Photo cred Daphne Chen

Ladies and gentlemen, your CCSC President.

Name, Hometown, School: Karishma Habbu, Atlanta, GA, Columbia College

Claim to fame? Oddly the most visible thing I did as Columbia College Student Council President was harass you with a weekly email called Lion Bytes (Secret: those things took me 3 hrs each so I’m as glad as you are that they are no more)

Where are you going? Medical school at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH

Three things you learned at Columbia:

1. The websites Print at CU, Housing at CU, Laundry View, and the Columbia Directory of Courses will all make your life easier (I didn’t know about the directory until junior year!). Both Dining and Athletics have mobile apps if you’re into either of those things. SSOL has a lot more stuff on it than you would think so take the time to click all the buttons. Through google labs you can divide your inbox into unread at the top and read at the bottom = solid gold. Asana is a project managing app that will help you organize your life – if used along with the app Cue, you will never miss a to do.
   
2. You can be a good leader without being a politician. One typically requires manipulating those around you while the other does not. I use to think being a leader was about making noise, never trusting the vaguely termed “administration” and generally being aggressive. But here’s the thing; the only way to get people to listen to you is to have them respect you. I learned through trial and error that well-articulated logic, negotiation and compromise will get you much farther than throwing tantrums and telling lies.
3. It’s not weird to have no good friends, an iffy GPA, and intense anxiety about your future all at the same time. I wish someone had told me that along with the wonderful fact that each of those insecurities CAN AND WILL be resolved over your four years here. Good friends are made through shared experiences and time spent together – of course it’ll take a year or two to find those! You’re in a completely new academic environment that is more rigorous than most grad programs – of course it’ll take you time (it took me 3 semesters) to figure out how to study or write that perfect paper! As for the last one – all you can ask of yourself is your best. Once you know you’re putting your best into your work, applications, etc., there is really no point in worrying. Your self-esteem cannot rely on little successes and failures that will figure themselves out. Life at Columbia is so good once you’re confident in who you are and what you’re doing.

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Last night was part deux of CCSC’s thrilling constitutional review session. And let me assure you: It. Was. Thrilling. Boring as fuck. Admittedly, it was somewhat heartening to see the Council address issues that should have been addressed a long time ago, and in such a short period of time no less! To paraphrase CCSC President Karishma Habbu paraphrasing Hamlet: Efficiency, thy name is CCSC… sometimes.

Honor Code: In light of ESC’s decision to reject the implementation of an honor code, a few changes had to be made to the resolution drafted by CCSC Student Affairs Rep Steven Castellano and Committee on Instruction Rep Bob Sun. The council voted unanimously to include the new amendments – a version that has already been approved by the COI – so Castellano and Sun will now move forward with getting the code printed on syllabi/exams as well as planning discussions with first years during NSOP.

Constitutional Review: After a lengthy discussion about percentages and numbers and blah blah blah, the council voted to include a constitutional amendment that would allow students to launch their own ballot initiatives. The amendment stipulates that if a student collects a number (10% of the College student body) of signatures in favor of their measure, they can present it to the Council for a vote. While the Council reserves the right to amend the resolution before passing it, the new amendments may be struck if 10% of CC students disagree with them. In the event that the Council votes the proposed measure down, it goes to a student body-wide vote. Furthermore, these resolutions can include any recommendation, even, as 2013 Class Prez Ryan Mandelbaum wondered, “razing Low to the ground,” which followed by a collective, “Actually…”.  The amendment passed last night includes further language regarding criteria for submitting the petition and the timeframe in which CCSC must vote on the initiative. The amendment can be viewed in full by downloading the document here.

All other proposed constitutional amendments were characterized as “mundane” either because they concerned changes in the language or were otherwise “out of date” and will go to an electronic vote this week.

The past guides the future.

“That was a silly meeting, but we got some good things done.” – Prezbu. That pretty well sums it up.

Representatives from the Columbia College Alumni Association and Columbia College Young Alumni stopped by to update and solicit feedback from the council. Two alumni affairs-related issues they’ve noted are 1) that there’s a barrier between students and alumni and 2) why the hell do people say they’re gonna come to alumni events and then not come to events?! Guys. Not cool. They’ll be pursuing these further in the upcoming months.

While some councils are splitting up, others are considering unification. Last night council members heard a presentation from President-Elect Daphne Chen on a resolution that would create a task force to explore a merger of CCSC & ESC.

The exploration was justified given the many “synergies” that exist between the SEAS and CC student body: they live in the same dorms, eat at the same dining halls, share some of the same administrators, etc. Per the current system, the resolution says, “there are a number of inefficiencies in the current student governance structure” that unification could streamline.

