The Student Government Association (SGA)’s weekly meeting this Tuesday began with a presentation by Career Center Communications Specialist Rebecca Shillenn.
Shillenn discussed resources that the Center provides, such as the Career Academies, and said that it is trying to expand its student outreach.
“Not a lot of people know the Career Center,” she said. “We’re trying to change that. We’re trying to make sure everybody knows we’re here to talk to you.”
She also presented the Center’s goals for the 2017-18 academic year, which include connecting students with more internships and increasing the use of Handshake, an online platform where students can connect with employers.
Shillenn asked SGA how the two organizations could work together to spread awareness about the Center’s resources. The SGA discussed possible measures such as making the Center more accessible to freshmen and sophomores or allowing the Center to send messages through Blackboard.
Junior Class Senator Soumi Haidara said that currently, the Center is only accessible to upperclassmen. He supported the idea of reaching out to more underclassmen.
“Those are the people who don’t know what they want to do,” Haidara said. “A lot of them are confused.”
Shillenn ended her presentation expressing hopes of further collaborations with SGA on increasing the Career Center’s outreach.
Afterwards, two representatives from Hopkins’ Students for Environmental Action (SEA) presented their plan for Planet Runway, a student run fashion show.
They believe that Planet Runway is a step towards forming a stronger partnership between the University and the community.
Using the materials provided, students will make and model original designs. The student with the best design will be awarded a cash prize. Any clothing left over will be donated to a local thrift store.
Freshman Class Senator Aspen Williams introduced the bill to fund the event, and the bill passed.
SEA hopes that Planet Runway will be a fun and engaging way for students to learn about the environmental harms of cheap, disposable clothes, also known as “fast fashion.”
Toward the end of the meeting, Vice President AJ Tsang began a presentation about the construction of a student union, or a gathering space for clubs and groups.
Plans for this student union are not new. The SGA, specifically the Student Services Committee, previously endorsed these plans in the past.
However, because of obstacles and the graduation of some former members of the committee, plans had subsided. Now the SGA is hoping to fully commit to this idea.
“Even with the most optimistic timeline, most students sitting in this room won’t see the Student Union,” Tsang said.
He estimates that the project would cost about $120 million and will be completed no earlier than 2022.
He emphasized the need for public approval and a coordinated social campaign so that this plan is not sidelined. Tsang suggested holding a fundraiser where students could buy bricks for 99 cents each.
“We have a thousand bricks... every student signs a brick and we deliver a pile of these signed bricks to Garland or the Board of Trustees,” Tsang said.
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