Picking classes for next semester

With spring registration only a few weeks away, Monday night’s SGA meeting focused heavily on advising, with the help of some celebrity guest deans. Political preppie Joe Milholland brings you the scoop on Barnard’s human rights major, mug drives and other beary important news. 

At Monday night’s SGA meeting, Dean of Studies and advisor to the senior class Natalie Friedman and First-Year Class Dean and Dean for Academic Assistance Rebecca Grabiner came to talk about advising at Barnard. Advising admins spend a good deal of the year matching new students with academic possibilities depending on those students’ interests. A very high number of students want to major in human rights this year, and Barnard only has one human rights professor, so Advising has been looking for professors with interests in that area. “We want students to have as many adults in their lives as possible,” said Friedman of her goals.

This year, Advising has been looking into first-generation or “First-in-Family” students and pre-professional students. For the first time this year, any Barnard student who wants tutoring can get free peer-to-peer student help. Advising needs tutors in calculus, biology, economics, and almost any language, but especially Arabic. Barnard student tutors are paid $15 an hour.

As the deans talked to the SGA members, Friedman admitted that the training for advisors has been “kind of thin,” and asked for recommendations for programs because she didn’t believe students would show up to admin-planned programs. “We’re not as plugged into social media as we could be,” Friedman admitted.

Updates:

• There will be a mug drive in Liz’s Place to collect and reuse mugs as part of sustainability initiatives. There is also a logo design contest for students. Admissions for the logo are open until November 7. The logos will be laminated onto mugs that Liz’s Place receives and will feature a “sustainable Barnard theme.” There is a 15% discount for customers who use reusable mugs. There’s also a dishwasher in Liz’s Place the workers will use.
• Barnard students not going home during Thanksgiving Break can sign up to have a Thanksgiving dinner with a Barnard alumnus.

There’s only one human rights class here?!?! via Shutterstock