SGA responsibilities
Feedback Summary One of the most common themes found across SGA tabling events is feedback and suggestions for SGA operations and responsibilities. First off is an increase in SGA outreach, publicity, and general interaction with students. Individuals enjoy Ryan’s instagram presence. One way this could be improved is increased SGA collaboration with student groups and organizations. More specifically, several students have requested that SGA members be more present at student organization events, such as SGA representatives attending meetings to introduce themselves. Students also enjoy the increased collaboration between SGA and the News Letter. Students also request for increased advertisement of caucuses. SGA could further increase outreach and publicity through access to Senate meetings, whether it is making these meetings public or publishing more accessible updates. One specific solution could be the formation of an ad hoc committee to create an input period at the beginning of senate meetings for students to provide suggestions and ideas. A potential incentive could be a free plushie in return for student engagement. Students also hoped for regular summaries of SGA meetings to disseminate information in the case that students do not have time to watch meeting recordings or actively attend meetings. SGA emails was listed as the best way to reach people about information and updates if needed, but the text would have to be concise. Several suggestions for SGA pertained to SGA events. In general, people wanted more SGA events and publicity of events. Some could be more small-scale such as socials or speakers, similar to SNF Agora events. Others suggested events that engaged students across classes, such as a battle between classes to promote friendly competition. There was also a request for more class formals, with better music as well. Students also hoped for SGA to promote student-hosted events separate from SGA. Another program that was expressed was establishing more mentorship opportunities and events. Additional feedback for SGA operations included bettering the processing for purchase requests. Students enjoyed SGA merch sales, but hope for increased color variety.
SGA Response Above issues related to promotion of SGA events and updates, or communication with the News-Letter falls under the responsibility of the Communications and Marketing Commission, Directors of Publication, and the Director of Communications. Class councils can further assist in fostering better outreach, publicity, and interaction between SGA and the student body. Chairs and vice-chairs of caucuses are responsible for increasing advertisement of their own activities and initiatives. More specifically, the Ad-Hoc Legislative Committees can represent student concerns as well as facilitate student engagement in Senate meetings. The Student Activities Commission, Treasurer, Committee on Finance, and Chair of the Committee on Student Organizations are responsible for the feedback regarding smoother purchase processing requests for student organizations. The Committee on Student Services is primarily responsible for suggestions pertaining to SGA events. Academics Feedback Summary Student responses to the tabling event indicate a desire for mandatory recording of lectures; cheaper Summer courses; more accommodations for classes; no homework during breaks; and the ability to observe religious holidays without facing academic punishments. Unfortunately, none of the suggestions seem particularly straightforward or simple to implement. “Further accommodations for classes” by itself is very non specific, although if we want to investigate this in depth we could try making a survey to obtain clearer views. Making sure that there is no homework during breaks or academic punishments to students observing religious holidays might require new policies to be implemented by the University, as well as a mechanism to enforce them adequately, which may face resistance from professors. Mandating the recording of lectures is an even trickier subject, as it involves the privacy and comfort of both professors and students who are being recorded, and in practical matters it would require proper equipment in every room and an additional effort from the professor to prepare each class. Finally, the pricing of Summer courses would be something to be discussed with the University administration, and as Elaina pointed out in the tabling feedback document, it seems like Summer courses are an important source of money for the University financial aid, which would make it more difficult (though not necessarily impossible, especially if alternate sources of funding are proposed) to argue for reducing prices.
SGA Response Naturally, the Committee on Academic Affairs is the most adequate part of SGA to address those suggestions, and study their feasibility by discussing them with University representatives such as Deans. The Committee of Student Services might be adequate as well in investigating any more accommodations that students might need for classes. Since mandatory recording of lectures would also potentially infringe on student privacy, some way of assuring that all students are fine with it would be necessary, but I’d say the potential benefit of passing that would not be worth the trouble.
Student Health and Safety Concerns Feedback Summary The most common feedback coming from students regarding health and safety concerns student mental health, particularly post-COVID. First off, students find making appointments with the counseling center in the first place inaccessible, as they have to call ahead of time to make an appointment. Furthermore, contracted psychiatrists often have limited availability, making it even more difficult to access the support students need. Secondly, upon receiving an appointment, students ask that the counseling center be more proactive in following up and further treatments. For instance, one student had an initial consultation to which the counseling center never followed up. It is the responsibility of the counseling center to support students when they ask for help. Thirdly, students hope for more specialized mental health resources, whether it be race-related, trans health resources, or another specific topic they seek to receive support for. Lastly, students would like to see increased mental health events in general. This could include collaboration with student organizations in addition to counseling center events and programming. The Dining Hall section will go in further depth on this topic, but there is a widespread demand for healthier dining options. Furthermore, in terms of the dining hall, students request that there be more clear indication of what ingredients are in the food as well as more separation between prepared food to avoid allergic reactions. Some students expressed a desire for the creation of safety alternatives to JHPD.
