The discussion at this week’s General Body Meeting featured upcoming events, progress on some initiatives, and recognitions of the council’s limits. 

Student Body President Kennedy Salamat (‘23) began Monday night’s meeting with a recap of the meetings she attended this week. She learned that the college has made adjustments to accommodate students in quarantine. 100 SEAS courses are being recorded through the Columbia Video Network (CVN), 100 courses are being offered in a hi-flex format, and another 100 SEAS courses have recording capabilities.

Salamat and Vice President of Communications Shomik Ghose (‘23) also attended a meeting with Dean Chang, Dean Morrison, and Dean Brovman. They discussed the dining situation, and Salamat will also be attending a meeting with Vice President for Campus Services Scott Wright to discuss dining. 

Several council members shared concerns they heard regarding dining. Students would like expanded dining hours in JJ’s Place and the Faculty House location. These concerns will be passed along at future meetings.

However, several council members noted that there are limits to how much the dining situation can be improved. While the university is working on creative solutions like the faculty house dining option, there are space constraints with grab-and-go outdoor dining, which may continue to be a necessity due to COVID-19. ESC members will continue to actively engage in conversation with the administration about dining improvements, but they want students to recognize that their capability to change the situation is limited. However, the council will do the best it can and also wants students to know that they have more capacity to effect change in the classroom sphere.

Other position updates included Racial Diversity and Inclusivity Representative Malik Hubbard (‘23) has been reaching out to various engineering diversity clubs to build connections, and International Students Representative Sofia Osorio Salinas (‘23) met with the International Student Advisory Board and CCSC’s International Student Representative to compare their programs and plan future collaborations. 

VP Student Life Matthew Wahl (‘23) told the council about upcoming events. Unfortunately, the paintball event that was scheduled for this weekend had to be canceled due to the paintball location’s COVID-19 safety policies not being up to the university’s COVID-19 policies. 

The good news is, many other exciting ESC initiatives are underway. 125 SEAS students will be able to participate in the Explore NYC program to see some sites around the city. The Meet a Fellow Engineer Matches have been sent out. The class councils are also planning fall-themed events.

Lerner via Bwog Archives