This week, ESC held its General Body Meeting in person for the first time since early 2020.

This week’s meeting opened with a presentation over Zoom from Shaqed Tzabbar (Barnard/JTS ‘24) and Zachary Becker (CC ‘23). They shared a resolution they have been a part of creating that defines and condemns antisemitism. 

The resolution is in response to a national rise in antisemitism. In the past few years, there have been a number of violent attacks on synagogues, verbal and physical assaults of Jewish people on the streets of New York, and several swastikas found drawn on campus.

Tzabbar and Becker asked that the council review the resolution and hope that the council will vote to approve it and take action to address antisemitism on campus. 

Class of 2025 Representative HaYoung Jin (‘25) asked what action was done in the wake of the swastikas found on campus. Becker explained that the incidents were reported. However, since the swastikas were drawn in places with no security camera footage, the university was unable to identify who drew them.

FGLI Representative Abigail Cawley (SEAS ‘22) raised questions and gave suggestions about how to make the resolution actionable by incorporating similar wording into the bias reporting mechanism on campus. She recommended such action so that the resolution could be more actionable and to avoid getting stuck in a grey area when bringing evidence of antisemitism. 

The council did not have enough members present to form a quorum and vote on this resolution. At an upcoming meeting, the council will vote on this resolution.

The meeting continued with updates from council members. VP Student Life Matthew Wahl (‘23) shared upcoming events. The Got FU’d event will be from 8 to 9 pm this Thursday night with food from Roti Roll. Tree lighting is also coming up.

Lerner via Bwog Archives