SGA meets with PGA to discuss cross-campus collaboration

The Student Government Association (SGA) held its weekly meeting on Sept. 20 to discuss collaboration between SGA and the Peabody General Assembly (PGA), student access to alumni connections and career opportunities, the Instagram Raffle Bill and the Well-being Fair Funding Bill. 

Peabody General Assembly Collaboration

PGA Cross Campus Liaison Jacquelyn Slade presented initiatives to improve dining options and nutrition, provide reliable transportation across campuses and connect Hopkins and Peabody Institute student body events.

• SGA has submitted a joint dining report and met with dining administrators in the hopes of fostering a student-staff relationship, broadening surveys of students and guaranteeing access to food across campuses. 
• Slade expressed a desire to “connect the Homewood and Peabody dining committees with SGA and PGA, including the [Committee on Student Services]” to increase the chances of improved meals.
• Slade stated, “A reliable transportation system is necessary... at a school like [Hopkins] that has many campuses across the city.” 
• PGA Director of Communications Alex Ma collected transportation data from 76 students across the Homewood, Peabody and the School of Medicine campuses. PGA and SGA plan to form an intergovernmental task force and meet with transportation administrators to discuss improving transport between campuses.
• Slade explained the need for increased awareness of resources across campuses, claiming that “Students from each campus tend not to know each other or collaborate on any events.”
• Sophomore Class Senator Jackson Morris suggested compiling a list of underutilized services that Hopkins provides to students. Vice President Kobi Khong replied that Student Affairs is working on a similar list.

Student Alumni Presentation 

Resham Talwar and Oriel Savir, student-alum relations officers for the Office of Class of 2025 Class President, proposed creating a cohesive way to offer students access to different professional development opportunities and alumni connections.

• Multiple representatives brought up that career events are often held on weekdays when students are busy preparing for exams or completing coursework. 
• Morris suggested asking professional speakers to come at a time when students aren’t engaged in classes, either later in the day or on weekends. 
• Khong noted that the Imagine Center already has centralized career resources, and Senior Director of Leadership Engagement & Experiential Development Calvin Smith suggested working alongside the Student Services Excellence Initiative towards making resources more accessible.
• Junior Senator Jenny Chen noted that many resources are dedicated to pre-medical advising while there are comparatively fewer resources for other pre-professional tracks. 

SGA Instagram Raffle Bill

• Sophomore Class President Ryan Chou proposed holding an Instagram Raffle for all of SGA since the Class of 2025 held a successful raffle under thirty dollars that raised social media engagement. 
• The bill was tabled to be read again at the next general body meeting.          

JHU Well-being Fair Funding Bill

• Junior Senator Rachel Huang proposed a bill to offer reusable straws and stickers for the SGA table at the JHU Well-being Fair.
• The bill passed unanimously.

Resham Talwar is a member of The News-Letter’s Finance Manager. She did not contribute reporting, writing or editing to this article.