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It’s another scandalous day in the Ivy League. Patrick Witt, the Yale quarterback who was lauded as a sports hero after he opted to play in the Harvard-Yale game rather than sit for his Rhodes Scholarship interview, has been accused of sexual assault. Turns out the Rhodes committee found out about the (unofficial) accusation and suspended Witt’s candidacy before the interview. (IvyGate, NYT)

Perhaps having heard recent student complaints, Obama has promised to work on bringing the cost of college down. No word yet on his plans for the Hamilton elevator. (NYMag)

If this doesn’t seem like an exciting occasion for political action to you, you’re not alone. According to a new study, college students these days are more liberal but less politically active. (HuffPo)

No matter how traumatized you were by your freshman roommate, these stories will remind you that it’s all relative. A warning to the brave souls who read them: graphic squirrel violence awaits. (Gawker)

POTUS via Wikimedia Commons

Senior Satow Correspondents Sarah Ngu and Maren Killackey report from this week’s CCSC meeting. Topics covered at the meeting include the financial aid office, Bacchanal and their debts, along with various other policies along the way.

Financial aid, Bacchanal, proper drainage... gotta have those Benjamins!

FinAid:

Student Services Rep Karishma Habbu has continued meetings with administrators from the Undergraduate Office of Financial Aid. It appears the Undergrad OFA is finally beginning to make strides towards an internal review based on the feedback it received from students, oh… last semester.

Bacchanal:

CCSC President Aki Terasaki made the announcement that, after extensive discussions with Dean Schollenberger and Dean Martinez, they have offered to cover the entire Bacchanal debt (though the offer comes with the caveat that a new event review process must be pursued). Terasaki heinously stole USenator Kenny Durell’s thunder as Durell is popularly credited with doing the legwork for the Bacchanal investigation; Durell then made a comprehensive presentation to the Council regarding his inquiry into the event’s financial situation. Durell’s report included a breakdown of Bacchanal’s expected vs. actual costs for last year, which, in the case of security fees, amounted to a difference of more than $9,000 and, in the case of facilities fees, more than $10,000. Although the Deans have agreed to reimburse Bacchanal the “full” $16,107, the total debt was more along the lines of $25,400. That missing $9K chunk was paid for by the Student Government Security Fund and therefore didn’t show up on the books, however it still represents lost Student Life fees.

Policy:

VP Ryan Cho will meet with CC Senators sometime this week about redoing the Pupin Plaza and Amsterdam Bridge. For the seven of you out there who have yet to invest in a solid pair of rainboots, this is particularly good news because in the resolution Cho will discuss is mention of, among other things, plans to fix the infamous Plaza drainage (or rather, lack thereof). Also, in response to some students’ concerns, Cho said definitively that graduate libraries are open to undergraduates, with the exception of the Law library (only during finals) and the top floor of Uris.

Co-sponsorhips:

The Council announced that it would be seeking proportional sponsorship from SGA for Bacchanal, as they do not currently contribute to funding for the even, despite significant Barnard attendance to it.

You Know It’s Finals Season When…:

The meeting ended in record time at 9:00 p.m. It would have ended around 8:55 p.m. had the conversation not unexpectedly descended into excited chatter about what food should be served during next meeting’s Holiday Party.

Cold, hard cash via Wikimedia Commons

Like this bull, many students have questions about Financial Aid

Maren Killackey and Sarah Ngu report in on CCSC’s doings

Student Services Rep Karishma Habbu continues her mission to better the College’s financial aid advising system. She will be meeting with a financial aid office rep this week to discuss a two-tiered approach to tackling the issue: one involving student feedback and the other student education. The latter could entail the creation of a FAQ page to answer such questions as, “Who decides how much people get and where are they trained?” Because there is some information the Undergraduate OFA can’t (won’t?) share, what “basic” actually means will mostly be up to them. If you’re interested, you can e-mail Karishma specific questions you would like her to ask Dean Schaffler.

