On Tuesday, Sept. 9, The 114th Student Government Association of Johns Hopkins University convened for their weekly general body meeting. During the meeting, SGA members discussed a freedom of expression directive, a student survey on the University's response to the National Call to Action, and a closed session concerning discussions with University departments.
Following a positive recommendation from the Civic Engagement Committee, the senate approved the JHU SGA Freedom of Expression Directive, introduced by Vice President of the Senate Shreemann Patel. The resolution addresses how SGA members can publicly express their opinion without required consultation from administration or the Executive Board. The revised language of the directive clarifies that members are presumed to speak for themselves unless they explicitly state that they are speaking on behalf of SGA. Further, members explained that representing an official SGA position in any medium would require authorization through resolution. The SGA unanimously passed the resolution. Immediate action items regarding the resolution include sending it to The News-Letter, who requested a written directive about future public communication in The News-Letter regarding members of SGA, and uploading it to the SGA website.
Finance Chair Peter Tarpley introduced the RSO Outreach Call to Action Funding Bill, which distributes $1,000 for outreach in partnership with the student organizations and civic engagement committees. This initiative was proposed with the goal of encouraging students to complete an SGA survey about the University’s response to the United States Department of Education’s National Call to Action. SGA members discussed providing food at tabling events and bringing Insomnia cookies to student organization meetings to encourage participation and build relationships with club members.
Cabinet members reported a meeting with Public Safety and the Office of International Services. Then, the Senate entered a closed session to discuss departmental information and prepare for future conversations with University offices that The News-Letter was not given access to.
Student Body President Jason Yu voiced concerns that the current outreach list was missing certain cultural and political student groups. Other SGA members discussed allowing students who responded to the survey to indicate what level of feedback they were comfortable with giving to the University. The members discussed an October 9 response deadline and the amended bill passed.
Student Services Chair Veda Kommineni introduced a tabling supplies funding bill that was approved unanimously by the Senate.
During public input, Seán Durkis-Dervogne requested help from SGA members in drafting an initiative to make course syllabi accessible to students before class enrollment. Specifically, he was looking for members with faculty contacts to reach out to professors for help.
Chair of Programming Grace Guan introduced a pink-out, inter-class flag football event scheduled for October 3 from 2-4 PM on the practice field. LEED will also host a talent show on Oct. 17, with auditions due Oct. 4.
Other senator updates included plans for a nutrition-focused tabling event, discussions with the Office of Climate and Sustainability about DSAI and an invasive species poll.
