Senate General Body Meeting #21 — Minutes (02/25/25)

112th Johns Hopkins Student Government AssociationSenate Meeting #21February 25, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman B17AGENDA

1. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

a. Excused Absentees: Prisha Agrawal, Vishnu Dontu, NayshawnFerebee, Ivan-Alexander Kroumov, Cynthia Sanchez Hidalgo,

Zaynab Mirzab. Unexcused Absentees: Moses Frumkin

2. Convening Business (40 min)

Presentation on Construction- Lee Hawthorne & Kerby Nelson

3. Amendment and Approval of the Agenda (1 min)
4. Public Input (3 min)
5. Reports (5 min)

a. Cabinet Reports (4 min)

b. Advisor Report (2 min)

6. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

a. Study Spaces Survey- Senator Kevin Xu & AA

b. Student Services Committee's Grievance Hall Initiative- Senator

Omotara Tiamiyu & SS

c. SGA-Sponsored Bills - Senator Ryan Alezz & Tim Huang

7. First Reading

a. Senior Memorabilia - Chair Tim Huang

8. Second Reading

a. SGA - Alumni Bill- Chair Tim Huang

9. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)
10. Adjournment (Estimated 9:00 PM)

Time-length and adjournment estimates are provided for the benefit ofguests at Senate meetings. However, SGA meetings are always slated toextend until 9:00 PM and SGA members are expected to remain in theSenate chamber until official adjournment by motion, whether before orafter the adjournment estimate.112th Johns Hopkins Student Government Association

Senate Meeting #21February 25, 2025 / 07:20 PM / Hackerman B17MINUTES

11. Call to Order and Attendance (1 min)

a. Excused Absentees: Prisha Agrawal, Vishnu Dontu, NayshawnFerebee, Ivan-Alexander Kroumov, Cynthia Sanchez Hidalgo,

Zaynab Mirzab. Unexcused Absentees: Moses Frumkin

12. Convening Business (40 min)

a. Presentation on Construction- Lee Hawthorne & Kerby Nelsoni. Lee Hawthrone and Kerby Nelson from the University

Leadership came to introduce the Hopkins Student Center(HSC).ii. Hawthorne explained the rationale behind theconstruction of HSC. They intend to create a space forgathering, relaxing, creating, performing, and more. Thiswill be a place to connect with others. There will benutritious offerings. It is not only for Homewood studentsbut open to the general Hopkins community. It is alsowelcoming to the Baltimore community.iii. The HSC is built on six tenets:

1. Welcoming Destination to Congregate & Socialize
2. Social Spaces that Complement Academic Life
3. Flexible, Open & Multipurpose Spaces
4. A Dynamic Entrance to the University
5. Spaces that Support & Celebrate Diversity
6. Usable Outdoor Spaces

iv. There were several opportunities for students to providefeedback. In numerous events, students have been askedwhat they would like to see in this center. Focus groupshave been formed to create this center.v. Other student engagements featured a furnitureshowcase, where students got to communicate what theyliked and didn’t like.vi. There were video shoots conducted to be used in socialmedia and during Lighting of the Quads, tote baggiveaway was organized.vii. In Spring 2025, there will be site tours and schedulingtraining.viii. Hawthorne showed what will be featured in every singlefloor.

1. Food Hall, Theater, Scene Shop…
2. Information Desk, Blue Room Conference Room,

Multipurpose Rooms, entrance from 33rd Street,

Reflection Lounge, Student Project Lounge(exhibition space)...

3. Studio Spaces, Gaming Tables…
4. Student Engagement Hub, Creative Media Center,

Multipurpose Rooms…ix. Hawthorne showed a video that depicted what HSC willlook like when it opens. Food at HSC will take diningdollars, not meal swipes.x. Some of the sustainability features are mass timberconstruction, carbon sequestering concrete, bird safe glassfrit, and rainwater treatment system. There are features tohelp maintain a stable temperature in the building.Hawthorne said that there are a lot of efforts made tocreate a sustainable space.xi. Nelson discussed the guiding principles for spacereservations. They wanted to make this a student focusedspace open to all students. They want to get as manystudents as possible to have meetings at HSC. Since it isopen to students from other campuses, they will beintroduced to how to access and use this building for clubmeetings.xii. Nelson introduced the priority booking schedule, whichconsisted of five waves:

