On Tuesday, March 31 the Student Government Association (SGA) convened for its weekly meeting.
Reporting on the cabinet meeting with President Ronald J. Daniels, Executive Vice President Omotara Tiamiyu shared a summary which included discussion regarding registered student organization (RSO) funding, student life engagement and the administration's response to community concerns about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. University administrators are searching for options to get students more involved in creating a socially engaged atmosphere on campus — they are promoting music and programming in student spaces to accomplish this. Administrators also recognize that students are concerned with conflicting midterm schedules and will meet with the Dean's office to address any issues with multiple exams being scheduled at the same time. As for immigration-related issues, they indicated that they would love to hear the student views on what the University could do to provide better support to the affected community.
Senator Shreeman Patel then discussed a “Community Solutions Network” which would allow students to develop a network between RSOs and local communities for addressing challenges identified by the community in Baltimore. This initiative would work with local nonprofits to develop a plan for identifying important problems through community surveys. Through a microgrant system, certain groups would have the chance to receive funding (approximately $5000 per year). In response to this proposal, senators expressed concerns around several different issues, including accountability, sustainability and the potential for short-term or extractive engagement; to address these issues, the proposal includes mechanisms to ensure continuity. Ultimately, the bill was moved forward for consideration.
SGA then passed The HopTHON Collaboration Funding Bill, which promotes their collaboration with HopTHON, a student-run fundraising group that supports the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Executive Director of HopTHON Sofia Sileo provided an overview of the mission of the organization and provided an overview of the fundraising goal for this year for the organization. SGA then approved funding for “Sex Week.” This programming was based on a Harvard University course titled "Cliteracy 101," which is designed to promote sexual health education and discussion around sexuality. They also passed the Spring Cleaning Funding Bill, which is intended to clarify and combine SGA resources to help make it easier for student groups to find resources. They also passed an “SGA Initiatives Update Bill,” which will add a new agenda item to each meeting. Under the policy, three senators will provide brief updates on their initiatives each week to increase transparency and encourage accountability.
The meeting transitioned to a second reading of several bills. SGA members passed the “Action Report Act,” which required the executive board to publish monthly summaries of SGA activities. These reports will contain updates on what SGA has accomplished, addressing various concerns that existing meeting minutes and articles may not fully detail the daily workings of the body. Finally, the Senate approved an omnibus update to SGA bylaws to maintain consistency with current practices and remove contradictions with the SGA constitution.
