Our former ESC Bureau Chief hard at work

Some Bwoggers cover theater events. Others write comedic shortforms. Still others conduct interviews with interesting students or dig deep into polarizing issues at Columbia. The best and bravest of us, though, are those who take on the ultimate challenge: covering student government.

Bwog has four Bureau Chiefs, one for each of the four undergraduate student councils (CCSC, SGA, ESC, and GSSC). These reporters attend weekly meetings of their respective councils, then describe the meetings in posts that go up on Bwog the next day. This can sometimes mean sticking with CCSC for three hours, parsing through polite debates between SGA and the Barnard administration, or explaining why Legos are just so important to Sid Perkins. Whatever the student councils are discussing, covering their meetings is a noble duty, bringing news of the slow progress of student government to the rest of Columbia. And being a Bureau Chief is an easy entry point both into writing for Bwog (because as long as you take good notes and write clearly, it’s hard to go wrong with student council coverage), and into the Columbia community at large (because you’ll learn a great deal about events and initiatives on campus through the position).

This semester, we have openings for two Bureau Chiefs: ESC (Engineering Student Council) and GSSC (General Studies Student Council). ESC meets on Monday evenings at 9:30 pm, and GSSC meets on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm. You don’t have to be a member of a school to cover their student council (our last ESC and GSSC Bureau Chiefs were both CC students, for example), although sometimes it helps.

No formal application is required for these positions; simply email editor@bwog.com with the student council you would like to cover and why you’re interested in the position. You should also attend our open meeting this Sunday to talk to our current CCSC and SGA Bureau Chiefs, ask questions, and learn more about the roles.

King of the Satow Room via Betsy Ladyzhets