The Johns Hopkins Outdoors Club (JHOC) has been working with the Office of Recreational Sports to write the proposal requested by the Office of Risk Management to rescind the club's suspension.
According to JHOC President Robert Theobald, JHOC has been working directly with the Office of Recreational Sports, which then represents the club to the Office of Risk Management.
"We ended up submitting something that was about 40 pages that detailed procedures, policies, goals [and] the mission of the club," said Theobald. "Phil Dook-Friesen, in the Office of Recreational Sports and the main person who worked with us, had some concerns about training and certification issues and procedures, so we really haven't been able to work past those yet."
Theobald said that the money provided by the Student Activities Commision (SAC) to fund JHOC trips will have to be returned.
"We haven't yet, but we're going to have to. It's an annual budgeting that happens in May, so we have until [then], but the vast majority of the trips won't be happening, so we'll have to give the money back to SAC," he said.
On the administration's side, Bill Harrington, director of recreational sports, said, "Both parties are working to get the activities going again, so I think that there's been a lot of progress." But he did concede that the groups have encountered difficulties.
"There's been frustration on both parties' parts," he said. "The Outdoors Club has struggled a lot lately with school responsibilities, so ... it's been a few weeks since we've had a face-to-face meeting."
One of the sticking points of the negotiations "had to do with training involved for trip leaders," said Theobald. "We're still working through it."
Harrington said the meetings have concentrated on a compromise to satisfy both parties.
"The primary concern has been lack of oversight and training, and so, [we've discussed] how to come to grips with what training is acceptable on their part, what training is felt to be necessary on our part," he said. "It's been a give and take."
Theobald also talked about a new project being undertaken by the club and the administration. "What we've been doing is working with [the Office of Recreational Sports] and we're trying to form an outdoor advisory board made up of people representing the outdoor club, people who go kayaking, various climbing clubs, [the Pre-Orientation group] -- all the sort of outdoor activity clubs [on campus]," he said.
He added that this was not inspired solely by the request for the Outdoors Club's proposal.
"There have been suggestions about [creating such a board in the past]," he said. "The current process is one in which myself, Evan Grove [historian for the JHOC] and John Berg [Johns Hopkins Whitewater Kayaking] have been working to meet Risk Management's expectations."
Director of Risk Management Lawrence Foley could not be reached for comment. Theobald detailed the goals of the meetings.
"[One of] the final goal[s] is to create a cohesive community at Hopkins. The second one is to have standards and safety procedures for all outdoor groups. The third goal would be to coordinate, in terms of logistics -- training, funding, equipment, schedules," said Theobald.
Harrington said an advisory board would offer more organization to the various outdoor interest clubs founded at the University, including those on sailing, kayaking and climbing.
"As [part of] an advisory board, [the outdoor interest clubs] would have more representation, as far as how policies are determining and the budgetary process," he said. "If you've got all these entities that fall under outdoor activities, the advisory can make recommendations about training and first aid, whereas the specific skills required for their particular activities [can be handled by specialists]."
According to Harrington, the Sports Council currently oversees all outdoor clubs, including JHOC, since they travel long distances and involve physical activities that could potentially be risky.
"As these activities become more and more popular, it's becoming too much for the club to handle," said Harrington. "The Outdoors Club does a lot of things [for these other specialized groups], and some things [the club does] better than others, but each individual has their own interests."
By overseeing the variety of outdoor activities, the club does not have the specialized knowledge to give each activity proper attention.
"If you have groups focusing on [each activity], then you can be sure that the people running then will have the [necessary] skills and training," he said. "[The proposed board would comprise] predominantly students; [the Office of Recreational Sports'] role becomes [making sure] that the training and oversight are happening."
Both parties had positive outlooks on the fate of the outdoor club.
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