This just in from Sarah Ngu, who followed the exhaustive debate at the Senate’s plenary session this afternoon. However, the decision to recommend that the university’s schools implement public course evaluations does not mean they are mandated to release the evaluations.

For the majority of the debate, which lasted an hour and a half, the general tide of opinion appeared to be decidedly against the proposal. Opposition was especially strong from representatives of humanities departments, while those from the econ department, and from the Law, Medical, and Public Health schools supported public evaluations. The four groups in support have all used some variety of public evaluation system for several years, and insisted that they had not encountered any of the hypothetical problems that drew out protracted discussion. (You can read Sarah’s in-depth account of arguments for and against public course evaluations here.)

The Faculty Caucus and the Faculty Affairs Committee stated their opposition to the measure, but finally, when a representative from Mailman insisted it was time to vote, a surprisingly significant majority approved the recommendation, perhaps out of exasperation.

The final vote, which saw the largest turnout of the year, was 44 votes for, 12 against, with no abstentions.

This afternoon, at 1:15 pm in Jerome Green Hall, the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) will bring a ground-breaking resolution to the Senate floor: public course evaluations. Well… ground-breaking for Columbia. Resident Know-It-Most Sarah Ngu brings us up to speed on what this means and why it could be a BFD.

Why don’t we already publicize online course evaluations?

We used to. Up until 1994, Columbia published a course catalog with course evaluations, but it seems to have “gone out of business” as they were sold to students. See photos of evaluations of past course guides. As it stands, the Business, Journalism, SIPA and Law Schools all have public course evaluations; Harvard, Yale and Princeton have had open course evaluations for several years now.

Isn’t CULPA enough?

CULPA draws polarizing views, but this issue is beyond course evaluations.

“It’s about effecting the beginning of a culture change, a culture of openness and transparency. It brings faculty and students closer. There’s mutual accountability,” Frouman says.

“One of the problems with closed systems is that students don’t feel their opinion matters and have no idea where this is going to. Opening it will make students take it more seriously, response rates will go up—these things benefit faculty as well,” Sara Snedeker, BC ’12, co-chair of the course evaluations subcommittee.

“This is also a great opportunity for the University to examine the evaluation process in general and make sure that we’re asking the questions we need to be asking,” Ryan Turner, SEAS Grad ’12, co-chair of the same committee.

So… what’s this Senate thing?

Formed after the riots of the ‘60s, the Senate is a representative body of the entire university, including faculty, administrators and students. Bringing this resolution to the floor forces it on to the Senate’s discussion agenda. The actual voting will most likely occur on April 27th (the entire Senate convenes monthly). If the resolution does pass, it doesn’t make publicizing evaluations compulsory for all schools, but it encourages schools to do so with the expectation that they will implement it with consideration of each school’s needs. The Senate is comprised of around 60% faculty, so their resolutions will hold weight with the rest of the faculty.

Find out what the resolution contains, and more, after the jump.

Oral fixation

A sparse handful of senators and spectators filled the giant Jerome L. Greene lecture hall to debate the merits of the newly proposed campus-wide smoking ban. A vote on the ban might take place at this Friday’s full Senate meeting. Bwog dutifully sent our Tobacco Bureau Chief to bring you unfiltered coverage.

With participants and interested listeners only sprinkled throughout the sizable room, the hearing was left largely without a sense of real purpose. This air of illegitimacy was highlighted by attendees’ needs to periodically anounce their own statuses as smokers—yes, no, only-when-drunk—throughout the meeting. There were only a few main topics presented, which were speckled with a handful of opinions and clarifications. An approximate synopsis:

The Students for a Sensible Drug Policy representative spoke at length about how the university needs to frame the discussion in terms that reflect the medical implications of tobacco as a drug. The speaker was careful to say that tobacco use should not be glorified, but suggested that the debate too often creates a false dichotomy between smokers and non-smokers, when in reality if we are to examine this from a public health angle, it’s only the health of the community with which we should be ultimately concerned (Spotted: Jeremy Bentham smiling over in his glass case). To operate in a framework that pits the two sides against each other is unnecessarily adversarial. Additionally, SSDP reminded those present that there are certain health costs associated with a drug ban, and there needs to be adequate health resources available to habitual drugs users who are dramatically affected.

A GS student then argued that a campus-wide ban would result in a concentration of smokers around the few entrances/exits to campus, and that this would in fact affect more pedestrians with a higher concentration of smoke. In effect, we would just push the smokers from in front of Butler to in front of the gates.

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The Senate has released its final resolution regarding military engagement, building off of last week’s draft resolution. It’s going to be presented to the University Senate at tomorrow’s plenary meeting–Bwog is waiting for word on whether or not it will be voted on.