SGA Response The appropriate SGA members to respond to these student health and safety concerns may include class senators and the Committee on Health, Safety, and Sustainability,
All Events (Non-SGA related) Feedback Summary Regarding events as a whole, a variety of opinions were found in the tabling survey. To start, students expressed the wish to have more events. Of these students, many had specific recommendations. To start, many students expressed interest in the Dragon Boat festival (They did not elaborate on what about this event they liked). Others discussed socials and dances hosted around campus. Students liked these events, but wished there would be better music at them. Additionally, students voiced interest in having school-wide socials as, in general, these socials tend to be class or club/organization specific. Another event students talked about was the Spring Fair. Many of these concerns were related to some of the shortcomings found in this year's fair. Students stressed the need for a rain backup plan, the want to move the beer garden to the center of campus, and for the Spring Concert to be free of charge. Other students discussed how they wanted to have more class traditions. A final concern found within the tabling report regarding events was from graduate students. They expressed the need for better communication to them about campus events so that they can feel more involved and a part of the student body. These comments present future polling ideas. Specifically, what about the Dragon Boat festival appealed to the student body, and what kind of class traditions students would want?
SGA Response The above issues related to school events fall under the responsibility of Chair of Programming and the Student Organizations Committee. In addition to these two groups, the Finance and Student Services Committees would likely be required to weigh in on specific issues regarding the logistics and feasibility of many of the recommended improvements. Additionally, the Graduate Student Caucus Representatives would be relevant in relaying more information about school events to the graduate student body.
Student Organizations Feedback Summary The student organization and all events comments had significant overlap. Many of the concerns about student events could be related to student organizations in order for solutions to be found. Comments not previously mentioned include a need for more publicity surrounding student events, more cross-student organization collabs on events, and more collaboration in general between cultural organizations. Criticisms voiced that are not entirely, directly addressable by the student organizations themselves are fixing the purchase-process requests/funding system, making student organizations more accessible and open to graduate students, and more student involvement fairs (SIF) per semester. Additionally, it was voiced that RSOs should not have to pay for Shriver hall use for any student led events.
SGA Response Just as with the events section, the Chair of Programming, Student Organizations Committee, Finance Committee, and Student Services Committee would all be important resources. In addition to these, the Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Asian, Pacific Islander, & Demi-American caucuses should all be included in planning more cross-cultural events. The RSO Category representatives should also be included in a conversation with the Finance Committee in order to discuss if it is possible for RSOs to not have to pay for Shriver hall use. Furthemore, the Graduate Student Caucus Representatives would be relevant in relaying more information about school events to the graduate student body. It is important to note though that these comments should be relayed not only to the SGA, but the student organizations themselves.
Building operations
Feedback Summary Some students shared suggestions and concerns relating to various buildings and their operations. Brody and MSE were some of the most popular mentions, with students suggesting extending hours beyond 7 am to 2am, bringing back paper towels in the bathrooms, and increasing seating options. Another common category was recommendations regarding dormitories and amenities. Some suggestions included the inconvenience posed of limited access to Scott-Bates Commons after 7 pm. Also regarding Scott-Bates was the request for new washers and dryers. In general across all dormitories, students request temperature-control in dorm rooms. Miscellaneous suggestions include placing more chairs and tables on the quads, fixing the recreation center’s water fountains, improving recycling signage, cleaner bathrooms, and eliminating the payment requirement for Shriver Hall use.
SGA Response The most appropriate SGA members to respond to these concerns include class presidents and senators, as well as potentially the Committee on Health, Safety, and Sustainability.