1. Annual Institutional student focused events and

theater rehearsals/performances

2. Undergraduate and graduate registered student

organization events

3. Rehearsals and performances for student art

organizations (except theater which is included)

4. Departments hosting nonacademic, student-focused

signature events. Reoccuring student-focused andweekly student organization meetings, events, andtabling requests

5. All other department reservations (8AM - 3PM).

During Fall 2026, HSC will hold two multipurposerooms for student organization reservations.xiii. When HSC actually opens, the spaces that are availablewill be on 25Live, although the process will be differentbefore priority booking concludes.xiv. The center will prioritize students. Opening is scheduledfor May 1st with wave 1, which is Family Weekend,Alumni Weekend and Commencement Registration.xv. Wave 2 is for clubs to schedule their events that willhappen throughout the semester. There are some spaceswith designated features, like ballet and piano.xvi. Wave 4 is for departments who organize student-focusedevents.xvii. During final wave 6, the center will truly open up toeveryone. Lenson does not recommend until we wait forwave 6, but rather handle the registrations for spacesduring wave 2. After 3PM, registration for spaces is forstudents only.xviii. Sophomore Class Senator Tarini Basirreddy asked if HSCcould have the class flags. They will consider it.xix. Executive President Stone Meng asked whether there willbe indoor tabling spaces.xx. Nelson responded that there will be both indoor andoutdoor tablingxxi. Meng asked about storage places in HSC. Hawthorne saidthat there are some cubbies but she will check.xxii. Programming Chair Tim Huang asked if the timeline isstill up-to-date. Hawthorne said substantial completion isin mid-summer, which will be followed by testing andinspections. After these take place, they hope to open upthe building. Orientation itself won’t happen in thisbuilding but there will be some orientation events in thisbuilding.xxiii. Huang asked about performance spaces as the front ofAMR 1 is mostly used.xxiv. Nelson said that the arts performance groups will be ableto use plenty of spaces. They will be able to register thosespaces.xxv. Huang asked how tall the rooms are. Hawthorne said thatit depends, but some are 30 feet long. Some are mirroredwhile some have sprung floor.xxvi. Senior Class Senator Ryan Alezz was providedclarification by Hawthrone that HSC will open this fall.HSC is open to the public, and alumni are categorized aspublic. Some entrances are card access only. They aretrying to create a balance to have space for students tostay safe until midnight. Alezz would appreciate it if therewere late night openings.xxvii. Alezz questioned why the reflection room is not called aprayer room. It was the name it had before Hawthornewas working on this project. It is not a reservable spaceand has swipe access only as students would want aprivate space. It fits around 20 people and is a circularroom.xxviii. Hawthorne, responding to Alezz’s question about the foodcourt, said that it will function like a restaurant.xxix. Senior Class Senator Jacquelyn Slade asked what theprocess would look like for this cross-campus space.Activities that Peabody or other student organizationsfrom other campuses will be submitted to the systemsdirectly. There is no preferential treatment and allstudents are counted the same. Peabody is not in 25Liveand this will possibly change.xxx. WSE Senator Amy Xu asked about the art room. She saidthat it has consumables, and wondered how those will bemanaged. Hawthorne said that there will be coordinationwith the CMC.xxxi. Xu asked if the rainwater collection is meant tosupplement a drainage system because flooding in thearea is an issue. Hawthorne said that topography wastaken into consideration.xxxii. Women and Gender Minority Caucus Chair KarenVasquez Luna asked about hours of operation. Hawthornesaid that these are the proposed hours that are notapproved. Proposed times are 8:30 AM to midnight. OnFridays and Saturdays, it will probably be open until 1AM. It might open later on Saturdays and Sundays. This isnot a 24 hour facility as that’s for the library. This is notan addition to the library space.xxxiii. KSAS Senator Daarian Rouhani asked what the parkingsituation will look like for the students. Hawthornereplied that there will be no additional parking facilitieslinked to the student center.xxxiv. Freshman Class President Jason Yu asked what the totalbuilding capacity is. Hawthorne said that there isn’t aspecific count for the whole building, but the spaces do.Around the building, there are 370 seats. 14 multipurposerooms exist. There are 157 seats in the food hall. There area little less than 100 seats in the Mose Space. There is alsooutdoor space.xxxv. Yu asked about the donor wall. He suggested adding morehistorical Hopkins decorations and potentiallymemorabilia. Yu also asked about the seating on thestairs. Hawthorne showed the “living room” of thebuilding.xxxvi. Yu asked about the trees that were seen in the video. Yuasked if they will be planting more trees and increasingthe green space around the building. There is nearly anacre of open space.xxxvii. Yu asked if this could be shared with people outside ofSGA by SGA members. Hawthorne mentioned that imagesare not allowed, but information can be.xxxviii. Nelson is the point person for Scheduling & EventServices. Hawthorne will be back monthly for updates forany additional information.

