Tycher steps down as SGA executive treasurer

The Student Government Association (SGA) elected Kenneth-Von Blackmon as the new executive treasurer at their weekly meeting in Charles Commons this Tuesday. The election followed the announcement that former Executive Treasurer John Tycher would step down from his position after his decision to go abroad in the spring 2017 semester.

Out of three nominees, SGA elected Blackmon by a majority vote.

Blackmon was not present at the first SGA meeting of the semester. SGA Executive President Charlie Green read aloud from an email Blackmon sent confirming his new position.

“It is an honor to receive the position of executive treasurer as I have due respect for the entire SGA executive board and understand the responsibility that comes with being a leader of the student body,” Blackmon wrote.

Previously a member of the Student Activities Commission (SAC) and Academic Ethics Board, Blackmon said he hopes to fix budget inefficiencies as treasurer by implementing a credit rating system.

“The position of executive treasurer [gives] me the access to empirical data of student group funding to begin this credit system and implement it accordingly,” Blackmon wrote.

At this same meeting, the SGA also voted to approve the Web Development Tutorial club in response to the club’s appeal to be recognized as a student organization after previously being denied.

Daniel Stambler, who founded the Web Development Tutorial club, explained that the club’s purpose is to host weekly workshops in web development and scripting languages that will be taught by student mentors.

“This club would not only be beneficial for the students attending the workshops, but for the students teaching them too, as it would boost their confidence and leadership skills,” Stambler said.

Junior class senator Alberto Pepe Muniz initiated a discussion on the relevancy and impact of the proposed club.

“From what we gained from the application and interview, it seemed that [Web Development Tutorial Club] is targeted towards mentoring specific students, but it didn’t seem like the club would branch outside of non-members,” Muniz said. “A student group has to do more than just teach students a new skill.”

Junior class senator Sarah Zappone felt that the club could also help  fulfill a growing need to provide resources to computer science students on campus.

“Our computer science department is overflowed – we have too many interested student and too few professors,” Zappone said. “Plus, [the department] doesn’t currently offer web development courses.”

Sophomore class senator AJ Tsang agreed that this group could bring positive change to campus.

“Computer science is a very non-diverse field,” Tsang said. “By having a student group on campus that is dedicated to the code-based aspects of programming we can really expand the inclusivity of not only web development at Hopkins, but around the world too.”

Zappone argued that having a centralized web development resource is essential for Hopkins students.

“We should be grateful; Our school isn’t providing this niche, and we have students banging on the door offering to fill the gap,” Zappone said. “We’re pretty lucky.”