A new student services grant of $500 - $1000 to be funded by the SGA was suggested at its meeting last Tuesday by the chairman of the finance committee and sophomore senator, Nick Trenton, along with senior senator and finance committee member, Sean Murphy.
Students would submit proposals for initiatives to improve undergraduate life at Hopkins. The SGA Finance Committee would select the winner and oversee the completion of the project.
What type of improvement would be up to students.
“You could have student performances, you could have student involvement activities,” Trenton said.
The proposal also cited applications for dorm life improvement and additions to student dining halls as possibilities. SGA president Mark Dirzulaitis said that given how far-reaching the organization is, many different possibilities are present for what to do with the grant.
“This is a way for the students to do something for themselves,” Trenton said.
Senior class senator Max Dworin wanted to get more people involved with SGA.
“I like the idea of getting the students not involved with SGA involved with SGA,” he said.
Trenton wanted to get the bill passed by next week—then proposals could be submitted with enough time for the committee to choose and fund them in the spring.
The plan still has a few points where clarification is necessary before the bill is written and put to a vote. The first is eligibility.
“This would be an individual or small group coming to us, not a student group,” Dirzulaitis said. Dworin added, “I’d like to see the distinction made: what’s a group of individuals and what’s a group.”
Another issue Dworin raised was ensuring the legitimacy of the projects.
“I’m a little hesitant to be giving funds to individual students,” he said.
Trenton assured him that the fund would have a very stringent application process.
“[The SGA] can pick one that makes the most sense,” Trenton said.
Dirzulaitis agreed.
“It’s a pilot,” Trenton said. “If it ends up working well, we’ll implement a bigger program in the future.”
Much of the success of the program will be based on the first project chosen.
“If it’s a really good project. . . it would be a really great idea to get undergraduate kids involved in this kind of work,” Trenton said.
Another issue raised at the meeting was the recent campus bike rental program, initiated by senior class senator Max Dworin and sophomore class senator Joanna Gawlik.
The program would allow students to sign a waiver and pay to sign out a bike for a short period.
The fledgling program still has a lot of room to grow.
“The little intricacies are not so important right now,” Dworin said. “[We’re looking for] initial opinions on a loose idea.”
The idea of surveying the student body to figure out what they would like to see in the program was raised.
“The office of sustainability has asked us to survey,” Gawlik said. “It would be logistical.”
Dworin opposed a survey, arguing that the SGA has the authority via their elected positions to make decisions for the students.
“To poll a student body is silly and waste of time and resources,” he said.
“A good compromise would be to have a focus group,” Dworin suggested.
In response to the discussion of the survey, senior class president Josh Ayal suggested that “this body needs to seriously consider making a group whose sole purpose for existing is to poll the student body.”
The SGA also reviewed the effectiveness of the Halloween transportation busses that drove students from campus to Fells Point.
“Damage-wise, I haven’t had any complaints from MR Hopkins [Trainsportation Services],” Ardi Mendoza, junior class president and chair of the Student Involvement Committee, said.
“This is the first time Halloween buses have been done properly. . . Ardi did a great job with it,” Dirzulaitis said.
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