13. Amendment and Approval of the Agenda (1 min)

a. Move to start the meeting passed.b. Agenda has been approved.

14. Public Input (3 min)
15. Reports (5 min)

a. Cabinet Reports (4 min)i. Meng congratulated the organizers for the Speed DatingEvent. Meng confirmed that the executive board saw thepetition and he said that committee leaders are welcometo stay after if they would like. The email to the studentbody will be sent once it is approved, which has beentaking a long time. Advisor Charles Norman has beenunable to attend today’s meeting, so he wasn’t able toprovide information about the email situation. Meng saidthat, as far as he knows, the emails that are being sent outby departments and clubs are being heavily checked dueto the changing policies of the newly elected U.S.President.ii. Vice President Amy Li said that the Executive Board gotan email from Student Disabilities Services to join her in ameeting on March 13th from 9 to 10 AM to talk aboutstudent accessibility. If anybody is interested, message Lion Teams.iii. Huang said that Speed Dating was a success. 50 matcheswere made and a couple are going on dates. He thankedall the volunteers who helped. Only 50 registered to theSophomore Garden Party, so he needs more sophomoresto sign up.iv. Basirredy said that there are a lot of things happening onMarch 1st like science olympiad and other events, which iswhy sophomores are having some difficulty attending.v. Vice President Srigouri Oruganty said that the reels thatthey did last year worked well to get the word out there.vi. Huang said any other questions should me messaged tohim.vii. Treasurer Brandon Benjamin said that Alezz and Huangwill make a

viii. Secretary Buse Koldas asked if Peter Jackson and SarahMishra were here, and they were not. There arecommittee leaders who are not updating attendance,which makes it difficult to track who is at the meeting. Allcommittee leaders should upload attendance byThursday. If not, Koldas will message you. A lot of peoplehad unexcused absences last week, and Koldas assumesthis is because people forgot to do iClicker or theiriClicker didn’t work. If this is your case, you should checkthe attendance sheet. Members need to message Koldas ifthere are any mistakes in the attendance sheet and Koldaswill see if she can prove your attendance. If iClickerdoesn’t work for any reason, message her that day as it isimportant for attendance purposes.ix. President of the Senate Nasreen Naqvi said that on March4th, there will be three different admin visits. She askedeveryone to dress well, be on time, and not bring food.Dean of Admissions, Dr. Brittani Brown, and Director ofTechnology will come to the meeting. The seats in themiddle are not filled so when people are presenting,please fill in the gap. Next week will be strict on thespeakers list.x. Head Justice Luc Mazzanobile gave an update on Teams.He elaborated on the Writ of Certiorari submitted by theprevious SGA member Jackson Morris. The petitiontargeted the executive branch and some legislative branchmembers. Mazzanobile said that if people have questions,they can contact him or any members of the Judiciary.xi. The Judiciary is still debating on how to address theamicus curiae. The form welcomes any thoughts andopinions on the case to be submitted. After granting thewrit, the respondents can respond to the Judiciary. Theresponse has to be submitted within four days after initialnotification, which is on Thursday. The Judiciary askedfor a uniform response to the content of the petition. Willcreate a new format for a more condensed petition.xii. Freshman Class Senator Kevin Xu asked if only senatorscan submit a response.xiii. Mazzanobile said that any Homewood student is allowed.xiv. Naqvi asked for the timeline of the senate electionsxv. Mazzanobile said the week of 10th is when electioninformation will be presented. Week of the 24th is thesecond in-person information session and zoom(mandatory to campaign). April 1st - 7th will be theapprovals and when campaigns start. April 8th to 9th arevoting days.xvi. Alezz asked about formatting.xvii. Mazzanobile said that we could have it during a GBM.Judiciary prefers the exec to respond but any otherresponse is welcome and encouraged.xviii. Oral arguments for each party will be one or two peopletalking. Open to the public, so we will advertise this. Inbetween the initial 20 minutes, there is time for AmicusCuriae. The branch is not submitting a recommendation,but a decision. The one back in August was arecommendation.xix. Petition also includes Jackson’s recommendations.xx. Ryan asked what the enforcement mechanisms are.xxi. Judiciary is modeled after the supreme court, so exec willneed to abide or else there might be consequences. 3 othermembers are in the judiciary branch.xxii. Angela asked a clarification question aboutrecommendations, to which the Judiciary clarified thatthose will be considered during recommendation but nosuch thing as one party will be fully favored.xxiii. Stone said regarding the elections, executives will behappy to talk to you. Would like to reinforce that exec willfacilitate committee leaders.xxiv. Nas said not to be too stressed about the petition becausethere is only two months left.