The preambulatory clauses are phrased and ordered slightly differently, but the operative clauses are exactly the same. Those are below.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

That Columbia University welcomes the opportunity to explore further mutually beneficial relationships with the Armed Forces of the United States, including participation in the programs of the Reserve Officers Training Corps; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

That Columbia University reaffirms University Statutes III § 35 (Powers of the Faculties Excepting Arts and Sciences and Health Sciences), XXIX § 293 (Powers of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences), and XXXIII § 333 (Powers of the Faculty of Health Sciences), that questions of academic credit, faculty appointments, academic governance, and space allocation shall remain the sole and exclusive domain of the Provost, of the faculties of the affected schools, and of their several deans, as shall not contravene the Charter of Columbia College (enacted 1787, amended 1810), the University Statutes, or any resolution of the Trustees or of the University Senate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

That any further relationships with the Armed Forces of the United States, beginning with relationships that may arise as a result of this resolution, shall be subject to periodic review by the appropriate committees of the University Senate …

You can read the full text here.

That was fast! The Student Affairs Committee of the University Senate has just announced that it will form a task force on ROTC starting in the spring semester in light of yesterday’s DADT repeal.

Next semester, the task force will hold open hearings on Columbia’s military engagement and conduct a survey on ROTC. The Senate states that their top priority is that “the student voice is heard. Thus, this will be a student-driven, not a faculty-dominated, process.”

Full press release after the jump.

The University Senate has unanimously recommended that PrezBo and The Trustees (playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg next week) consider creating an interim Graduate Student Center. And that incredibly sillily-named committee has ideas!

They argued that Columbia’s peer institutions have space dedicated to its graduate students and that such a space would increase a sense of community among grad students. Other reasons cited include a common space for grad students on the Morningside and Medical Center campuses, as well as new funds to build the center, and space to build it in.

The committee has suggested six possible locations for the Student Center: 538 W. 114th St, space within Earl Hall, former Psych library (Schermerhorn), former Chem library (Chandler), former Bio. Sciences library (Fairchild), former Physics library (Pupin).

On the ashes of Columbia’s natural sciences resources, a place for your TAs to talk about Kant and ask each other on dates to 1020 may blossom.

Here’s the full recommendation from the University Senate:
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There has been a lot of discussion over the issue of the academic calendar and exams on December 23rd. Today the Senate passed a resolution aimed at resolving some of the problems by allowing students to reschedule December 23rd exams. Dane Cook was Bwog’s man in the room.

This is what the University Senate looks like when PrezBo is there.

The Columbia University Senate convened this afternoon in the august World Room of the Journalism School for the last plenary session of the year. The session began by noting the absence of Provost Steele and President Bollinger (who has been called away “on business” to Washington D.C.), but Senate Chair Sharyn O’Halloran offered reassurance of the administration’s commitment to cooperation and involvement with the Senate and that their attendance will be encouraged in the future.

Among the range of topics addressed during the session, several stand out for their potential implications for students:

• Graduating seniors who have not yet landed permanent employment should take solace in the fact that the Alumni Relations Committee intends to focus its efforts on the development of career services for alumni. Currently, little to no such services exist, and the committee expressed the need to broaden resources and enhance communication.

• The budget review was resoundingly positive. Have no fear; the endowment is in good hands.

• The Information and Communications Technology Committee reported its findings from a recent survey regarding the effectiveness of technology throughout Columbia. Though still sorting through approximately 4,000 survey responses, the committee is particularly interested in the use of eReaders and hopes to cut down the University’s paper consumption in the near future. Also, Committee Chair Julia Hirschberg expressed support for a new system to replace Courseworks and noted the much-needed improvement of Columbia’s webmail interface, which she described as “awful.” CubMail, awful? You don’t say!

The issue of the day, however, was the resolution regarding finals scheduling. The resolution proposes a petitioning process for students who cannot stick around until December 23rd to attend a final exam. The new process piggybacks off of the procedure already in place for students to reschedule if they have more than two exams on one day. The resolution states as follows:

“No student at Columbia University shall be required to take a final examination on December 23rd of any year or later if such exam administration would present undue hardship.”

Chair Elect of the Student Affairs Committee Tao Tan (CC ’07, CBS ’11) was certainly pleased with the result. “This is a win for students,” he said.

But figure out your final schedule early: to reschedule an exam, you must submit a petition by December 1st, which must then be approved by the faculty member involved and your dean. Although this process may prove inconvenient, don’t fret over approval; the resolution states, “…there will be a strong presumption that the rescheduling request will be granted.”

Although more academic calendaring issues still loom on the horizon, it seems students have won this round.

The resolution can be viewed here (PDF).

In a recent email sent out to SEAS students, the University Senate Elections Commission asked them to “reconsider how SEAS students are elected to the Senate.” This move was prompted by graduate engineering students voicing concerns that they felt underrepresented. Indeed, the survey asks only one question: Should the SEAS student body be separated into undergraduate and graduate voting groups that would each elect one student to the University Senate?

Rajat Roy, SEAS ’10 and 3-year University Senator, sent an email out tonight expressing his opposition to this proposed change. He argues that by mandating one graduate and one undergraduate Senator, SEAS would be divided and its representation in the University as a whole would be made weaker.

