SGA addresses BIT, community forum

The Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on Tuesday focused on how the SGA can take action to resolve the issues regarding binge drinking and sexual assault that were discussed at its Community Forum on Nov. 13.

The main focus of the meeting was to complete a report, which was sent to the student body via email on Wednesday, that sums up the goals and suggestions for the new administrative policy that were presented at the Community Forum. The SGA’s recommendations include increased administrative transparency, restructuring bystander intervention training (BIT) and making greater efforts to curb binge drinking.

SGA Executive President Janice Bonsu read a message from Dean of Student Life Terry Martinez that defended the administration’s decision to enact a moratorium on all social events at Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) houses from Nov. 6-14 in response to the alleged sexual assault at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) house on Nov. 2.

In her statement, Martinez asserted that the moratorium was not designed to be long-term and that the administration is working on new policies. The SGA previously released a statement on Nov. 12 criticizing the administration for not consulting students before enacting the moratorium.

“To date, there have been no changes [to the original policies]. It’s important for us as the administration to work with the student body,” Martinez wrote to the SGA. “The plan is not intended to be long-standing, and we know sexual assault is not restricted to fraternities. This is not about parties; it’s about safety, and that appears to be conflated.”

The SGA also debated whether incoming students should participate in an online BIT program or an in-person session during orientation week. Senior Class Senator Parth Patel expressed his views on the importance of the BIT program.

“[The administration] will restructure the curriculum and freshmen must go to their assigned BIT day,” Patel said. “We’re taking this seriously and making all 1,500 freshmen go through it. This is something not for the next four years, but for years after.”

Another idea that was proposed was for students to receive half a credit for attending a BIT program and punishing students who fail to complete a course with a hold on their ISIS account.

Sophomore Senator Ale Saichin advocated for mandating in-person BIT sessions.

“The act of actually practicing bystander intervention training is a lot different from just doing it online,” Saichin said. “I think if we are so concerned about the culture of our school, it’s important that we take the time out of our academic year for this education.”

SGA Executive Treasurer Will Szymanski said that online training would have more of an impact on students.

“There’s something about taking it online in private that makes you take it much more seriously,” Szymanski said. “It’s a lot more interactive.”

Alberto “Pepe” Muniz and Heidi Woll, freshmen class senators, said that the BIT program would not be as effective if held during orientation week.

SGA Executive Vice President Kyra Toomre advocated for the creation of a survey for students to take after completing BIT that would give the administration feedback on how to continuously adapt the program. There was also a motion to mandate BIT for all University affiliates and to offer the training 24 times during the school year.

The discussion moved toward measures that Hopkins students can take to address binge drinking. Ari Multak, a senior class senator, brought up Stanford University’s party-planning guide, which discusses rules for party security, sober party members and offering non-alcoholic drinks.

“We should look into putting together a similar party-planning guide,” Multak said. “We should figure out what works for everyone — the Inter-Fraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association and SGA.”

Members of the SGA also advocated for the establishment of two ad hoc committees to help address the issues of sexual assault and binge drinking.

Sarah Zappone, a freshman class senator, expressed her frustration with the administration’s communication regarding its alcohol policy.

“We proposed serving mocktails at our soirée, and it was immediately shut down,” Zappone said. “The administration is making alcohol a very taboo subject.”

Matthew Brown, sophomore class senator, said he hopes the administration will enact policies that help students understand the difference between alcoholism and binge drinking.

Colin O’Connor, the president of Phi Kappa Psi (Phi Psi), also attended the meeting to offer his perspective on how the administration and student body can work together.

“I came here because I don’t see a position on SGA for an IFC representative or Panhellenic representative,” O’Connor said. “I think there should be [Greek life] representatives for alcohol and sexual assault.”

O’Connor also said that he hopes SGA will support Dance Marathon, a nighttime philanthropy event in the spring that benefits Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“I’m gonna make a move for the IFC to cancel all social events for that weekend so we can focus on Dance Marathon and bring in more philanthropy money,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor also said that the IFC is working to establish measures to ensure safety at parties.

“The [IFC] is trying to reinforce a third-party group to have a standardized procedure [to make parties safer],” O’Connor said. “I think the SGA really needs IFC and Panhellenic reps [on it]. We need to have more of a conversation.”