Will the referendum enhance SGA’s effectiveness?
Reporting about the SGA, not a record of it: The Johns Hopkins News-Letter published this and the SGA did not write it, file it, or approve it. The archive holds it because the article itself uses the phrases “sga” and “student government”.
Summary
- This News-Letter article reports on the 2018–19 SGA referendum, its results and whether it could increase the organization’s influence.
- The paper reported that 2,738 students voted on eight issues, with 42.5 percent of the student body participating—the highest turnout for an SGA ballot since 2012.
- The article says 2,042 students supported adding an undergraduate observer to the Board of Trustees, while 1,974 supported three additional OIE investigators.
- According to the article, at least one third of the student body had to vote “yes” for the SGA to be bound to an outcome in legislation.
- The reporter quotes senior Aran Chang saying he was doubtful that administrators would take the results seriously, while also saying the referendum was “a step in the right direction.”
- The article says Vice Provost Alanna Shanahan would help present strong student cases but warned that referendum results might not necessarily become policy; Executive Vice President Dean Chien said the numbers gave administrators a compelling reason to act.
- The paper reported that Executive President Aspen Williams viewed the referendum as a roadmap for representing student priorities to the administration.