First SGA meeting of the semester highlights tradition, student involvement

At its first meeting of the new year on Tuesday, the Student Government Association (SGA), focused on organizing a myriad of events for the student body with a unifying leitmotiv: getting students involved in their student government as much as possible during the upcoming spring semester.

“For this new year, we hope to get the student body involved in SGA. We want to offer students a new experience, one that they did not have last semester,” Executive Vice President Janice Bonsu said.

First and foremost, SGA unanimously passed the Commemoration Ball bill, bringing back a tradition that dates back to the origins of the school. Instituted by the University’s first President, Daniel Coit Gilman, Commemoration Day is a daylong celebration of the University’s founding.

“It is old, but it is new to us,” Executive Vice President Janice Bonsu said. “In the past, the Commemoration Day was really important: President Jimmy Carter even starred as a keynote Speaker before the tradition was halted by World War II [sic],” she explained.

To celebrate the University’s 138th birthday and revive this long lost tradition, Executive Secretary Kyra Toomre endeavored to bring back the Commemoration Ball to campus. Open to faculty, young local alumni and undergraduates from both Homewood and Peabody, the Commemoration Ball will be held on Feb. 24 at the Engineer’s Club in Mount Vernon and will provide the unique opportunity for students to network and socialize in a relaxed environment, while celebrating the University’s unity.

“We are hoping that it will be a type of environment students don’t usually have access to. It will be the opportunity to socialize and celebrate the University’s founding with everyone in a classy atmosphere,” Bonsu said.

For those who are graduating, SGA and The HOP are excited to bring back for the second time NestFest.

“NestFest is an end-of-the-year celebration that we started last year. It is supposed to be a big carnival to end the school year off. Last year, we brought a DJ to the levering quad and handed out 1,000 blue, yellow and pink ‘NestFest’ tank tops,” Bonsu said.

This year, the event will take place on the last day of classes at Pier 6 Pavilion. SGA will provide buses down to the venue.

During the day, SGA will be giving out free t-shirts, and there will be events including free food and games across campus. The concert will take place at night, and although members are tight-lipped about the musical guest because it is supposed to be a surprise, those in the know do say that it will be a big name. The tickets will cost $25.

Keeping in line with tradition, the familiar High Table dinner will take place on Feb. 22. Open to freshmen only, the High Table will be the opportunity for students to network with faculty members and meet peers while enjoying an elegant meal.

SGA also discussed the logistics of the Women Initiative for Social Equity’s (WISE) upcoming event. Held on the International Day of Women — March 8 — the event will consist of a conference starring keynote Speaker Renee Chenault-Fattah.

“The whole point is to promote women leadership on campus and inspire women to chase out exclusion,” Bonsu, the group’s founder, said. “Our keynote speaker is Renee Chenault-Fattah. She was an undergraduate at Hopkins who majored in political science and is now a news anchor in Philadelphia. She is also on the board of trustees.”

With 53 percent of the SGA budget remaining, Executive Treasurer Dylan Gorman is optimistic about the prospects of the spring semester.

For SAC funding purposes, the College Democrats, the College Republicans and the Hopkins Feminists were reclassified as “Advocacy and Awareness” groups, thereby making them ineligible to receive SAC annual budgets under SGA Senate bylaws.

SGA also took advantage of the meeting to dismiss the rumor that Hopkins took over the Northway’s ownership, a conversation initiated by Senior Class President Sean Glass.

Finally, Senior Class Senator Jake Peters brought to SGA’s attention the polemical graduate program restructuring. The plan would cut the number of graduate students by 25 percent and is being opposed by a group of graduate students. The University says the reductions in the graduate program would increase competition and raise available stipends, matching those of peer institutions and increasing the University’s attractiveness.

However, the restructuring has its pitfalls: Professors had already been complaining about the reduction in available teaching assistants, who are often graduate students; a 25 percent cut in graduate attendance could have serious repercussions for the undergraduate student body.

Understanding the importance of the issue, SGA determined not to adopt a stance at Tuesday’s meeting, and the conversation over the restructuring and its implications for undergraduates will be carried over to the next meeting.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first that newly-appointed Senior Class Senator Colleen Allen attended. Additionally, it was the first meeting since sophomore Alex Koren resigned as sophomore class president and Jahan Mirchandani, previously a sophomore class senator, was appointed to replace him.