The Student Government Association (SGA) passed a bill requesting the approval and funding for the first annual Celebrity Kickball Tournament, introduced by Junior Class Senator Liam Haviv, at its weekly meeting on Tuesday. It also appointed a new sophomore class senator on Wednesday to fill a vacancy.
Sophomore John Tycher assumed the position formerly held by sophomore Kwame Alston, who recently stepped down. Sophomore Class President Anna Du explained why Tycher was appointed by the SGA rather than elected by the student body as Alston was.
“We followed the rules set by SGA the constitution and bylaws,” Du wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “In case of any SGA vacancy, the SGA decides amongst themselves.”
The Celebrity Kickball Tournament is a new initiative from SGA and FSI (Faculty-Student Interaction) designed to connect students, faculty and staff. The event will take place on April 10 during alumni weekend. Twelve professors and four administrators will play against four teams of students. Southern Tide and Ublend will sponsor the event and offer T-shirts, water bottles and other merchandise. Food, drinks and snacks will also be sold.
The tournament is going to be a kick-off event for Relay for Life of the American Cancer Society with all proceeds going to cancer research.
Inspired by Tessa Wiseman, a senior at Hopkins who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this semester, Haviv proposed writing “Team Tessa” on the patches for kickball shirts.
“Tessa Wiseman is an RA,” Haviv said. “She is a hugely important part of our community. And I’m personally a very good friend of Tessa’s. I don’t know if there is anybody I have as many good things to say about as Tessa Wiseman. Because we’re doing something for Relay for Life, we want to do something for her, because so many people know her and care about her.”
Junior Class Senator Adelaide Morphett agreed but suggested that the feelings of other students who have cancer or know someone with cancer should also be considered.
“I know Tessa as well. She’s a beautiful human being, and I have so much respect for her,” she said. “However, I can anticipate some students feeling a little bit put off if they know someone that has cancer. I think it’s a great idea to pursue the patches idea. I think you should maybe rephrase it so it’s not exclusively Tessa.”
The SGA bill requested $2,000 in funding and passed with unanimous support from SGA senators.
The SGA and FSI have been working on promoting interactions between professors, administrators and students on campus throughout the year with events such as High Table and Dorm Wars. However, according to Haviv, such interactions were not sustained and faculty and students were restrained by their respective roles on campus during these past events. The SGA wants to address this issue.
“Let’s just have a little bit of fun on the very important weekend of the school. And let us step back and build relationships with people who exist on this campus as human beings rather than as professors, as students, as administrators and all of that,” Haviv said.
The bill proposes that Hopkins fraternities grill food for the event.
“Fraternities will be spending time with their alumni during alumni weekend, and we would love if they spent time together at this event,” Haviv said. “They are an extremely valued part of our community, and it would not be the same without their support.”
Morphett agreed with this plan and suggested that sororities also be involved in the event. Freshman Class Senator Jennifer Baron recommended including professional and multicultural fraternities and sororities as well.
On Tuesday, SGA also discussed its upcoming executive board election. Information sessions will be held on March 29 at 8 p.m. in Charles Commons Salon A and on March 30 at 8 p.m. in Krieger 302. Campaigning will start after April 4. Voting will start on Friday, April 8 and continue through the weekend.
SGA members are prohibited from using their influence to interfere elections. The time for class elections will be discussed after executive board election is over.
Another issue discussed was to bring a bar back to campus. The senators brought up students’ complaints about the inaccessibility of bars on campus and mentioned that a bar used to operate in Levering Hall.
“I’m really passionate about bringing the bar back,” Executive President Jack Bartholet said. “I think it will make drinking safe on campus.”
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