It was a light but significant agenda for last night’s CCSC meeting. As council and audience members shuffled in Prezbu encouraged everyone to “get ready to pass some policayyy.” Ain’t no party like a Satow party, ’cause a Satow party never freaking ends.

Updates:

• The Class of 2014 will be hosting a Juniors-only post-Bacchanal brunch featuring the culinary samplings of Dunkin Donuts, Nussbaum, and Camille’s, y’know, ‘cause everyone will be soooo hungover from noon the day before.

• EcoReps is hosting a photo contest since Earth Week is coming up. If you think you’ve got what it takes to top the currently featured .gif of a woman sharing a special moment with a flamingo, head to earthweek.tumblr.com to submit your entry.

• The Senate is launching their Quality of Life survey soon. Yeah, it’s 20 minutes of your life you’ll never get back, ever, but on the other hand they’re giving away over $3,000 in prizes.

Pass/D/Fail: Academic Affairs Wonderman Steven Castellano gave a presentation on the policy issue he’s been literally slaving away on since effectively last semester. In very professional-looking, color-coded pie charts Castellano laid out the results of a survey he sent out to students earlier this year. According to the survey, most respondents said that the first semester P/D/F policy would likely help reduce cheating and allow students to better make the academic leap from high school. Despite the comprehensiveness of Castellano’s flashy PowerPoint, some questions remained, namely about the Core Curriculum, language classes, and courses taken towards a major. Castellano’s recommendation on the Core Curriculum, in which he includes language classes, is to keep the letter grade, however some professors are opposed on the basis of grade inflation. On the subject of major classes, Castellano spoke to a vast majority of undergraduate studies directors and found that most departments already have a P/D/F policy for the first class, though some, like the Chemistry and Economics departments, while supportive, thought there might be complications for those pursuing an advanced track during their first year. The ensuing discussion was lengthy but thorough, and by the time the council passed the resolution, it had been nearly perfected. You can read a full copy of the resolution here. After Castellano makes the requisite changes, the resolution will be passed on to Deans Utrakis and ‘tini as a recommended policy. If all goes well, the Class of 2018 is looking at an intellectually adventurous and stress-free first semester.

Space Resolution: During the past three semesters in the council, there have been three separate discussions on space; at last there’s some headway. CCSC President Karishma Habbu presented a detailed list of rennovation and refurbishing recommendations for several underused spaces on campus. While pretty much everyone agreed that John Jay should remain more or less the same, big changes may come to Wien and Claremont. It was suggested that both spaces become more resident- friendly by putting easily moved/stored furniture in Wien and a gym in Claremont. By the end of the discussion there were six fairly contentious points that Prezbu promised fix before next meeting, so the resolution can be officially passed and handed off to the Housing Advisory Board. Hooray for making recommendations to people who make more recommendations. #Columbia