SGA discusses alumni outreach, dining

In their second weekly meeting of the spring semester, the Student Government Association (SGA) discussed a variety of topics, ranging from the Hopkins Alumni Association’s new plans, to new dining plan options, and communicated with members of the administration.

The Hopkins Alumni Association President Jay Lenrow and Executive Director of Alumni Relations Susan deMuth began the evening by presenting new marketing endeavors aimed at strengthening the Hopkins community beyond campuses. The duo suggested possible ideas to raise awareness for the Alumni Association, while also highlighting its recent events and successes.

After SGA members raised questions about building a stronger search database for alumni, deMuth discussed the JHConnect network. Of 193,000 Hopkins alumni, 68,000 have profiles on JHConnect, and only 1,700 of the JHConnect accounts are held by active users. deMuth discussed the possibility of working with LinkedIn, as Hopkins has 74,000 members in one LinkedIn group.

Dean of Student Life Terry Martinez and Associate Dean of Campus Programming Tiffany Sanchez then took to the floor to address concerns about communication between the SGA and the school administration. The deans addressed the relationship between themselves, Director of Student Activities Robert Turning and the SGA.

“I had met with [SGA Executive President] Janice [Bonsu] and [freshman class President] Anna [Du] in December, and we talked specifically about how Janice wanted this organization to be legitimized, to make this body the group that makes the student decisions,” Martinez said.

Martinez also briefly discussed the administration’s current plans to address sexual assault.

Additionally, SGA members explained some initiatives that they planned in cooperation with other clubs. On Feb. 11, the SGA, the Black Student Union and the Office of the President are teaming up to host a screening of Selma on Feb. 11. The SGA will also co-sponsor the Foreign Affairs Speaker (FAS) series. The SGA has contributed $500 toward FAS; this will cover reserved seating for SGA members, and the SGA’s name will be on the FAS’s marketing materials.

On March 4 from 5-7 p.m., the SGA will be holding a Faculty Student Interaction Happy Hour. The SGA discussed collecting faculty recommendations from the student body for who they’d like to attend the happy hour.

In committee reports, the dining committee, under the leadership of junior Senator Amy Sun, has worked with Director of Dining Bill Connor to introduce new and expanded dining plans. In these plans, freshmen will have the options of anytime dining with 150 Dining Dollars, 19 meals per week with 250 Dining Dollars, 14 meals per week with 350 Dining Dollars or 11-14 Kosher meals per week with 250 Dining Dollars. Sophomores would have the additional options of 10 meals per week with 400 Dining Dollars or 7 Kosher meals per week with 500 Dining Dollars. Juniors and seniors living in residence halls would have access to blocks of 40 or 80 meals with 200 Dining Dollars, along with all of the plans for freshmen and sophomores.

The committee also discussed the new menu at Bamboo Café, which includes a new happy hour for sushi from 2:30-5:30 p.m.

The SGA discussed an amendment that would allow the Appointments and Evaluations (A&E) committee to directly approve groups, which now must be approved by the Senate. The Senate could then appeal the groups approved by the A&E if they feel the need to do so. Proponents of the amendment said it would increase efficiency and transparency, by showing outside groups the process behind approval. The discussion was tabled until next week.

The general senate unanimously approved a new consulting industry and networking group called the Johns Hopkins Consulting Group, but rescinded its decision after discovering that the group lacked an advisor and tabled the discussion until next week.

The SGA then discussed modifying the SGA Constitution. An SGA Constitution committee was formed to begin drafting changes.

Freshman senator Alex Darwiche felt that the meeting went well.

“[The meeting] was long, but I think it was productive — I think it’s good that we’re beginning to develop a healthy dialogue between the administration and the student government,” Darwiche said. “I think [this dialogue] wasn’t lacking, but that it wasn’t emphasized enough, and that we’re figuring all this out.”