Dining Halls Feedback Summary Students suggested a variety of changes that could be implemented to improve the dining services offered on campus. To start, students requested that Hopkins provide more food options during normal meal times. Of these increased food options, students have also requested that there be more vegetarian-friendly options, and healthy food options. Another complaint regarded food safety. Students reported a need for an increase to food safety. There have been many recent claims about improperly cooked food and independently reported claims of food poisoning. A situation like this is incredibly important to be solved rapidly, as it is an issue that affects student health and wellbeing. Regarding specific dining halls, students requested that Levering hall offer longer hours. Levering Hall was only previously open from 11:00am-2:00pm Monday through Friday, so many students wished that it would be open for the weekends and dinner. However, this adjustment has already been made by administration and Levering will be open for dinners starting Fall 2023. Students also noted that Nolan’s should be open for Late Night, just like Hopkins Cafe. Overall, there are a variety of complaints that need to be reviewed and addressed. These issues are predominantly centered around expanding food options and dining hall accessibility, but also include investigating the food safety levels of our dining halls.
SGA Response Because there are multiple issues that have been voiced regarding the Dining Halls on campus, multiple committees have jurisdiction in finding solutions. Firstly, the Health, Safety, and Sustainability Committee should be involved in investigating the food safety concerns that have been voiced by the student body. As of now, this should be the first priority as it pertains to student health, while the other complaints relate mostly to student comfort and convenience. In relation to the comments about dining hall food options and hours, the committees of Finance and Student Services would serve best in finding solutions that are feasible and benefit the students. Because this is a matter that deals directly with school administration though, it would likely involve all branches of the student government to pass legislation regarding these issues. Presenting a united front in student government on these issues to the school administration would likely result in serious consideration towards any proposed changes.
Dorms Feedback Summary In the tabling report, a couple dorm related issues were voiced. To start, people complained about the temperature-control ability in dorm rooms. In terms of freshman year housing, the AMRs only have in-window units for air conditioning and Wolman & McCoy only have 4 degrees of fluctuation on the thermostats that students can adjust between. Students find this frustrating, and frequently complain about the impact this has on their comfort within the dorms. Another complaint heard during the tabling report was about signing people into dorms. They did not specify what about signing people into dorms the complaint was about, but they did mention that the procedure may have been different before COVID. It would be valuable to look into this and to investigate what other methods of signing people in that students would prefer better. The final complaint related to the dorm buildings was about the laundry rooms. Students expressed that they want the laundry rooms to be cleaned more often. It was not clear what about the laundry rooms needed more cleaning, which introduces another future polling topic.
SGA Response In regards to these issues, the Health, Safety and Sustainability committee as well as the Student Services committee would need to be involved. They would be responsible for discussing the complaints and planning the changes needed. They would need to work directly with the Finance committee and the executive branch of the SGA in order to determine the feasibility of solving these complaints. This is because many of these issues would need to be solved by school administration and cost substantial amounts of money to fix, thus requiring the entire SGA to be united in their address to administration.
Transportation
Feedback Summary Students at the tabling event recommended increased reliability of transportation systems. Currently, the TransLoc is the main application used by Hopkins students to access services like the JHMI and Blue Jay Shuttle. Specifically for the Blue Jay Shuttle, there are often instances where students will book a ride and have it canceled. Usually, they are supposed to be sent a Lyft ride. The Homewood-Peabody JHMI or Collegetown Shuttle can be tracked through TransLoc and the Baltimore Collegetown Network website respectively. Yet, the updates can lag, or certain stops may be skipped. For all transportation services, students can call the operator for further assistance. Feedback also included increased range of transportation. As of yet, the Homewood-Peabody JHMI goes from the Interfaith Center on Homewood campus to the Johns Hopkins Medicine Institute. The Blue Jay Shuttle route can be found here. Students also requested that instead of using JHPD, the university should find other ways to ensure routes are secure and safe. Finally, the convenience of the Blue Jay Shuttle is that there is not a set timetable to follow like the Homewood-Peabody JHMI has. However, the Blue Jay Shuttle only operates from 6PM to 2AM. Subsequently, suggestions were made to create on-demand shuttle services that operate outside of those hours, particularly in the daytime. SGA Response A collaboration between the Committee on Student Services and the Committee on Health, Safety, and Security would be most appropriate to address these concerns. The former evaluates needs that the university cannot or will not cover and works to provide SGA-sponsored services, whilst improving the existing services simultaneously. The latter works with Campus Safety and Security to ensure the safety of students, which would be necessary if expanding the range of transportation. Beginning August 9, 2022, the East Baltimore Blue Jay Shuttle Service began to operate from 5AM to 9AM and 5:30PM to 12AM. A similar service closer to the Homewood Campus and that operates during the day would be the most ideal solution. There are many locations, like Target, White Marsh Mall, or Trader Joe’s near Towson, that students frequent. Expanding services to those parts of Baltimore would ensure the safety and convenience of these students.