The original email and Rajat’s response can be found after the jump.

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The USenate committee confidentiality proposal will be debated this Friday.  PrezBo will weigh in.

The city hates your metal gates.  Except those like the ones over dorm windows.

Xavier Sala-i-Martin does not have a tailor in the US.  Nor can you buy his jackets.

Surprise! Cab drivers don’t care about bicyclists.

More evidence in the Yale murder case.

The latest from the world of student government:

• As part of the push to open more rooms for student use (after the giant disappointment that was the opening of Lerner 6), the four councils have secured space in Broadway and Schapiro for future student group use.  To help determine the best use of the space, students from all four undergraduate colleges are being asked to fill out a “Campus Space Survey.”
• University Senate sources tell Bwog that any Senate action on the smoking ban is “a long way off,” and the ban is not popular with many Senators.  As for the survey, student government members tell Bwog that the release of students’ UNIs requires signoff from a dean in each school, which has slowed the release of the survey.
• After last week’s passage of the resolution on “gender-neutral housing,” the various Deans are now “in conversation,” and said conversation should finish before Winter Break.
• Both ESC and CCSC passed a resolution creating a Varsity Show Technical Fund; the show ended last year with a large surplus, and hopes to use the money to help other arts groups. The fund will be administrated by CCSC, ESC, and GSSC (which is voting on the resolution tonight).
• In today’s most ironic development, CUIT has told CCSC that it is open to switching to a Google App for that mail system you forward to Gmail Cubmail. Ever better: CUIT claims it’s always been open to switching, but students just forwarded their email to Gmail instead of complaining.

- MMT, photo via Flickr

Andrew Cuomo v.  the President of 9/11 (NY Post).

The University Senate gets meta (Spec).  

There’s something in the water at Harvard (Gawker). 

The Office of Multicultural Affairs: Where Everyone Knows Your Name  (Spec).

Rachel Ray saves the world with whole-wheat flatbread and free-range chicken (CityRoom).

Hipsters worry that Williamsburg = Belfast circa 1970 (NY Daily News).

Last night, the Engineering Student Council voted to impeach Senator Rajat Roy. Roy was up on impeachment charges for allegedly having hurt ESC’s relationship with other senators and schools by actions including using improper language with a Business School senator. 

The impeachment proceedings, according to ESC sources, were initiated by outgoing ESC President Peter Valeiras, who did not comment beyond confirming the impeachment vote. In addition the ESC’s standard procedure of closing impeachment proceedings to press, Roy had invited several of his senate colleagues to speak, but the colleagues were denied entry to the meeting, Valeiras telling them at the door that it was his decision to bar them from the meeting.

Nevertheless, Roy’s Senate colleagues continued to express their support for Roy. CCSC Senator Monica Quaintance told Bwog that Roy is an “invaluable member of senate” and is the “most effective spokesperson for the engineering students.” She also told Bwog that she believes that “ESC does not like that Rajat spends more time on Senate then than [ESC’s] internal affairs.” She also noted that Roy has since “made up” with the Business School senator, and that the two have worked together on Senate since. Another member invited by Roy, who requested anonymity, said that ESC’s impeachment of Roy was motivated by “personal reasons,” an accusation several other ESC and Senate members have previously made to Bwog.

As for the next step, Roy explained to Bwog that though the vote was to impeach, his impeachment does not mean he will be removed from office. He said the action by the council was not really a censure, but more a message from the council that “we want you to change.”

- SVZ and JCD

After presentations, questions, and discussion (all in just over an hour!), CCSC chose Billy Freeland, CC ’09, as the new CCSC senator, replacing Tiffany Dockery.

Freeland, a former Senate candidate who missed out in last spring’s Senate elections by eight votes, won in a runoff over Alex Frouman, a freshman who’s spent his first semester on the CCSC policy committee. The other three candidates were Dov Friedman CC ’09, Michael Marion CC ’09, and Matt Heiman CC ’09 (another two candidates withdrew their names from nomination before the meeting).

UPDATE: Those curious about the selection process, and the rest of the CCSC meeting, can check out the meeting notes.

Wondering what’s going to happen to Tiffany Dockery’s former University Senate seat?

According to CCSC bylaws, the Council will select a new Senator to occupy the seat for the rest of Dockery’s term via nominations from the student body.A nominee must then win 2/3 of the vote of the Council, and voila, a Senator is born.

No word yet on when the nomination process will begin. UPDATE (10:05 PM): CCSC will solicit nominations from the student body until the end of the semester, before interviewing and voting on the candidates.

When released last Monday, it was unclear how the NROTC results would affect the University Senate proceeding with the issue. Not only were the results controversially tallied, but they were not broken down for three of the four schools (Barnard being the exception). 

However, Council and Senate sources confirm to Bwog that NROTC will not even be presented to the Senate. Whether individual school results will be released for CC, SEAS, and GS is still unknown.