b. Advisor Report (2 min)

16. Non-Legislative Business (15 min)

d. Study Spaces Survey- Senator Kevin Xu & AAi. Xu worked on the survey with Sophomore Class SenatorArihant Singh.ii. Xu said that in the Academic Affairs committee, they werediscussing the study spaces, which can be sent out to thestudent body to hear the student sentiment on the spaces. Thisis a quite short survey. The first two questions arestraightforward, which measures student satisfaction andpreferences. The questions also target accessibility in studyspaces and whether they meet the students’ needs on thataspect.iii. Singh said that a freshman told him that there are no quietstudy spaces in AMR 2. They want to make sure that morepeople feel like they have access to student spaces. They will seeif respondents are going to identify transportation as a bigissue. If so, they might consider extending the hours fortransportation. They ask for comments on how to improve onthe form.iv. Alezz said a lot of people will think the transportation is nice.Curious about beyond the blue jay shuttle, what othertransportation will there be? Singh said that the point is to seewhat is stopping people from going to these study spaces. Theywant to see whether it is a preference of quiet and collaborativespaces or transportation spaces.v. Alezz asked how they will define the accessibility issue. Xu andSingh clarified that there is a question enabling the students todefine the accessibility issue themselves. Xu said that they willalso see if it’s a preference for timing.vi. Li asked if the form could have a transportation issue. Sheknows that the Remington Shuttle has an extra stop now, somaybe by asking about transportation, they could see if thisstop has been effective. A few weeks ago, Li recommendedBrown to add stops to a nearby library place.vii. Singh answered that there could be follow up surveys if there isan issue identified, but he doesn’t see a problem with adding it.Li suggested adding subtitles, which might feature potentialissues.viii. Meng said that the construction survey had similar questions,so the responses to that could be helpful. Meng said that thishas been an ongoing topic that was discussed with the admin.Students don’t know about the interface space and the app.ix. Singh said that going with Li’s suggestion and asking whetherstudents know about certain features could work. This survey ismore catered toward freshmen, because freshmen don’t havegreat study spaces, especially those in AMR 2.x. Media Senator Tyler Turner said that we could ask therespondents to categorize study spaces as quiet or collaborative.xi. Alezz supports this and believes that this adds extra value. Alezzrecommended question 3 to be a ranked question rather than a“select the best option” question. He also recommended addinga question about security and safety. Singh said that he alsoinitially thought about the rank, but then due to his concernsabout JHPD, he decided not to. He believes that many studentswill communicate feeling unsafe, but then admin might say thatis why they implemented JHPD.xii. Amy Xu said that the admin might say the HSC will resolve this.Singh said that he is not against that happening as he iswelcome to having more study spaces, but the adminthemselves said that they don’t want HSC to replace libraries.He believes that people will use HSC to eat or hang out. Use thisas leverage to extend hours. Singh said the admin is againsthaving more 24 hour spaces as they are concerned that studentswill pursue unhealthy habits.xiii. Basirreddy thanked Kevin Xu and Singh for their efforts.

