New CCSC Bureau Chief Adam Kluge reports on cupcakes and the comings and goings in the room where it happens.

In general, when a governmental body decides that Sunday evenings are the most appropriate time to hold council, usually following a weekend of collegiate antics that most would prefer to forget, it would seem to be in their best interest to start at the designated time. I understand that this might be due to the late arrivals of certain (*cough* Class of 2022) representatives, as well as technical difficulties relating to the Facebook livestream, but still… the pint of Ben and Jerry’s in my dorm room fridge isn’t going to eat itself.

All of that said, I will let CCSC off the hook. This time. As noted multiple times by the CCSC Executive Board, tonight was VP of Finance Sarah Ann Radway’s (CC ‘21) birthday, and there were cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes. We are talking red velvet, white-frosted, sprinkle-topped cupcakes. For my first foray into the world of CCSC reporting, mama was eating good.

But I digress.

Following the first (and most important) item on the agenda, singing a rousing and slightly flat rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ to Sarah, CCSC spent a large portion of the next part of their meeting re-introducing themselves (it is only the second meeting of the semester, after last weekend’s leadership retreat took the place of the traditional general body meeting), before each respective council member provided updates on their respective work.

Of particular note were Representative Brandon Shi’s (CC ‘22) introduction of the first Class of 2022 event, Dorm Warming, happening this Thursday, 9/26, from 6-8 in Mcbain Lounge. Apparently, there will be free succulents and tons of food, which seems like the only information necessary to check this event out. Seriously, succulents are the perfect friends to have. They won’t puke on your floor after a night out at 1020, and their inanimate status means they are loyal to a fault. Anyways… the Class of 2021 will also be having an event, Meet, Greet, and Eat, this coming Thursday, from 11-1 in Schapiro Lounge. Again, free food. No further comment.

Much of the discussion in the first half of the meeting concerned the continuing attempt by CCSC to advocate for Columbia Dining options to remain open during academic breaks, in order to accommodate international students who may not be home during this time. International Students Representative Joon Baek (CC ‘21) further advocated for dining options over the summer, for the many Barnumbia students who remain in Morningside Heights during summer break.

Gender and Sexuality Representative Kwolanne Felix (CC ‘22) gave updates on her continuing communication with the Gay Health Advocacy Project (GHAP) and the Transgender Health Force, regarding increased accessibility to medical services for those in the LGBT+ community on campus.

Alumni Affairs Representative Joyce Tan (CC ‘21) spoke about fundraising and initiatives for students in minority groups, through her partnership with the Black Alumni Council (BAC) and the Asian Columbia Alumni Association (ACAA). In addition to this, she spoke about the potential creation of a podcast for alumni affairs (though this was met with a great deal of uncertainty and eyebrow raising).

There was also some talk about working towards converting the utensils in JJ’s and Ferris from disposable cutlery, to a more environmentally aware reusable cutlery (save those fucking turtles, or so help me).

Okay, onto the Executive Board. The big dogs. The birthday girl. CCSC President Patricia Granda-Malaver (CC ‘20) announced that bi-weekly reports from the council would now be sent to the entirety of the student body (does this make my job obsolete? Maybe?). CCSC VP of Policy Henry Feldman (CC ‘21) introduced the ongoing work by Columbia to use alumni-donated gifts to provide MetroCards to low income students, in an ongoing adherence to the Columbia College Code, which outlines the importance of New York City to the Columbia student body. There was further talk on the reshaping of the Core Curriculum (white guys, am I right), with CCSC members meeting with Dean Hollibaugh to further discuss this ongoing effort at diversification.

VP of Finance Sarah Radway announced that CCSC members can sit on Activities Board at Columbia (ABC) meetings, allowing Columbia College a voice in the voting from this point forward. In addition to this development, she announced that Lion Link Events is now live online, which means student events will now be listed online. Say goodbye to the days of Facebook invites, and hello to your new best friend: the Events Tab. “Like Tumblr, but for clubs,” Radway said, clearly forgetting that Tumblr has been obsolete since its introduction of a ban on NSFW content.

VP of Campus Life Jesus Ocampo spoke briefly about Homecoming, which will take place on October 18th and 19th (which happens to coincide with Family Weekend – get lit with your mom!). He said that sports towels (meant for camaraderie and not sweat??) will be given out by each of the major school governing bodies at events that weekend, in addition to various food and music events. For those interested (and I cannot consider myself part of this group), updates about Basketball-mania will be moved to next week.
Other points of importance included further information on the Butler Banner, which will be erected on October 1st, temporarily replacing the names of the men on Butler Library with that of their unrecognized female counterparts. There will be a formal recognition events on the Butler Lawns on October 2nd, in addition to a menu at Ferris themed around the cultures of the female authors being represented. We love to see it. Additionally, VP of Communication Blessing Utomi (CC ‘22) encouraged the continuing look at CCSC Co-Sponsorships, and the modernization of the CCSC website.

The Student Group Adjudication Board (SGAB) also has two new representatives from CCSC, who will work with the group to facilitate the peer-to-peer judicial process, concerning small violations. This board is held accountable to Undergraduate Student Life, and there was a great deal of talk about gambling.

I’m sure there was more but my hands are tired of typing, and there is an episode of Schitt’s Creek already in que on my laptop. Excited to be taking this journey with you as your CCSC Bureau Chief and looking forward to deeper pursuits into the political underbelly of CCSC next week!

Cupcakes via Pixabay