Why didn’t SGA have any news about Maggie?

This week’s SGA meeting seemed like a bit of a circle jerk, each rep congratulating another on what accomplishments were made last year. They brushed over some topics that they couldn’t make a dent in (we’re looking at you, Winter Housing Policy and Free Tampons), but largely just wanted to talk about Diana swipes. We sent Bwogger Dassi Karp to check it out. 

Barnard’s SGA is still getting into the swing of things this semester. This week’s meeting was all business, focusing on past initiatives, such as the winter housing policy, and future events, zeroing in on their next Town Hall.

SGA President Sarah Heiny presented what she called “The Big Four,” reviewing what had been done last year and how policies will be implemented this semester.The first of these initiatives was Barnard’s much-debated winter housing policy: As of now, Barnard is dropping the “mission critical” language previously part of its eligibility requirements, which had limited winter housing approvals to admissions tour guides and winter athletes. Those who want to stay at Barnard over winter break for financial or personal reasons will most likely be able to, but will still need to submit a written request. No official guidelines have been given regarding who will qualify, nor who exactly will read the requests. These vague application parameters remind us of trying to write our Common App essays way back in high school–we suggest submitting “How winter housing will help me major in unafraid” or “If I could talk to any woman in history, it would be whoever can ensure I sleep indoors this winter.”

SGA also congratulated itself on their part in the administration’s hiring of an ombuds officer, Judit Revesz, who will act as a mediator between faculty, staff, and the administration, as well as an advocate for student concerns. No information was given that wasn’t already emailed to the student body over the summer, but SGA knows that you don’t read those emails.

Continuing to affirm SGA’s involvement in campus hot topics, Heiny spoke briefly about Barnard’s new dining improvements, mentioning the last year’s expansion of options at Liz’s Place in the “Provisions on Demand” section (they have Lunchables!), new hours for the Diana Cafe, and swipes into JJ’s place. She said of the new access, “It’s really exciting–finally, we can use our swipes legally.”

In response to the current debate about Columbia’s tampon policy, SGA reported that currently the only provider of free tampons and pads at Barnard is the Bear Essentials program, which gives supplies, bedding,and clothing to students who need the financial support. This program is funded by Senior Gifts and is only available to low-income students. SGA announced no current plans to increase access to these necessities. It seems that a much larger percentage of Barnard students would benefit from free tampon and pad distribution than the percentage of those at the other undergraduate colleges, but once again, Barnard comes up short. At least they have a large and seemingly permanent blow-up rat installed in front of their gates, so that’s something.

Following these updates, SGA brainstormed topics for their upcoming Town Hall on October 11th. SGA Town Halls bring together different student groups, members of the administration, and staff, in an attempt to discuss issues and solve problems on campus. It’s unclear if these lead to any real results, but they do provide a chance for students to air their various grievances about school policies and initiatives in a forum slightly larger and more official than Overheard @ Barnard. Sophomore Class president Emma Barnett proposed that they focus on swipe-in policy, referencing high interest from students in all class years. She said that many concerns have been voiced regarding not just difficulties getting into Columbia dorms but even for Barnard students getting into Barnard dorms that they don’t live in. “SGA is supposed to represent the student body,” she said. “I’d put money on it that people would come.” However, Vice President for Communications Margot Langstaff suggested that they save this discussion for a later Town Hall, when there may be more specific information to discuss, so we’ll wait for further information so we can complain about signing our late-night hookups in over Thai Market.

Another SGA member suggested the Town Hall be devoted to Barnard Divest, which led to a discussion about whether a Town Hall was the appropriate place to show SGA’s support for this group. University Senate Rep Sarah Katz questioned whether this would just be creating another info session for the Divest group, which already has its own events in place for sharing their message. SGA reaffirmed its goals to support Barnard Divest initiatives per a referendum passed last year, but concluded that they should hold off on discussing divest until later in the semester when the group releases its “documents.” We assume that that sounds a lot more intriguing than it actually is.

The overall agreement was that the Town Hall is meant to bring together voices throughout Barnard in a platform that does not already exist.Though not as thoroughly discussed, it looks like the upcoming Town Hall will likely cover Barnard’s housing policies in relation to the transgender student policy.

In other news, Seven Sisters Affairs Rep Aashna Singh announced the upcoming Seven Sisters conference coming up at Bryn Mawr November 11th-13th. She spoke about how the conference is a great place to make friends and hang out with students and alumnae of other women’s-only colleges on the East Coast. If that doesn’t sound like wholesome sisterly fun, we don’t know what does!

SGA stuck to their script and diligently disseminated information. Will they propose a plan to get 600 residents into the Brooks lounge without covering up their ID stickers? Do they know what an ombudswoman actually does? Will Barnard scrap its library building plans and start an orchard of baby magnolia trees in the empty pit? Probably not, but check back next week to find out all that and whatever other minutiae our fearless government leaders care to discuss!

A happy Maggie via old Bwog