e. Student Services Committee's Grievance Hall Initiative- Senator

Omotara Tiamiyu

i. Sophomore Class Senator Omotara Tiamiyu, Cultural and

Identity Senator Jordyn Craig-Schwartz, Alezz and Yupresented their initiative.ii. Tiamiyu explained that the student grievance hall is astructured, open form designed to provide students with a spaceto voice concerns, report grievances, and communicate withC.S.S.iii. Craig-Schwartz explained that the goal is to have more studentsand admins to attend other than the SGA. They want the adminto attend these meetings from time to time. Committeemembers’ attendance is not required, but they will try to havecommittee members participate as often as possible.iv. Yu elaborated that they want to ensure a structured, safe,respectful, and confidential space for students to easily come tothe C.S.S. to openly talk to them. They target a flexible program.v. Alezz said that they are planning a circular room that doesn’tspecifically focus on a speaker. The location will be accessibleand not intimidating. They are thinking of organizing these inShriver, the Glass Pavilion, or the Writing Center.vi. Tiamiyu said that the proposed frequency is biweekly, but theyare open to feedback on this structure. They would like to haveit at 5:15 PM on Sundays. They hope to have it on weekdayevenings as well. They will launch it the week directly afterspring break. Based on the initial session, they will make plansto integrate more.vii. The goal is to maximize student awareness about thesubsequent engagement at the Grievance Hall. The game plan isto promote social media posts and hang banners in the dininghall.viii. They are planning to work with the admin for funding andreserving spaces. They will reach out to Brown. For anyrecommendations, message them.ix. The expected impact is to foster greater conversation betweenstudents, administrators, faculty, and all Johns Hopkinsaffiliates. They would like to increase transparency and provideadditional venues for students to talk.x. They would like members to give feedback through Teams. Theywant to get feedback on the location options. If there are anyother senators who would like to get involved, please messageTiamiyu. If there are any other student organizations or adminoffices that they should bring to strengthen, they would beinterested in reaching out. They asked if the proposed formatmakes sense. They also asked how to maximize engagement andimpact.xi. Huang asked to link the slides to the document.xii. Kevin Xu asked how to differentiate tabling and this event.xiii. Tiamiyu said that they would like to have longer discussionsthan they are able to during tabling and be able to respondfaster.xiv. Alezz said that SGA serves as a middleman whereas thisinitiative will be a more direct approach.xv. Xu asked how they plan to create confidential feedback when itis in person. Tiamiyu responded by saying they will provide ananonymous Microsoft Form.

f. SGA-Sponsored Bills - Senator Ryan Alezz & Tim Huangi. Alezz said that in Finance, they realized that the SGA Eventbudget has been getting used as a route for extra money. Inco-sponsorship events, SGA’s presence is not out there. SGA hasbeen a silent partner this semester, and they want to change it.The events will need to be advertised as an SGA event and theywill need to go through the co-sponsorship process. They willalso increase SGA visibility (for example, by having them wearT-shirts). The Chair of Programming will have more oversightin these events. Class Programming Chairs will work with theChair of Programming more actively next year so that the dutiesof the position are not as dense.

17. First Reading

b. Senior Memorabilia- Chair Tim Huangi. Huang stated the logistics for cords for graduation. Healso wants to have something for the executive board asthey will not be rerunning for next year.

18. Second Reading

b. SGA - Alumni Bill- Chair Tim Huangi. Presentation was given last week. The expenses cover the cost ofthe Blue Bird Room, food, and drinks. The Alumni associationwill be giving some money. We will give 2000 dollars atmaximum, depending on how many people will be going to theevent.ii. Motion to vote was passed and the bill was approved.

19. Prospective Legislation & Announcements (5 min)
20. Adjournment (Estimated 9:00 PM)

a. The meeting has been adjourned.Time-length and adjournment estimates are provided for the benefit ofguests at Senate meetings. However, SGA meetings are always slated toextend until 9:00 PM and SGA members are expected to remain in theSenate chamber until official adjournment by motion, whether before orafter the adjournment estimate.