SGA’s Housing Advisory Board (HAB) just sent us this forthcoming letter to Barnard students. Highlights:

• There are still nine students who have not moved off-campus and have not yet received on-campus housing.
• HAB considered the possibility Housing would convert Plimpton corner singles to doubles, “but never felt that it would prove necessary.”
• HAB is concerned that students forced to live off-campus won’t be well-integrated into the Barnard community.
• Clearly responding to the whole “Housing quietly kicked returning students off the guaranteed waitlist” scandal, HAB says they’ll “ensure that any contractual changes are clearly articulated going forward.”
• There will be town halls in a few weeks!

Dear fellow Barnard students,
We are writing to offer our assistance as your representatives in light of the many changes to housing this summer. We sympathize with and regret the frustrations, burdens, and anxieties that have been raised over the past week. We apologize for the lack of communication and hope that you will join us in a larger conversation moving forward.
We are pleased that 90% of students awaiting assignments have been offered housing for the fall. To Residential Life and other campus offices involved, we thank you for your tireless efforts to accommodate every student. Yet, there remain nine students on the Unguaranteed Wait List who have not yet been placed in campus housing.To all students affected by the shortage, we offer our sincerest apologies for your hardships and will strive to assist your communication with campus offices.

Full statement down here

the old fashioned way to get around the world

Exotic traveller Renée Kraiem returns to report on Monday’s SGA meeting.

So here’s the good news: last night SGA welcomed distinguished guest DSpar, and a hearty crowd present to catch a glimpse of Barnard’s very own First Lady. Answering to a chorus of first-years lamenting “DSpar’s so far away!” from one end of the Diana Café, DSpar didn’t disappoint. But here’s the bad news: most of them were there to talk about Obamanard, a subject which was off the record.

Here’s some more good news, though: while you were signing up for Netflix to mourn the loss of Megavideo, your peers were doing something productive, and actually really cool.

DSpar spoke extensively about this year’s Fourth Annual Global Symposium. Apparently, Barnard faculty, students and administrators arrived to a “strong network that is already there [in Mumbai],” and left with a collection of “newfound best friends.” As one mission of the Symposium is to spread the Barnard name, and increase its value, DSpar was happy to see “a lot of prospective students and their parents there.” The Symposium will be held in Brazil next year, which will mean five continents in five years for the Symposium; the sixth year will coincide with Barnard’s 125^th Anniversary, she said, so Barnard is hoping to bring the conversation back here.

One step forward, two steps back after the jump.