SGA approves funding for “The Push”

The Student Government Association (SGA) made progress on a variety of school wide issues at their weekly meeting Tuesday night. And while there weren’t many tangible results, the SGA was able to approve funding for “The Push.”

The SGA approved $1,000 for the second annual “Push” charity event. The Push raises money for the United Service Organization (USO)—a nonprofit that organizes events and live entertainment for American soldiers. Last year the Push raised approximately $2,000, beating all expectations. The objective of the event is to have different teams of 10 try to push a 1,000-pound Humvee 100 feet. Many fraternities, Hopkins organizations and the US Army co-sponsored and participated in the event. This year, many of the same sponsors and teams are expected to return. Michael St. Germain, a junior and a member of SGA’s Executive Board, has spearheaded the project.

“I am so excited to see that SGA is still committed to community service and community building. This one of the only traditions that I can think of that started at Hopkins but is copied by other schools,” St. Germain said.

This year’s Push will be slightly different, however. It will take place on Homewood field and there will be many more new prizes, such as a helicopter ride with an Army professional.

The discussion then shifted to updates on the bike share project. Senior Class Council member Joanna Gawlik reported that Hopkins should have the program up and running by the end of the semester.

"I am so happy to see that all of the progress on the bike project has led us to the point where we can feasibly see a small bike program running out of the rec center by the end of this year. The program is going to allow students to rent bikes during the day for local use, to generally improve access to Baltimore while promoting health, sustainability and safety,” Gawlik said.

On a more controversial note, the executive board announced that SGA members had met with President Daniels about a school wide referendum on whether or not smoking should be prohibited on campus. The SGA intends to gives students updates on the matter in the near future.

Lastly, Senior Alexandra Larsen said she was inquiring as to whether or not an English as a Second Language program could be reinstituted for the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences. The program was cut this year, but remains open at the Whiting School of Engineering.