“We’ll always have Paris, brought to us by GSSC”

GSSC is cool with time but hot with passion, which fits perfectly into the theme for their upcoming gala! Bwogger Jennifer Nugent, a more constant force, brings us up to date.

Last night, the General Studies Student Council (GSSC) meeting was perhaps most noticeable for its brevity! In this week’s meeting, the council ran through updates with little discussion and even less disagreement.

There are some brief updates from last week: GSSC’s fearless leader, President Elizabeth Heyman, has fulfilled a two-year project that will bring water-filling stations to Lewisohn Hall. Also, in an important note about food insecurity on campus, emergency food vouchers will now be available in the Dean’s office, not in John Jay.

Next, GSSC heard from current member Dennis Zhao about why he would be a good fit for Vice President of Campus Life. After a rousing speech citing his desire to “make every event bigger and better while keeping things cost-conscious,” he was sent out of the room, while a unanimous vote elected him into office as the new Selina Meyer (this is a Veep reference).

The Finance Pole then heard from from the Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs (CORE), which requested financing for their Global Tech Trek. The trip this year will take students (20% of whom are GS) to Europe to be inspired and get real experience with tech start-ups. Last year, the students visited London and Paris, and one GS student described the experience as inspirational to the point that she changed her internships and plans to accommodate this new entrepreneurial goal. The council allotted the group $1,500 to further their efforts, proving that their co-sponsorships continue to thrive.

Next, Campus Life reminded us that midterm snack-packs are coming and that they are still working on the gala. The theme will be…”Ice and Fire”! GSSC is currently looking for an MC for the event (“we can talk about compensation” says the team) and ideas for a promotional video.

GS Senator Katherine Celentano rounded out the discussion by bringing up news from the University Senate. The campus is working on the Morningside Heights Student Space Initiative, which will reallocate on-campus space as graduate schools begin to move elsewhere. The first to go will be the Business School, so Celentano requested suggestions from the GSSC on what students wanted to be put into Uris. Although napping areas, a student union, commuter space, and a veterans’ area were all suggested, the main concern seemed to be a viable daycare option. The council pointed out that many GS students and many graduate students have expressed the need for daycare on or near campus, and that the reason that this has not happened yet is purportedly space. So, it is the hope of the council that this, and other, suggestions will make their way to the University Senate to influence the eventual policy decision.

Other Updates:

• The Policy team is still working on a food bank initiative and a GS student survey. They are also looking for nominations for teacher and administrator awards, to recognize particularly good leaders at Columbia.
• The Communications team is looking to design a website to more easily facilitate communication between GSers and the council’s events, but the team is stuck between WordPress and Squarespace.

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