The proposed exploratory task force would be comprised of 6-8 students including the student body presidents of CCSC and ESC, VPs Policy for CCSC and ESC, one member from SEAS and CC student bodies not currently on either council (who would be chosen by their respective student body presidents), and lastly, a point not included in the original resolution, two council members (one from ESC and one from CCSC) who would be appointed based on application.

There was some concern whether GSSC should be brought into the discussion. After all, GSSC does share much more academic similarity with CC than SEAS. Wouldn’t this further the rift between CC/SEAS and GS? Nevertheless, the so-called “synergies” that exist between CC and SEAS trumped those that exist between CC and GS, as well as the fact that the GS council itself apparently operates quite differently from either CCSC or ESC. The resolution passed 27-1.

Steven Castellano had yet another starring role on the council’s agenda, this time presenting on academic integrity, a campaign he’s led along with Committee on Instruction representative Bob Sun. Castellano will present the full resolution next week, but wanted to jumpstart conversation so that it wouldn’t drag on (and on) during next meeting. Essentially, the policy would have two parts: the pledge, which would be said during convocation, other communal events, and which people would write in a large book (a compendium, to keep the C-theme going), and the code, which would be the actual rules.

Ideally, the code would also appear on syllabi and blue books, however that posed a problem since Barnard has its own code yet students take the same exams. A lot of the conversation was tabled until next week when Castellano and Sun can find out more about the blue book situation and whether GS and SEAS would be interested in adopting this code/pledge as well.

Updates:

Class of 2016 will hold a class picnic, as will Class of 2014

2015 has two upcoming lunches, one with Dean Shollenberger and the other with Dean Martinez

2013 is hosting a swim test event for seniors on Friday where they’ll be giving out rubber duckies

You guys knew these already, which is why we haven’t posted them yet… We thought letting you forget about CCSC elections for a while would make them more exciting.

Anyhow, congratulations again to all the newly elected members!

• Executive Board: It’s Always Sunny At Columbia (Daphne Chen, Briana Saddler, Bob Sun, Peter Bailinson, Noah Swartz)
• Senate: Jared Odessky
• Student Services Representatives: Loxley Bennett and Chris Godshall
• Academic Affairs Representative: Nora Habboosh
• Alumni Affairs Representative: Daniel Liss
• Pre-Professional Representative: Mary Joseph
• 2016 Class Council: Ramis Wadood (P), Grayson Warrick (VP), Anne Scotti, Richin Kabra, Benjamin Kornick
• 2015 Class Council: Michael Li (P), Uchechi Iteogu (VP), Liam Bland, Kareem Carryl, Jackson Tse
• 2014 Class Council: Conan Cassidy (P), Joanna Kelly (VP), Ben Xue, Zach Vargas-Sullivan, Sarita Patankar

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

It’s a metaphor for the changes in our future

Bwog sent our top agent, Maren Killackey, to Sunday night’s exciting CSCC meeting. This is her report.

Though initially excited – yes, excited – about the number of audience members at the CCSC meeting, my joy subsided to a disappointing realization that most people were only there to get their elections formed signed. ‘Tis the season.

Updates:

• Academic Affairs Rep Steven Castellano submitted the first-year pass-fail proposal this week.

• Environmental Rep Grayson Warrick discussed Earth Week, which will kickoff April 22.

• The Senate’s sending around its Quality of Life survey and are giving away over $3000 in prizes for people who complete it.

• The Class of 2015 will hold their formal event on Hudson Terrace this Thursday.

• The Class of 2014 will host a post-Bacchanal event.

• The Class of 2013 has another Lerner Pub on Thursday and is throwing a swim test event for seniors on April 19.

Ch-ch-changes: ABC President Saketh Kalathur stopped by to present on the reforms the board has recently made and make a pitch for the ABC representative elections coming up. The majors ones are:

• The appeals process is being replaced by a more direct procedure wherein student groups that need additional funding will go directly to the JCCC.

• Rather than continuing the two week new group recognition process, which is fun for no one, there will be one New Group Recognition Day.

• ABC awards are back and will be given to clubs in a variety of categories: ABC Group of the Month, Best Collaborator, ABC Group of the Year. Award amounts will vary from $50-$500 and will fall under the category of revenue, meaning groups can spend it however they want.

• Elections for the 13 ABC reps will transition to a direct democracy, so only groups that fall under the same category (i.e. dance groups, vocal groups, etc.) will vote for their representative.

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Just wouldn’t be as good without the hole.

Our great leaders at CCSC meet weekly, and Maren Killackey reports what went down this week.

A mercifully short meeting thanks to a hellish week:

First was an announcement from Dean of Residential Programs Cristen Kromm regarding RC@C facilitators. The RC@C program aims to teach incoming first years that drugs are “bad” and alcohol is “dangerous”  about how to engage in thoughtful conversation about substance issues. If that sounds like your thing apply by Friday, March 15…just before you leave for Spring Break. Oh the impending irony.

