Howdy y’all! The councils have been rounded up and looks like a week of classic government shenanigans across the board.

This week in CCSC:

• Race and Ethnicities Representative King (CC ’22) informed the Council that in honor of Black History Month, coordination has begun for an end-of-the-month virtual concert in collaboration with VP Campus Life Justin Rossman (CC ‘23). Representative King plans to hold a raffle with gift bag prizes to help fund this initiative.
• There was a landslide passing of a constitutional amendment of the appointment voting procedures proposed by President Baek. The amendment sought to change the ⅔ majority voting rule given that in the past this quota has proven difficult to reach, leading to prolonged appointment processes with multiple rounds of voting. This voting rule will be replaced with rank choice voting for the three candidates for each position, thereby fairly appointing whichever candidate wins the simple majority.
• Speeches from the candidates applying for Class of 2023 Representative, Student Services Representative, and Pre-Professional Representative were given followed by a vote. Ultimately, Virginia Lo (CC ‘23) was appointed as the Class of 2023 Representative, the new Student Services Representative is Skye Bork (CC ‘21), and Anthony Adessa (CC ‘22) is the new Pre-Professional Representative.

This week in ESC:

• New edits were made to the SEAS Peer Mentorship Program addition amendment to ESC’s constitution. The amendment, first brought before the entire council at last week’s general body meeting, would put the program under the jurisdiction of ESC’s communications committee. After some debate, ESC concluded that loose laws would allow for the Peer Mentorship Program to fall under the responsibilities of the Professional Development Representative. Additionally, the Council agreed that the details of the Program will now be a footnote rather than in the body of the text.
• Student Body President Estevan Mesa (‘22) noted that it is unlikely that SEAS’ 40 credit limit for this year’s three semesters would change. With this being the case, Mesa wondered whether it might be possible to work with the college to create a way for students who are a few credits under the limit and do not have other summer opportunities to subsidize the additional few credits to take a 3 or 4 credit summer course. This may be difficult to achieve given the high cost of summer coursework credits.
• Class of 2023 President Angel Mancera noted that students are concerned about the current quarantine situation in Furnald. Students have reported that students who may be COVID negative but are quarantining due to COVID exposure are quarantined in Furnald along with students who have tested positive for COVID. Some people feel this is unideal and unsafe for the COVID negative students who are quarantining.

This week in SGA:

• This week, SGA Rep Council heard from Barnard Trustee Jyoti Menon ‘01 and Trustee Marcia Lynn Sells BC ‘81 P ‘23. The two alumnae shared about their time at Barnard, including that both alumnae were SGA Presidents during their Barnard careers. They explained that the Board of Trustees does not “run the school,” but acts as an advisor to President Beilock and her senior team, all while considering what’s happening on campus and in the world that affects that decision-making. While students attend Barnard for only four years, the Board has to take Barnard’s past, present, and future into account, which explains the different timelines of student requests and Board action.
• As for goals for the near future, Menon and Sells want to build the Barnard alumnae community and strengthen Barnard’s relationship with the Harlem community, modernize the science curriculum and facilities, and better support Barnard’s students of color.

This week in GSSC:

• President Jane Jeong (GS’22) announced that GSSC Spring 2021 elections are coming soon. These elections will determine the new leadership of next year’s GSSC, including Student Body President, VP of Policy, Campus Life, and Communications, among others. Jeong stated that interested students should start reaching out to current officers to learn more about the positions.
• VP of Campus Life Liam McGrane motioned to appropriate $160 from the Campus Life budget for a Zoom Pro account so that Campus Life could run events from a non-personal account, noting that the use of Zoom for events will most likely continue in some capacity during the Fall 2021 semester. There was some discussion whether or not this money had to come from the budget or if the administration could cover the costs. Tech Chair Dylan Lee and Senator Jeremy Wahl informed the Council that the University offers Zoom Pro accounts at a reduced cost of $15 a year. The Council passed McGrane’s original proposal of $160 appropriation with 25 in favor in the off chance that the reduced cost from the university did not follow through.
• The Council heard speeches from ECAC Elections Chairperson candidates Dave Johnson and Tyler Franklin. The candidates were asked about their familiarity with the GSSC Election rules, mediating disputes, time commitments, and personal neutrality. The Council also heard from the nominee for Community Service and Sustainability Representative, Simas Chacar-Palubinskas.

Header via Bwog Illustrator Shane Maughn