GSSC Bureau Chief Cole Gengos makes his reporting debut with this brief update on the ongoings of the General Studies Student Council and nervously admits that he knows nothing and has trouble listening when he is nervous.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude to the GSSC for allowing me to report on their meeting without knowing why I was there to begin with. I wasn’t even sure I was in the correct room but some lovely members assured me that I was, so I took a seat and waited to see what this mystical meeting would be like. The room was smaller than I expected but they had several speaking microphones and some other AV tech nonetheless. What’s more, the entire thing is live-streamed! That is to say, if you don’t appreciate my account, you can always watch it for yourself in the comfort of your own dorm at 8:15 PM on Tuesdays. Anyway, here’s what actually happened:

The meeting began with a roll call and some lovely people with very serious sounding titles announced their presence or lack thereof–well I suppose they didn’t if they weren’t there … I digress.

After this, the topic of Campus Life was ushered to the discussion. An exciting and recurring event called “Snack Attack” was briefly mentioned to occur on all weekdays save Friday and the weekend at 9 AM. Full disclosure, I’m not sure what this snack event is but it has to do with snacks so it must be a good thing.

After this, an event called Basketball Mania (the 24th annual) was brought to attention. This event celebrates the beginning of the basketball sports season and is hosted in Levien Gym next Thursday, on the 24th of this month. The event features a dunk contest judged by the dean as well as contests that could grant winners $10,000 or a year of free tuition. That alone had me lightheaded. Maybe I should get on the court sometime… Then again I was never a sports person.

Following was the announcement of an early Halloween party hosted on October 30th from 7:00 to 10:00 at Mel’s! Ticket purchasers are encouraged to come in costume and enjoy a spooky and catered evening.

Now onto the hot topic of the evening: paying for so many GS seniors to all hop on a huge boat and spend two hours riding around Manhattan merrily drinking from an open bar of beer and wine. This is a seriously in-demand event for GS seniors but it’s also seriously expensive. My understanding is that 350 tickets are purchased ahead of time at about $75 a piece by the GSSC. Those tickets are then later sold to GS seniors and their friends and family at a price (currently undetermined) around the $25-$35 range. These tickets are seriously subsidized and are snatched up almost immediately as they’re made available to the students. The catch is that last year, GSSC had to dip into the senior gift fund beyond what they could already afford to purchase more tickets so that more tickets could be bought be students. The conversation was around how 25% of what they owe for the $75 priced tickets would have to be put down this Friday. This motion was approved. These tickets sounds immensely exciting and are a huge deal for what they’re being sold for. I truly wish the best of financial luck and management to GSSC and the GS senior class so that many may enjoy this thrilling event.

Then, attention shifted to the guest in the room who represented the interests of Native students on campus and brought to attention that as of right now, Columbia University does not recognize either Columbus day or Indigenous People’s Day. The representative highlighted that while Native students are finally beginning to feel seen by their university, they urge Columbia to officially recognize IDP so that some of the managing weight could be taken off the shoulders of the Indigenous students who work tirelessly to be seen and heard but more so that the day would encourage further recognition and celebration of Indigenous peoples and students. The representative mentioned that current goals include a speaker series of Indigenous activists and scholars as well as integrating more Indigenous recognition and Indigenous faculty into Columbia University. The GSSC was in overwhelming support of these ideas and fervently agreed to send out a statement of support.

That concluded the public portion of the GSSC meeting. I was thrilled to be able to sit in and look forward to future meetings. I also forgot my water bottle in the room during their private meeting time and had to deal with the shame of retrieving it. Although suspicious that my water bottle may have been just a guise to listen in on the secret ongoings of the GSSC, they kindly allowed me to fetch it. I’ll get you next time, GSSC.

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