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The Barnard BLUE Program’s mission is to present workshops and dialogue for the promotion of social justice and equity

It’s almost the halfway point in the semester, which means we’re moving into Stage 2 of Midterm Stress: Anticipatory Stress (Stage 1 was Anticipation of Anticipatory Stress; Stage 3 will simply be Oh-Shit-I-Guess-This-Is-Happening). During this time of turmoil it’s nice to know that SGA continues to run its meetings like a well-oiled machine. Barnard Bearoness Maddie Stearn is back to report on the agenda that featured presentations on Student Life initiatives, the Quality of Life survey, and JCCC updates.

Associate Dean of Student Life Alina Wong regularly attends SGA meetings as the group’s advisor, but on Monday night she was present in a slightly different capacity. Dean Wong and her colleagues—Assistant Dean Jenn Wells and Program Coordinator Luz Ovalle—provided SGA with a general overview of the Office of Student Life and gave an update on current initiatives. The majority of the presentation was devoted to discussing Barnard BLUE (Building Leadership and Understanding Equity). This relatively new program has three components: 1) the Barnard BLUE Summit, 2) the Barnard BLUE Series, and 3) Discover Barnard BLUE. The summit will take place later this month and will focus on how individuals can incorporate a wide variety of experiences, backgrounds, and identities into leadership development.

In the meantime, Student Life has been sponsoring the Barnard BLUE Series, a set of dialogues and workshops that promote the practice of social justice and equity. Last month the Series sponsored “BLUE Actions: Addressing Racial Microaggressions,” a workshop where participants shared experiences with microaggressions and how these instances can be prevented in the future. The next Series, “Leading Through Transition and Change,” will be held on March 11th at 6:30pm in Diana 302. The workshop will cover how students retain the culture of their club/organization during changes in leadership.

The third tier of Barnard BLUE exists in the form of the NSOP program “Discover Barnard BLUE.” This program, formerly known as “Perspectives on Diversity,” provides an entry point for students to discuss social justice, diversity, and equity.

After hearing from the Office of Student Life, University Senators Erin Bryk and Mark Heinrich presented on the new Quality of Life survey. The University Senate hopes to increase Barnard’s participation this time around to gain a better idea of how quality of life is experienced across all schools. Barnard’s participation was extremely low the last time the survey was published because of a technical glitch preventing Barnard students from accessing the survey until much later than the rest of the University. As an added incentive for taking the survey, the school with the highest participation will receive $2,000 for the event of their choice. Everyone who takes the survey will also be entered into a raffle for 2 Macbook pros, 3 iPads, and several $50 Amazon gift cards.

The rest of the meeting was reserved for JCCC and external updates. Here are the highlights:

  • JCCC tentatively approved $547 for Akido undergrads to attend a competition; SGA voted to approve the allocation of funds.
  • It’s time for everyone to start thinking about elections! SGA is encouraging those who aren’t already involved to consider running for a position.
  • Be Well at Barnard will be tabling this Friday, March 6th from 4-6pm in the Diana. Two Well Woman educators, a Furman counselor, and Stress Busters will all be present.
  • Come to the Women’s Basketball game against Penn on Friday! The team currently has two Barnard athletes (both seniors), so everyone should go catch the last home game of the season.
  • The Committee on Arts is sponsoring an “Art for Social Change” exhibit and is requesting art from BC students.
  • If you have any thoughts at all about Barnard’s food, take the survey.
  • The First Year formal will be on March 27th from 9pm-12am. Tickets will go on sale soon for $20.
  • First Year T-shirts will go on sale Thursday and Friday for $10.
  • Tickets for the Junior Class boat cruise will go on sale this week. Tickets are $25 and sold out very quickly last year, so get on that early. The cruise will be held after Spring Break.

BLUE program plans via Shutterstock