World peace: contains a few people

The last of the proposals of how to spend the $32,000 endowment are in. Remember: you can’t vote on them, but your trusty SGA representatives can. Go cajole them. Bwog Barnard Babe Lauren Beltrone reports.

Before we go into the new proposals, it’s worth mentioning that SGA has a new VP of Communications! Emily Klein (BC ’15), an Urban Studies major who transferred to Barnard this year, is excited to be on the board and do some communicating.

Claudia Flores (BC ’15) is vying for a smoothie bar on campus. Picture this, but in the corner of the Altschul Atrium and with a little less neon. The presenter wants the smoothie bar to be an alternative for to-go food, decreasing the traffic in Liz’s Place and the Diana Center Café and offering healthy snacks like salad and hummus. Flores even worked out some of the finer details, proposing that the café be named “Bloom” (to give it a fresh, springy vibe), serve smoothies named after notable Barnard figures (“Hi, can I get a 16oz DSpar with extra protein powder?), and play WBAR to promote student clubs. Unlike many plans to better utilize the space in Altschul, this idea does not kick the science kids out of the building.

Lauren Malotra-Gaudet (BC ’15) talked to us about the need for a safe, secure, and accessible LGBTQ space on campus. While the location is still to be determined, the space would include a resource center complete with a zine lending library (thanks to a partnership with the Barnard Zine Library), books, and big comfy couches. As of now, the only community space is the Stephen Donaldson Lounge in the basement of Furnald, which is why Moltra-Gaudet stresses the need for a more visible and Barnard-specific space.

Next on the docket was Rachel Harrus (BC ’16), proposing a bike (and possibly scooter) share program to make our campus ecosystem more sustainable. According to Harrus, bike sharing is a trend on college campuses across the United States, so there’s a lot of information and programs out there for us to use. Our program would be similar to the bike share program EcoReps has in the works at Columbia, storing the bikes wherever there’s space (basement of Barnard Hall, residence hall lobbies) to be used at our disposal. The presenter believes such a program would benefit students’ mental health and encourage us to experience the neighborhood more.

Emily Lefton Goldstein (BC ’14) wants the money to go to fitness-related causes on campus. The Physical Education Department at Barnard has been cut from 11 to 3 full-time faculty members. All of the fitness related classes are maxed out, and FitBear offerings sell out every single semester. According to Department Chair Lisa Northrop, the issue is lack of studio space, so Goldstein is proposing the implementation of studio space on the 17th floor of Sulzberger and the 6th floor of the Diana. She also envisions a re-vamping of the track, including new paint and accompanying stationary bikes.

Ayelet Pearl (BC/JTS ’14) and Avital Stolzenberg-Myers (BC/JTS ’14) told us about the Barnard Tunnel Project, an initiative to showcase artistic talents in a permanent exhibition in the tunnels. The exhibit would feature modern-day counterparts to the images already hanging in the tunnels, accepting photography on a submission-basis. The project be of minimal cost, spending money only to print the ten new images and re-print the ten old ones, and mount everything.

Finally, for the sixth and last proposal, we heard from Gwendolyn Gallagher (BC ’14) about creating a group study space on the 3rd floor of Altschul. The presenter notices a lack of group study space on campus, so with a little white board paint and a dozen dry erase markers (there’s already desks), the space would instantly be converted into group-study paradise. The entire proposal would cost about $450 and require no upkeep, and the white board even comes with a 10-year warrantee. What’s not to love.

For the last 10 minutes of the meeting, two representatives from MilVets shared news about their ongoing project called “Operation Columbia Cares,” which brings Columbia students together to make and ship care packages for members of the military who have ties to Columbia. Look out for an event on February 12th in Lerner. They’re also organizing a Toys 4 Tots drive this year. You can find donation boxes at the tree lighting ceremony today and by the entrance to the Lerner Party Space.

Proposals and assemblies via Wikimedia