A lot of the meeting was spent addressing a bias incident at Homecoming involving a few students wearing an offensive Native American headdress. The issue sparked debates regarding what exactly the Council’s position should be in situations of bias, whether there should be disciplinary action taken against those who violate Community Principles non-violently, and yes, how effective Under1Roof really is.

USenator Kenny Durrell reported that he had spoken with VP of CUIT Candace Flemming, and reportedly CUIT is close to signing a contract with Google that would put CubMail on the Gmail system. Great, right? Unfortunately, Gmail has a bit of a compliance issue with the Americans with Disabilities Act they still have to work through before the University will commit.

Despite some hemming and hawing over the TEDxColumbia proposed budget, the Council decided to give the event the full $1,000 requested.

Stuff This Week:

For freshmen especially: On Tuesday from 6-8 pm the Council will host a WTF (What to Fix) event in John Jay to solicit input about… well, what to fix. Questions? Complaints? Head on over to JJ tonight and let your CCSC representatives know about issues you think should be addressed.

Friday, October 28 there will be a LitHum themed Haunted House in Lerner Party Space featuring the likes of Medea, Clytemnestra, and just about any other bloodthirsty citizen of the Ancient world. What could be scarier than being reminded how much reading you already forgot?

Steer in thought via Wikimedia Commons

Although the absurdity of the debt ceiling debate may have made you think that politics are completely out of touch with reality, the Budget Control Act has some very real and important implications for Columbia students receiving financial aid.

First the good news: Pell Grants will continue to be funded through 2013, without a reduction in the maximum allowance of $5,550. As we explained when the bill was passed last year, healthcare reform actually included some very important changes to federal student loans. Columbia prides itself on educating the most Pell recipients of any Ivy League or private research university.

And the bad: the money to keep the Pell Grants alive comes from the elimination of federal subsidies for grad students. Furthermore, for all students with federal loans, benefits for timely payments will most likely be cut, and interest rates see increases, starting July 1, 2012.

The Office of Financial Aid’s e-mail explains the changes in detail after the jump. Read more…

this caterpillar is hairy like SSOL

Just passing on word that tomorrow, August 1st, will mark the beginning of the second summer registration period. According to an email from Barry the registration wizard Kane, registration will “open on Monday morning, August 1st, at 9:30 a.m.” (Wait what? It’s August!) You can add and drop courses till Friday, August 12th. We noticed a couple of newbies sprinkled in there. Feast.

On the fiscal side, tipsters report that financial aid letters are out, but maybe not for all. Air grievances below.

Read more…

Photo via Wikipedia

While much of the hubbub in Washington in recent days has centered on the passage of the healthcare bill, students have yet another reason to celebrate: the passage of a bill set to thoroughly reform the student loan system. The Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act will, in effect, remove the middleman from the student loan process. Basically, students will take out loans directly from the government, not large banks and lenders like Sallie Mae. It’s all in more detail here. Suffice it to say that President Obama is “pretty stoked.”*

*Not a direct quote.

What does this mean for Columbia students? Glad you asked! In an email sent yesterday, Dean of Financial Aid Daniel Barkowitz laid out the details:

This morning, President Obama signed a reconciliation bill that significantly reforms the processing of federal loans and grants for students. In light of this legislation, Columbia University will transition to the Federal Direct Student Loan Program beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year. Read more…

Image courtesy of Facebook

In a school-wide email announcement earlier this afternoon, Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger announced that MIT Financial Aid Director Daniel Barkowitz will be Columbia’s new Dean of Financial Aid and Associate Dean of Student Affairs.

“A financial aid professional with over twenty years of experience in higher education – most recently as Director of Student Financial Aid and Employment for MIT,” Shollenberger wrote in the announcement, “he brings to Columbia a depth of experience and strategic planning skills in the areas of enrollment management and policy development.” Full email after the jump. Read more…

Harvard rejects can always feel bad that Ted Kaczynski was accepted, and now Columbia has its very own esteemed criminal alumni. Esther Reed, a Montana woman who attended Columbia for two years under an assumed identity, was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison for identity theft.