Updates:

• The Class of 2014 will host a brunch the day after Bacchanal, is co-hosting an event with the Columbia College Young Alumni (CCYA) association, and will hold their second formal of the semester on May 4. They’re also planning an end of the semester picnic.
• Sophomores look out for more information about the upcoming formal at Hudson Terrace.
• 2016 will host a pre-St. Patty’s Day party.
• The new EcoReps liaison announced that Columbia made the latest Princeton Review’s list of the 21 greenest colleges.
• Are you a fan of campus bureaucracies? Ok, well, what about free food? Then head over to SGB elections in the Diana Oval this Tuesday.
• For another installation of Bagel-palooza, Campus Life will be handing out bagels in Carman lounge Wednesday.
• Community Impact is starting an assessment of service learning on campus.
• Academic Affairs hero Steven Castellano continues his quest to finalize the freshman pass/fail policy. The Academic Affairs team sent out a survey recently to gather more students’ opinions on it.

Chris Godshall CC ’15 was affirmed for the recently vacated pre-professional liaison position.

The council also heard presentations from candidates applying to the Ivy Council head delegate position. Speaking on the qualities of a strong head delegate, former head delegate Arvind Ahmadi CC’14 emphasized that it’ll important for the Ivy Council to establish a stronger presence on campus and build a strong contingent for future Leadership Summits. After hearing from all four applicants, the council voted to appoint Julian Richardson CC’14.

Happy Monday folks!  An early morning press release from CCSC gives us our first official announcement about the Columbia Music Festival (swanky website here), a week(ish) long collaboration between CCSC, Live at Lerner, WBAR, WKCR, Bacchanal, and Postcrypt.

The first event of the week is CCSC’s Synaesthesia Kickoff Concert on Tuesday, April 9, where Hoodie Allen will be performing.  Glass House Rocks Battle of the Bands winners Lubeen and Standard Delivery will be opening for him.  The concert will be in Roone Arledge Auditorium–doors open at 7 pm, first come first serve.

Also of note: the fest worked out an agreement with the Office of Res Programs to get food trucks on campus for the week. Get pumped!

Full press release after the jump

Where CCE and CCSC will take you.

Ever wonder what goes on in the weekly mysterious CCSC meetings? Wonder no more, because we sent Maren Killackey on a magical mission to find out for you. Here’s a report:

Because it’s not adult life if your parents still pay for your Blackberry…

Dean of CCE Kavita Sharma along with Niamh O’Brien, CCE Undergraduate Director, dropped by to discuss the many events and programs the center holds each year as well as to solicit the Council’s feedback on what other career services students are looking for. After detailing the myriad of opportunities CCE offers, each named with varying levels of acronymic success (CCASIP, CEE, CEO, CCA, STEP, CAE… the list goes on), the two fielded questions from council and audience members.

One of the first and perhaps most obvious questions regarded CCE’s efforts to diversify industry networking events and listings on LionSHARE. Sharma answered that that’s one of the Center’s most pressing goals, however a big part of it means finding organizations that understand how to present the position they’re offering in a way that is (or at least appears to be) fulfilling for students. She added if the listing’s not up to snuff, the CCE team will often press employers to pay students.

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Good job guys

Last night at their weekly meeting, Maren Killackey was impressed by CCSC.

For once, there is no snark. No cheap shots, no embarrassing quotes, or slight misinformation because, let’s face it, no one cares. Before descending into a sappy metaphor about some particularly efficient student government meeting (is there anything more sad?), I’ll leave it at “yesterday’s meeting was everything a CCSC meeting should be. Period.”

EcoReps stopped by to present on its bike share pilot program, which they’ve been working on for the past few years. After issuing a student interest survey last semester, they realized there’s huge demand among students for such a program. Although they launched a very small scale pilot last spring, the project was just marginally successful, especially since there were only 8 “janky” bikes… and it rained. This year they’re partnering with various bike share contractors around the city to provide a selected number of students 16 or so bikes to use at their leisure (more or less) FOR FREE during the last month of school. When asked about their target demographic, EcoReps answered that in the forseeable future, the bike share would cater to CC and SEAS students (no other schools yet) who want to have a bike in the city but have reservations about something that would take up an all-too dear 12 sq. ft. of space or just don’t want to spend the money to buy one. “Ideally, this would be a school wide initiative,” said Irene Jacqz, SEAS ‘13, who’s part of the EcoReps bike share team, “where grad students and faculty would be able to use it.” But this is a few more years down the road. Though funding is mostly covered now, they hope that as the program expands, CCSC might consider a co-sponsorship.

ADI, WTF, and more updates after the jump

Love, 2016

The fine folks of CCSC met, as they are wont to do, last night. Maren Killackey was there. 

