Every council has those days, every council makes mistakes.

ESC generally tries to handle issues of pragmatism, only straying into ideals and ideologies when debating diversity initiatives. However, ESC bureau chief Finn Klauber reveals the level of debate regarding Henry Moore’s controversial statue installation as well as ESC’s decisions regarding the statue.

ESC, after concluding as a council that Bacchanal was a blast, got into the nitty gritty of Columbia student politics by discussing what their role is in relation to massive student lash back to the installation of Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure. Caroline Park, ESC President and SEAS ’16, discussed a meeting with Scott Wright, Columbia University’s VP for Campus Services, where Wright revealed surprise at negative student feedback. Apparently, a focus group—containing Columbia students in some capacity—had a different disposition to the statute installation.

In light of CCSC’s proposed resolution regarding the statue, ESC opened itself up to internal debate regarding whether it should endorse and/or provide input to the resolution. To start off the discussion, Park revealed the data from about 1200 responses to a survey regarding the statue. According to Park, 61.8% of respondents prefer the statue to be placed elsewhere, 26.9% said they didn’t want the statue at all, and 11.3% responded that they like the statue, as is.

The general disposition of the council shifted from general disapproval of the statue to mild apathy. Whereas impassioned arguments regarding aesthetic distaste and the blow to unregulated recreational space dominated the beginning of the discussion, later speakers questioned whether ESC input in this case would detract from the political capital ESC uses to push through other, more relevant initiatives. Luis Rivera, Academic Affairs Representative and SEAS ’18, commented that perception of art changes over time, while 2016 Vice President Chloe Blanchard simply stated that “It’s just fucking ridiculous that people can’t deal with change.”

Generally, ESC agreed to put off endorsing or passing a resolution in conjunction with CCSC. Rivera proposed telling SEAS what the thoughts of the council are and letting any concerned students express their opinions at the next ESC meeting, in person with a council member, or via email. Park concluded the discussion, saying she will bring a list of questions to the deans, including clarification on transparency, cost, and the timeline for installation.

• The CCSC water pong tournament, which the council found issue with previously, was considered again. While Sidney Perkins, 2017 Vice President, took issue with ESC potentially condoning an atmosphere of binge drinking, the 2018 council approved of the event for the free ping pong balls. Reservation slots in Dodge are being looked into and further info will be released in the future.
• ESC voted unanimously to support Abby Porter, CC ’17, and the Coalition Against Sexual Violence in their attempt to alter the hiring policies of Teaching Assistants. In the new system, any students attempting to TA would be barred from doing so if he or she were found guilty of gender based misconduct. The final implementation, however, should be brought back to ESC for reaffirmation of support.
• Representation to the Interschool Governing Board, the activities board which is being redesigned, will be handled under the Student Groups Representative. Although University Senator Jillian Ross, SEAS ’16, sent an email to the SEAS student body without input from ESC claiming the position was open to anyone, ESC decided that the specifics will be allocated according to the constitution but encourages anyone who is interested in the position to run for Student Groups Representative.
• Lerner Pub is this Thursday! You need two IDs to enter, but the incentive for coming is really cool. They’re giving out special mugs, more expensive than previous mugs, to students who attend. So you should come if you’re legally able to.