New body who this?

This week’s SGA meeting once again ran smoothly, impressing Barnard Bwogger Dassi Karp who covered last nights events with discussion topics ranging from disability accommodations to halal chicken in Hewitt.

At Barnard’s Student Government Association meeting last night, our indomitable Rep Council continued the trend of recent weeks of inviting good guests, asking smart questions, and actually getting things done. I’m impressed, SGA–everything is just going so smoothly! Is there something you’re not telling us? This week, led by Rep for Student Health Services Val Jaharis, Rep Council welcomed MJ Murphy, Executive Director of Student Health and Wellness Programs; Dr Mary Commerford, Director of Furman Counseling Center; and Carolyn Corbran, Director of the Office of Disability Services.

Val brought some questions gathered from student responses about disability services on campus. Before they could begin, though, SGA was joined by a member of the student body for open floor, which grants anyone who shows up to the meeting a chance to say whatever they want to Rep Council. Allison Emmet, BC’18, read a statement on behalf of the protesters of CUCR’s Tommy Robinson speech who are currently facing disciplinary action. Emmet emphasized that the protesters were peaceful and non-disruptive and that they had the right to voice their dissenting opinions during the open Q and A session. Students have not yet gone through the full adjudication, but they have been barred from CUCR events in the interim. Emmet asked for SGA’s support of Barnard protesters as they go through the disciplinary process. SGA president Angela Beam said they’d discuss it.

Then, Val got down to business. They asked the Health directors about the case-by-case basis standards used to determine approaches for ODS and Furman. They explained that some students feel that this puts an inordinate burden on those who need treatments to self-advocate. Corbran disagreed. She explained that very often, students have different diagnoses or different combinations of diagnoses that require individualized support. Not approaching this in an individualized manner would be a disservice to these students. Commerford agreed, saying that this was also true for mental health services. In terms of self-advocacy, Corbran pointed out that students must have the skills to advocate for themselves to a certain extent. “I see our role as an intermediary between high-school and the work world,” where people won’t be able to get the accommodations they need unless they ask for them.

Val also asked about how health services help low-income students who can’t afford to get the proper documentation they need of their disability that is required for treatment. Murphy acknowledged that this is sometimes an issue, but an unavoidable one. Students must get a lot of the documentation needed to register with ODS from outside medical professionals because Barnard can’t be providing documentation to itself. “We work very hard so it’s not a barrier,” she assured. She also explained that there are temporary treatment plans that can be put in place for students while they sort out their paperwork.

The final formal question was about dealing with professors who seem not to care about or understand their need to accommodate for students’ disabilities, mental health issues, and chronic illnesses. Corbran acknowledged that this was a problem, but that ODS and Furman are constantly working with professors. “Often it’s not from a place of not wanting to accommodate,” she explained, but a lack of understanding. Students who’ve had problems with specific professors should file their complaints with ODS so formal action can be taken.

Next, Rep Council and some student guests were allowed to ask questions. We heard about shortened wait times for walk-in hours at primary health (last year, the average was down to fifteen minutes), improving PE options for students with disabilities, a new chronic illness support group starting in Furman next month.

But the meeting was not over yet. As agreed on last week, Rep Council voted on the wording of a statement of support for Barnard affiliating with the Worker’s Rights Consortium, which works to make sure that collegiate clothing manufacturers engage in ethical practices. Rep Council voted by Google form because, according to Angela, “I thought it would be more effective than counting papers this time.” I take complete credit for that change, so there’s some student journalism in action. The statement passed with 95.5% support, and SGA will send it to appropriate members of the administration.

Some other announcements:

• VP Finance Evie McCorkel helped BOSS get $2112.50 in funding from JCCC to attend the Black Solidarity Conference at Yale later this year.
• Rep for Food and Dining Services Sarah Broniscer announced that all chicken served in Hewitt is now Halal, and most of the beef is Halal as well. Signs will be posted. There is also Halal deli meat available in Diana by request. Additionally, smoothies at Diana are now kosher when made in the kosher blender. Thanks, Sarah!
• Fill out the Desserts After Dark survey if you haven’t yet, its like a midterm except less soul-crushing and you get free food!

Image via Harsha R K