Provost for Finance and Administration for Student Services.
      3. Dr. Mithahi gave updates on the Homewood general pool classroom. She introduced the Classroom Advisory Committee (CAC), which includes leadership across various offices on campus. Objective of the committee is to oversee the classrooms and give recommendations on renovations. She presented some accomplishments CAC had this year such as installing QR code access system for students to request or reach out to the office with any concerns. Before the academic year of 2024-2025, CAC also introduced a survey to improve classroom guidelines.
      4. Mr. Coyle presented the department’s learning environment design guideline. He explained that the objectives of the guideline is to improve student’s experience in the classrooms, expand the funding for renovating the classrooms, and develop a long-term strategy to guide future renovations. Mr. Coyle talked about guiding principles of learning environment elements. He updated on seating, visibility, active learning classroom design, and common space study space guidelines for renovations. He gave a run down on the Shaffer Hall Renovation projects. The construction will be starting now (April 2025) to the end of summer (August 2025). There will be new furniture, technologies (monitors, charging ports), and study spaces in Shaffer Hall for larger classes. Next, he gave an update on Remsen Hall 101 and 1 furniture, lighting, wall, and technology renovations over this summer.
      5. Dr. Mithahi invited SGA members to continue collaborating with the office this year and possibly making SGA representation among the CAC, or the office members to attend SGA GBM in the future. She also announced that the mentioned guidelines are open for student feedback on the website.
      6. Q&A
        1. Caraline asked about the specific timeline on Remsen Hall renovation > Mr. Coyle and Dr Brown answered that the seats presented at the fair will be installed then the wall renovation will take place subsequently this summer.
        2. Caraline further asked whether fire extinguishing systems in Shaffer Hall are currently not yet installed > Mr. Coyle answered that Shaffer Hall, along with other academic buildings do not have enough fire extinguishing systems yet and they are focusing on maximizing the safety of the students.
        3. Tarini asked whether more charging spots will be added in Remsen Hall > Mr. Coyle answered that electrical work will require getting building permits from Maryland state, which will take a long time, thus this issue will not be renovated with the furniture this summer.
        4. Tarini further asked whether the WiFi connection issue will be resolved as well. > Dr. Mithahi answered the issue is getting taken care of along with IT, and asked students to email her with any further concerns.
        5. Karen asked if there will be any expansions on study spaces > Dr. Mithahi answered that there are priorities which reflect students' concerns and she is open to more feedback.
        6. Vishnu asked if the mouse/ rats issues in Mudd Hall will be taken care of > Mr. Coyle and Dr. O’Connell answered they will be collecting House Control Contracts from all the buildings on campus for JHFRE office to take care of. Dr. Mithahi also added students can email her or the CAC office for any concerns. Vishnu further asked what the ceiling renovation will look like in Remsen 1. > Mr. Coyle answered that they will be supplying more monitors and technologies for better visibility for students.
        7. Amy asked when student organizations will be able to access Shaffer classrooms for student activities. > Dr. Mithahi answered that these rooms will require reservations.
        8. Ala asked about charging station accessibility in Annex > Mr. Coyle responded that installing additional electrical outlets requires requesting permits from the state of Maryland and therefore provokes some delays in constructions.
        9. Jaden asked if SDS will be involved in the renovation project for Shaffer Hall and if the construction will hinder the access among student with disabilities during summer programs. > Dr. Mithahi responded SDS is involved in the process and the office will be ready to support the students during summer as well.
    2. Late Inaugurations - Executive Branch
      1. Roster: https://forms.office.com/r/Dq6QPKGNzP
      2. Internal Elections: https://forms.office.com/r/thLHu4Z9NJ
    3. Introduction to SGA - Executive Branch
      1. https://www.canva.com/design/DAGki8gYbLc/rDKn35p3T_UG10MJfnmHEA/edit
        1. Vishnu and Tara introduced 2025-2026 executive board members. Vishnu presented the main goals of this year’s SGA. Tara explained the general rules and GBM structure.
    4. Election of President of the Senate, Vice President of the Senate & Committee Chairs - Executive Branch
      1. The former President of the Senate Nasreen congratulated newly elected members and gave a general explanation of the responsibilities of the position. She also announced that on April 23rd, there will be President Ron Daniels speaker dinner event. The Senate moved to the nomination process. Srigouri and Jaden were nominated.
        1. Jaden gave his speech on his deep understanding of the role and how his involvement in SGA will contribute to the better efficiency of 113th SGA GBMs.
        2. Srigouri gave her speech. She presented her role as the former Vice President of the Senate and the committee chair of Health, Safety, and Sustainability (HSS).
        3. The meeting moved to the senate discussion and voting procedure. Srigouri was elected and Nasreen passed her position to Srigouri.
        4. The meeting moved to the election of the Vice President of the Senate. Tarini and Tanisha gave their nomination speeches. Jaden yielded his time. Tanisha was elected as the Vice President of the Senate.
    5. Committee Placements Form- https://forms.office.com/r/6fg60HLx8M
      1. Introduction to the committees given by current committee chairs. The meeting moved to the committee chair election process. Amy was elected Finance committee chair. Jason was elected Student Service Committee chair. Tanisha was elected HSS committee chair. Jaden was elected Internal Affair committee chair. Kirsten was elected Civic Engagement Committee chair. Kevin was elected Academic Affairs committee chair.

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

  4. Public Input (3 min)

  5. Reports (5 min)

  6. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

Due to the limited time left, Non-Legislative Business was moved to the following GBM.

  1. Attendance Policy - Sumire Sumi

  2. SGA Mentorship Program Presentation - Tanisha Taneja and Amy Xu

    1. Tanisha and Amy presented QR codes introducing a mentorship program. They encouraged the senate to complete the forms by next week.

  1. First Reading

  2. SGA Positions Constitution Update - Vishnu Dontu

    1. Vishnu presented the amendment to the constitution for removing some SGA positions. A Senate discussion was held. Jaden and Kevin claimed that removing a portion of KSAS and Whiting representatives will be unequal representation.
    2. Motion to 5 minutes moderated caucus was passed. Tarini stated that removal of RSO would be ineffective. Luc suggested the Senate ask CSE for a constitutional amendment and have the Special Election occur the following week instead of this week.
    3. Jaden made a motion to move the table to next week.

  3. Second Reading

  4. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)

  5. Adjournment (Estimated 9:20 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.