Check for all the watermarks you want, this is no stock photo.

It’s been a little while since Bwog decided to check in on our more mathematically inclined friends at the Engineering Student Council. We’re glad we did, however, as ESC Bureau Chief Finn Klauber reveals the excitement and suspense of a typical ESC meeting.

Last night’s ESC meeting delved into some deep discussion on redefining roles within the framework of the Student Council as well as debating ESC’s role in the newly reorganized Interschool Governing Board.

In terms of the internal structure of ESC, the Council had tabled a discussion from the previous meeting regarding the establishment of four new positions: representatives for gender and sexuality, first generation and low income students, racial diversity and inclusivity, and disability and access.

The Academic Affairs Representative Luis Rivera argued against creating these new positions unless tangible responsibilities were included under the purview of these new representatives. A significant portion of the council felt strongly about this, along a few other, objections raised by Rivera. However, a compromise was reached when the Sustainability Representative Charles Harper revealed that the four new subcommittees of the Office of Multicultural Affairs Advisory Board could offer a sustained responsibility which the new representatives could be held accountable for interacting with. With this new information, ESC voted to create all proposed positions, which should be put into effect for the next academic year.

The other significant discussion of last night’s meeting occurred when a member of the newly revitalized Interschool Governing Board (IGB) approached ESC with a request for representation to IGB. IGB, which is funded with the equivalent of $2 from each student’s activities fee, essentially acted as the graduate school version of the Activities Board at Columbia (ABC): an organization which would fund, recongize, or cosponsor student groups or events.

However, as IGB served as a second choice funding resource due to its relatively lax guidelines compared to the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC), upwards of $100,000 was tied up to various controversial or otherwise unrecognized student groups. As IGB funds groups which contain both graduate and undergraduate students, IGB requested a member from ESC be present for funding allocations and general management. Apparently, IGB has attempted to reach out to ESC in the past via University Senator Jillian Ross, but she never relayed the information.

Updates:

• ESC encourages all students to consider volunteering at Bacchanal this year. On one hand, it shows Columbia that its undergrads are willing to demonstrate responsibility for such an event. On the other, volunteering may reserve you a spot at Bacchanal if you couldn’t get a ticket quickly enough.
• The Joint Council Co-sponsorship Committee (JCCC) has spent all the money collected in the budget surplus. Vice President of Finance Neha Jain stated that they will attempt to keep spending into the red, as JCCC cut down spending from $60,000 to $40,000 in total over the past year.
• Junior Boat Formal is on Friday, April 8th from 9:00 to 11:00 PM—boarding lasts from 8:00 to 8:50 PM. Tickets are $25, and juniors can purchase tickets for non-juniors if wanted.
• SEAS the Day, SEAS’ final showcase of student projects, will be on May 2nd in the Van Am Quad. It’s shaping up to be quite an event, and ESC is looking forward to working on further programming.

ESC mirth via ESC Website / CUSEAS