JHU Digital Stage Act

SECTION 1. TITLE.

This Act may be referred to as the “Johns Hopkins Digital Stage Act” or the “Digital Stage Act.”

SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.

SGA — The term “SGA” shall refer to the Student Government Association of The Johns Hopkins University.JHU, Hopkins - The terms “JHU” and “Hopkins” shall refer to the Johns Hopkins University.Peabody — The term “Peabody” shall refer to the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, including the Peabody Conservatory.Homewood — The term “Homewood” shall refer to the Homewood campus of JHU, which is home to the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering.PGA — The term “PGA” shall refer to the Peabody General Assembly, the student government of Peabody.Arts & Innovation — The term “Arts & Innovation” shall refer to the office within JHU Student Affairs, formerly known as Homewood Arts Programs, that supports student arts groups at Homewood.Digital Stage — The term “Digital Stage” shall refer to the Johns Hopkins Digital Stage, the online archive of student performances described in Section 4.Performing arts group — The term “performing arts group” shall refer to any student organization or ensemble at Homewood or Peabody that presents live performances, including music, dance, theatre, a cappella, and cultural performance.SGA Lead; PGA Lead — The term “SGA Lead” shall refer to the Senator named in Section 4(b) to lead the Digital Stage for the SGA. The term “PGA Lead” shall refer to the PGA member named in Section 4(b).

SECTION 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

Hopkins students perform on two campuses. At Homewood, Arts & Innovation supports more than 55 student arts groups that stage more than 120 events each year. These include Blue Jay Bhangra, Ballet, the Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble, the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, and more than a dozen a cappella groups. At Peabody, students perform a full season of orchestra, opera, jazz, chamber, and choral concerts.Most of these performances are seen only by the people in the room that night. Once a show ends, there is no single place where Hopkins students can find it and watch it again.Peabody already livestreams many of its concerts, including performances in Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall. The Peabody Institute also keeps sound and video recordings of its concerts in an online collection. Recording a show that is already being streamed adds little or no cost.Homewood student groups have nothing like this. Their recordings, when they exist, are scattered across personal phones, social media accounts, and private drives. Many are lost when the students who made them graduate.The PGA has given its verbal support to a joint Peabody–Homewood effort to build the Digital Stage. Students across Peabody have shown strong interest in the idea.The Digital Stage would put the interdisciplinary and multicultural talents of the Hopkins community on full display. It would let students on each campus discover what students on the other campus create. It would also give performers a lasting record of their work to share with family, friends, and future employers or schools.The purpose of this Act is to recognize the Johns Hopkins Digital Stage as an official initiative of the SGA; to name the SGA Lead for the initiative; and to direct the SGA Lead to work with the PGA, Arts & Innovation, Peabody, and University offices to build the Digital Stage at little or no cost to the SGA.

SECTION 4. INITIATIVE DESCRIPTION.