Starting in 2004, Reed spent two years studying in New York under the assumed name Brooke Henson. Reed is pictured on the right, and Henson is on the left. Henson, a South Carolina woman, went missing in 1999. Though police still have a missing persons webpage for her that’s still soliciting leads on her whereabouts, the lead detective believes the real Henson was murdered (Reed was not involved in her disappearance). The working theory is that she stole Henson’s identity after seeing a news story about her. More after the jump Read more…

Since federal subsidies have already led to horrors like Constitution Day, one wonders what silly conditions will be extracted now that Barnard will be issuing more loans directly through the federal government. 

Yes, Barnard has now joined the Federal Direct Loan program, which is already used by schools such as Harvard, Brown, Amherst, Williams, Cornell and MIT. According to an email from Dean Dorothy Denburg (reproduced after the jump), the loan program will eliminate “the middle man,”  actually forgive debt after 10 years in “key public service professions,” and will even have a (relatively) lower interest rate. Unfortunately, Denburg’s email did not include the fine print with the inevitable catch. No word on whether Columbia will be changing participating in the program anytime soon. Read more…

A tipster has just forwarded the following PrezBo Communique to Bwog, in which your President assures recipients that despite the terrifyingly awful economy—PrezBo refers to it as “a landscape largely defined by uncertainty,” but a crisis by any other name…—Columbia will be just fine, thank you.

For one thing, the University is still ahead of schedule Capital Campaign-wise, with over $3 billion in the bank. Still, expect the grant enviornment to “deteriorate further.” 

Regarding financial aid, PrezBo writes: “Let me also make clear that we will not permit the economic downturn to affect Columbia’s long-standing commitment to need-blind admissions and the meeting of full financial need in student aid for undergraduates in the College and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.  We will also work to sustain, and when possible enhance, current levels of financial aid in other schools and programs.”

Full email after the jump.

Read more…

Throwing the baby out with the… bathtub?

Even though it is called the Freedom School, there is still homework.

Barnard steals fancy new financial aid director from… Columbia!

Celebrating forks, knives and spoons.

Celebrating Keira Knightley’s new period drama.

…and the traditional freshman editorial about being satisfied with imperfections. Welcome to the canon.

Columbia joins the “Ivy League arms race.”

In a pinch?  Here’s John Kluge’s wallet.

Centralized planning, Soviet-style!

If a facade falls on 110th street in the middle of the night, does anybody hear it?

Burma Coalition shows some saffron muscle.

Although the formal announcement in all of our inboxes is still pending, the Times has already reported the details of Columbia’s big financial aid plan this morning.

The main points:

• Families making $60,000 or less per year will no longer pay tuition, room and board, or fees as of Fall 2008
• Grants will replace loans in financial aid packages, including those offered to current students.
  
• Families making between $60,000 and $100,000 will have unspecified expanded aid opportunities.

The previous threshold for no-loan aid was $50,000. (Harvard maintains the same standard; compare to $75,000 at gold-standard Cornell and Dartmouth, $45,000 at Yale and $40K at Penn).

Word has it these policies apply to this year’s admits, including those who have already received Early Decision letters. Lucky dogs. There’s no statement posted on the CU website yet, but since the Times quotes PrezBo, we surmise that it can’t be far off. Full statement after the jump. Bottoms up! Read more…

You can watch coverage of their discussion below, including the results from a GS-wide survey about debt and aid—according to GSSC President Niko Cunningham, an average GSer’s debt is three times that of an average CCer. Just another piece of Double Secret Financial Aid News puzzle, which Prezbo is maybe (probably!) solving for us today.

A self-described “mega-anonymous” tipster informs Bwog that CC and SEAS will be annnouncing a “huge” change in financial aid, tomorrow or late today. (GS’s change will be of a more minor nature). 

Perhaps Andrew Delbanco might have gotten his wish after all?  

Bwog will update with details as soon as some materialize.