SGA spars over Spirit Week, plans events

At this Tuesday’s meeting, the Student Government Association (SGA) covered a varied agenda. They discussed several bills and proposals, including Halloween plans, a Deloitte-JHU Diversity Panel, and Blue Jay Spirit Week. They also discussed new initiatives to showcase the SGA’s service to the student body.

The meeting opened up with a discussion of the freshman elections running this week. The elections were restarted on Tuesday after a few logistical faults. There were some technical difficulties causing some candidates to be missing from the ballot.

The members also discussed an important project regarding students’ news consumption. Executive Vice President Kyra Toomre talked about how it is important for students to read influential publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She suggested having the University buy a mass subscription to one or both of them.

This project would be completely funded by the University, and students would not have to pay for the subscription.

One of the major points that was introduced by Toomre and Executive President Janice Bonsu was a bill regarding the Deloitte-JHU Diversity Panel. Deloitte is a company that collaborates with tens of thousands of professionals to provide audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management and tax services.

The diversity conference has been a part of the annual calendar at Hopkins since 2004.

“This year, they are reaching out to SGA to cosponsor,” Bonsu said.

This panel will offer students the opportunity to engage in topics that include diversity in current events and how practitioners have balanced diversity in Deloitte.

Members of the Senate motioned to suspend the rules for this bill to pass early, but Bonsu assured them that it was in no rush. She had already communicated with the company and they are aware of the process the SGA goes through to pass a bill.

Junior Class President Jahan Mirchandani led a discussion about plans for busing on Halloween night.

“This is something that SGA has been sponsoring for two years,” Jahan said.

Every Halloween, the SGA sponsors busing leaving from Mason Hall on campus to Fells Point and back.

“This is a good opportunity for students to explore more of Baltimore,” Mirchandani said.

On the topic of transportation, Bonsu is pushing a bill for improved transportation for off-campus events.

“The University won’t cover over 150 miles,” Bonsu said.

If a group or club has to travel more than that allotted amount, its members must take public transportation. This is especially troublesome for a cappella groups and club sports teams.

The SGA members explained that they are looking into this matter intently. The members discussed the possibility of a partnership with Enterprise rental cars for discounted prices or group rates that the University would subsidize.

Another bill proposed using class banners to promote awareness of the SGA on campus. Members discussed the possibility of each class getting their own banner that will be put up at SGA-hosted events. That way, when students pass by, they will know who is hosting the event and what class it is for. The SGA members want to show that they execute the events and actually put in the time for the student body.

The SGA also talked about spirit-related events that they have in the works. Mirchandani proposed a competition between fraternities to be paired with a sports game.

“We would be having an event with the Interfraternity Council. One idea thrown out there was a ‘Who’s the Strongest Fraternity?’ competition,” he said. “It will most likely be a tug-of-war at halftime of a football game.”

In addition, the members discussed Blue Jay Spirit Week. The debate became heated between a few members who couldn’t agree on logistics. This proposal is still in the works, as the SGA is deciding the placement of events for each day of the week leading up to a major football game to be decided.

The members motioned to table this proposal until next week when they have more details of the bill worked out.

Just before the meeting’s adjournment, the Senator of the Week was announced. This week’s recipient was Sophomore Class Senator Ale Saichin. After the meeting, she described her favorite parts of being an SGA member.

“This is my first year on SGA, and I was surprised at the efficiency and professionalism and how senators take initiative,” Saichin said. “We had a really good sophomore class coffee and donut event. We did it as a surprise for National Coffee Day, [and] people were so happy and impressed by it.”

Sophomore Class Senator Charlie Green also had a lot to say about her experiences on SGA thus far. “I’m new to SGA. SGA has given me a great opportunity to do what I want to improve student life as well as meet others and talk to them about what they want,” Green said. “It is also a great way to meet other people with interests in leading the student body. I can’t believe how well the school accommodates meeting with the SGA to talk about ideas. It is really encouraging.”