What. The Johns Hopkins Digital Stage is one online home for recordings of student performances from Peabody and Homewood. It will include music, dance, theatre, a cappella, and cultural performances of all kinds, such as Bhangra, symphonies, a cappella, ballet, and jazz. Each entry will list the group or ensemble, the title of the performance, the date, the venue, and a link to the recording. Users will be able to browse by campus, art form, group, and season.Who. The Digital Stage is a joint initiative of the SGA and the PGA. The SGA Lead is Senator Isaac Zhang. The PGA Lead is Charlie Snellman, Cross-Campus Liaison of the PGA. The SGA Lead will work with Arts & Innovation, the Peabody Institute (including its Recording Arts program and the Arthur Friedheim Library), the SGA Director of Communications, and other University offices as needed.Where. The Digital Stage will live online at a Hopkins-affiliated web address. Rather than buy a private domain, the SGA Lead will first seek a home on an existing University platform or page, such as one hosted by Arts & Innovation, Peabody, or the SGA website. Peabody recordings will be linked or embedded from Peabody’s existing streaming collection, with Peabody’s permission. Homewood recordings will be hosted on a University-affiliated account.When. Work begins when this Act passes. A pilot with a first set of performances will launch in Spring 2027. The archive will then grow each semester. Deadlines are listed in Section 5.How. Peabody shows that are already livestreamed will be recorded at the same time and added to the archive. Homewood groups will record their own shows, or request recording support from Arts & Innovation or the Creative Media Center, and submit them through a simple form. A short set of rules will govern submissions, including a metadata template and a takedown process.Consent and rights. A recording will be added only with the written consent of the performing arts group or ensemble, and only in line with University policy on recordings and copyrighted works. Recordings owned by Peabody will be used only with Peabody’s permission. Any performer may ask to have a recording removed.Cost. This Act allocates no SGA funds. The only expenses foreseen are a web address and basic site upkeep, and a Hopkins-affiliated home should make both free. If a cost does arise, the SGA Lead will bring a separate funding request to the Committee on Finance under the Bylaws.Scope. This Act speaks for the SGA and the Homewood undergraduate student body only. The PGA acts for Peabody students through its own process. Nothing in this Act binds Peabody, the PGA, or any University office. Each group’s participation is voluntary.

SECTION 5. ACTION ITEMS.

To be done by Senator Isaac Zhang (SGA Lead), with Charlie Snellman (PGA Lead), before November 13, 2026: Obtain written confirmation of the PGA’s support, such as a PGA vote, resolution, or letter, and share it with the Senate. Confirm the PGA’s point of contact for the initiative.To be done by the SGA Lead before December 4, 2026: Meet with the Director of Arts & Innovation and with the Peabody staff who run concert streaming and recordings. Confirm (1) whether existing Peabody recordings can be linked or embedded, (2) what support exists to record Homewood performances, and (3) a Hopkins-affiliated hosting option and web address at no cost to the SGA. Report the results at the next GBM.To be done by the SGA Lead, with the SGA Director of Communications, before February 5, 2027: Draft the Digital Stage’s rules of participation. These include a one-page consent and submission form for groups, a metadata template, and a takedown process. Share the draft with Arts & Innovation and the PGA for comment.To be done by the SGA Lead and the PGA Lead before March 5, 2027: Launch a pilot of the Digital Stage on a Hopkins-affiliated page with at least ten performances. The pilot will include Peabody shows that were already livestreamed and at least three Homewood groups, with at least one each from dance, a cappella, and instrumental music.To be done by the SGA Lead before April 2, 2027: Present an update at a GBM on the pilot, including the number of performances posted, views, feedback from groups, and any costs found. If funding is needed, submit a separate funding request under the Bylaws.To be done by the SGA Lead before April 23, 2027: Write a transition document so that the Digital Stage continues after the 2026–27 term. It will include a recommendation on a permanent home for the archive. Deliver it to the President of the Senate, the SGA Director of Communications, and the PGA.The Bill is hereby ADOPTED/LOST by a vote of X to X with X abstentions.Upon passage, we have hereunto set our hands and caused the seal of the Senate to be affixed to this bill indicating the Senate’s assent and thus officially designated the bill’s adoption as law.

NAMEStudent Body President of the Johns Hopkins SGA

NAMEStudent Body Vice President of the Johns Hopkins SGA

NAMEPresident of the Senate of the Johns Hopkins SGA

NAMEStudent Body Secretary of the Johns Hopkins SGA

NAMEStudent Body Treasurer of the Johns Hopkins SGA

NAMEStudent Body Chair of Programming for the Johns Hopkins SGASignatures of Ceremony:

Isaac Zhang, Sophomore Class Senator and Chair of the Committee on Academic Affairs (Introducer)

Shreemann Patel, Sophomore Class Senator, Vice President of the Senate, and Chair of the Committee on Internal Affairs (Co-Sponsor)

Veda Kommineni, Sophomore Class President and Chair of the Committee on Student Services (Co-Sponsor)

NAME, POSITION