It was noticeably empty Sunday night in the Satow room; both CCSC President Karishma Habbu and VP Communications Jared Odessky were absent, and some questioned whether there were enough council members present to meet quorum. Those that weren’t there didn’t miss much, though; thanks to a light agenda (and closed section (#transparencymuch?)), the meeting was mercifully quick.

Updates:

• The Class of 2013 will be getting their sweaters on Wednesday.
• 2014 hosted a showing of “Skyfall” on Friday, and handed out Insomnia cookies at midnight.
• 2015 will be working with CSA to host a series of major events, including one hour sessions during which underclassmen can talk to upperclassmen about what it’s like in their field of study. There’ll be a CC dinner discussion sign up via CCE,  and this Friday is the “Go Lions Go” pre game for our basketball game against Princeton.
• 2016 is getting ready to sell class apparel. They’re offering pinnies and sports bras (yes, sports bras), so be sure to show your “support” (***WINK***) for 2016. The class council is also working on getting routers in the dining halls. And the award for class that’s most on it is…
• Academic Affairs Rep Steven Castellano reports that the progress on having first semester freshman year classes be pass/fail is looking good! However, it’s TBD whether Core classes will be subject to the policy. There’s also a question of whether prerequisites for pre-med, especially, (like Gen Chem) will count, though Castellano is confident they will especially since MIT already employs this policy apparently without problem.

Even more news after the jump.

Financial Aid’s mascot

CCSC’s up to its old tricks again. Bwog sent Student Council Celebrator Maren Killackey to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. Here’s what she found:

Dean Marinaccio stopped by to discuss some of the reforms the Office of Financial Aid has undertaken since reviewing the results of their internal review aka that thing you kept getting emails about in the fall… of 2011. Despite the delays, the changes are proving effective:

• Many students have already experienced dramatically shorter wait times during walk-in hours now that they no longer have to wait for their particular aid officer
• There’s been an increase in responsiveness thanks to a new email system and four new staff members
• Communication between both students and other administrative offices has improved. For example, the number of students  with $1K in the hole who had been booted from registration fell impressively, from 850 to 48.

In the upcoming months, the OFA will continue its efforts to reach out to students, including working with the student-run Common Cents project to create more opportunities to learn about managing your own finances. Also, as head of Undergrad Admissions as well as Financial Aid, Dean Marinaccio expressed excitement about the uptick in admission applications, an emotion that graciously overshadowed any sense of complete and utter dread (So. Much. Paperwork). She also says the office will wait with bated breath the Fisher v. Texas decision, which, in addition to possibly rendering PrezBo irrelevant, would limit the information admissions personnel can use in their decisions to admit students. If you have any questions about fin aid or- heaven knows why- undergraduate admissions, you can reach Dean Marinaccio at jm996@columbia.edu.

Read on, read on in majesty

The community table is a cornucopia of love

This semester, Columbia dining, CCSC ’16, and ESC ’16 have implemented a new idea in the John Jay dining hall: the Community Table. Intended to build community within Columbia, but especially within the freshman class, this new addition seemed like a nice way to spice up your meal with awkward small talk engaging conversation. We sent Daring Diner Artur Renault to experience it.

Since I’m the luckiest man in the world, I have Lit Hum from 6 to 8 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s wonderful. Not only am I freed from the burden of going to any guest speakers or early weekend celebrations, but I’m also allowed the pleasure of having dinner at a perfectly appropriate hour: 5:30 pm. I usually eat alone, because most of my friends are normal people who eat at normal times.

But last night, I decided to have an adventure. I saw the blue sign—”Columbia Community Table: Expand your Columbia pride!”—and decided to try it out.

I could feel the sense of community bubbling in my veins as I ate alone and envisioned writing a GonzoBwog about how you can’t have a Community table if you don’t have People in it. But upon finishing my salad, I looked up and saw three girls leave their bags at the opposite end, cheering “yaaaaaay community table” with feigned but sincere excitement. “Maybe this isn’t that big of a fail,” I thought.

See the outcome after the break

What it feels like to be in CCSC at the start of the semester

CCSC is back, and so is Bwog’s coverage of it. We sent someone to report on this magical mystery: Maren Killackey. Here’s her account:

After a slight mixup with the Georgian Students Association (yeah, it exists) regarding whose turn it was to use the Satow room (cue typical-Columbia-with-its-space-issues eyeroll/politically incorrect and unfunny joke about South Ossetia), CCSC members gathered together for the first time this semester for its bi-annual discussion of existential things that don’t matter… well, at least not yet.

To sum things up:

• There was the usual speech about improving communication and streamlining information member-to-member and council-to-student body.
• CCSC President Karishma Habbu emphasized that this semester, the council needed to focus on “seeing things through” and being mindful of their roles as student leaders.
• There’ll be no more of that talking in circles business.
• Blah blah blah wellness.

Details and actual action after the jump