ESC is the lolcats of Student Councils

ESC is the lolcats of Student Councils.

On Monday night Bwogger Keenan Albee infiltrated sat in on this week’s ESC meeting.  After sacrificing a virgin and praying to Galactus, they got down to business. Mr. Albee brings to you their latest tidings, and the news that the Devourer of Worlds is coming here, to Earth. Prepare yourselves.

Things were moving forward as per usual following Engineering Student Council’s two-week fall hiatus. The latest happenings at this Monday’s meeting included talk of a brand-spankin’ new CUIT advisory committee, a visit from CU Dems, prep for doling out project grants, and a slew of other updates. The most important point of discussion by far, though, was why JJ’s Place has begun serving sweet potato fries (which Bwog loves).

But before we fire on to the fries, we have some news to get to. Perhaps the biggest announcement of the night, a new CUIT advisory committee composed entirely of undergrads, is gaining traction in the councils. The new committee, approved by ESC, would be composed of at least six undergrads representing USenate, the Columbia Councils, EcoReps, and the Application Development Initiative (ADI). But why a new committee? Student advocacy for tech issues, the amendment’s proposers said, would help alleviate dredging through the administrative swamp and would parallel an existing committee for housing and dining. A few of the proposed actions for the new committee: advocating open data, creating a global printer queue (looks like you wouldn’t have any of this business anymore), and asserting that students should be involved in creating new technologies for the community.

CU Dems also took the floor to pitch their Campus Assault Transparency campaign to ESC. Their push focuses on the release of an in-depth breakdown of Columbia’s judicial response to those charged with sexual assault, as well as changes to policy at the Rape Crisis Center at Barnard so that Columbia students may get access to its services without a kerfuffle. The movement went over well with ESC members, and a joint undergrad council resolution is slated for voting next week.

Meanwhile, if you, SEASy engineer you are, want to do something incredible for the upcoming 150th anniversary celebration you’ll find you’re in luck. ESC fleshed out the topic of five $1000 project grants, for teams of 4-8 (composed of at least 50% SEAS students), to show off Columbia’s engineering talent. The application, which will require a full project plan, will be made available soon, leaving selected groups with two months to churn out their creations. Cool projects aside, ESC had some more details to squeeze out:

  • Some sort of spirit campaign is in the making, projected to begin around the time of tree-lighting. 4-school pride was mentioned.
  • Carlton Arms is ready to receive WiFi, likely no later than next week.
  • A rough draft of a SEAS honor code is still in the works.
  • Sophomores and juniors will be receiving padfolios sometime soon—this is a tradition now.
  • Chocolate Rain, sponsored by the classes of ’16 and ’17, will be at 9:00 PM on Sunday, November 17th, in Lerner C555. In short, FOOD.
  • Housing will now hold the second-year 3-2 housing lottery in the fall so students know earlier whether they’ll have a Columbia room come September.

 

And oh yeah, no clue what’s up with the fries except that they’re delicious.

ESC meets every Monday at 9:30 PM in the Lerner Satow Room.

ESC with modifications via ShutterStock