GSSC Bureau Chief Cole Gengos joins Bwog again with another update on the riveting ongoings of, well, GSSC. Continue reading to learn about the latest on topics such as things GSSC spends money on and… other things GSSC spends money on.

To start things off, this evening’s meeting was graced with the presence of none other than General Studies alumna (‘90GS), Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, and Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch. After so sweetly addressing her children at home, who were presumably watching the Facebook stream, Dean Rosen-Metsch offered her congratulations to the students for surviving their midterms and encouraged them to remember to prioritize their well-being and reach out to the Academic Dean of Wellness if need be. Following this, the Dean expressed her gratitude for a successful Giving Day which raised nearly $450,000. A very impressive sum indeed. After making a few other points, GSSC presented the Dean a small gift to show their appreciation for her being a judge at Basketball Mania, an event that recently occurred on campus. According to the Dean, Barnard was the loudest at the rally. Go Barnard!

The topic of the Committee of Instruction was brought to the conversation and the Dean spoke on some of the roles that committee fulfills. Curious as to who came up with the 18 credits per semester limit? Or who approved the hotly anticipated Linguistics major? Those are some of the roles that this essential committee plays for Columbia. As it is, there’s a lot of thought that goes into what constitutes a major and how a major can be useful to a student after graduation.

Next topic: Campus Life. Reiterating how totally awesome Basketball Mania was, the VP of Campus Life shared that GS students tripled their attendance numbers from last year. She also reminded GS students that there are still tickets available for the Halloween party hosted at Mel’s this weekend. Moving onto the GS “Friendsgiving” event, the council allotted some $950 to provide food and decoration. How festive! Continuing on with the first senior class lunch of the year, GSSC voted to also allocate some of the budget to that event. Also– no meeting next week or the following week! Happy autumn holidays, GSSC. 

Next, an update from a University Senator. Turns out there’s a lot of them. How fair! Here’s what they’ve been working on: The creation of a new subcommittee targeted towards discussing issues and topics related to First-Generation Low-Income students, a new committee on health and wellness, and a committee for students with children. Also, the Native American Council’s resolution has passed in the senate. Although coming up with a revised resolution was difficult, marks the senator, Columbia University now recognizes Indigenous People’s Day. Hoorah! Interestingly, the senator remarked that there were efforts to include a clause that concurrently recognized Columbus Day, although this was not included in the approved resolution. 

That’s all, folks! See you again in two weeks. 

Sunset via Bwog Archives