1 CommentsGSSC discusses donating $10,000 to Columbia’s food pantry, among other endeavors.
Student Body President Serengeti Timungwa (GS ’22) began the meeting by welcoming GSSC council members. She spoke of few submissions for candidacy to GSSC positions and encouraged anyone who is interested to apply. Timungwa also acknowledged Emily Robinson (GS’ 23) and Cole Wagner (GS’ 22) for their role in organizing the GS Gala.
GSSC then moved to policy committee updates, which again urged faculty nominations. Moreover, there was a meeting with Dean Griffith about mental health and her capabilities to help the student body. In the future, they discussed her role being more public-facing so that students can be aware of the people in the administration who support them.
Next, there were updates from the campus life committee. All the seniors should have received an email for senior cruise tickets, which will be on sale at the appointed time. Next week, tickets for Senior Cruise and Senior Gala will be active. Access to these will be through email. Moreover, there will be a first-year spring event on April 7. This event will involve a movie showing at Lerner Hall—tickets are currently live.
They then moved to election commissioner nominations, which were presented during this meeting. Nominees expressed a desire to increase voter engagement for GSSC from the GS student body. The council will vote in an executive session regarding the nominee’s candidacy.
Next, there was a proposal for a Metrocard program for finals season. The proposal is to order 50 metro cards with enough for 16 rides loaded onto them. This will mean allocating $42 for each card and $1,400 total. $2,760 was proposed for the budget of this program, which includes a $10 processing fee and any unforeseen increases in costs. This motion passed.
A Columbia food pantry co-sponsorship proposal followed this motion. Historically, GSSC has been a significant contributor to the food pantry, which GS students founded. There are three locations on campus that serve all students at Columbia University. GSSC emphasized that right now, there is more of a need on campus than ever. The proposed food pantry co-sponsorship allocation is $10,000. This proposal will be voted on in an executive session.
Information was also shared about the Latin Diplomas Referendum. This information was presented in the form of a packet designed to give GS students formal information to vote on the issue of GS’s diplomas being in English rather than Latin. This issue with the language of the diplomas is that CC and BC issue their degrees in Latin, while GS issues their degree in English. The discrepancy here is somewhat indicative of GS’s historical treatment by Columbia University, hence the referendum to change the language of the diplomas. However, some argue that the use of Latin is archaic and unnecessary. It has been 12 years since this topic has been officially approached, so GSSC feels it is time to revisit the issue. The referendum will assess whether GS students would like their diplomas in Latin or English.
For this referendum, GSSC proposed three motions. Motion A: To approve this referendum question to be sent out to the student body. Motion B: To approve the referendum but strike the subcommittee’s recommendation and strike prescriptive language. Motion C: To issue a referendum that reads as follows: “Currently, GS issues diplomas in English” with the answer options “I prefer my degree in Latin” or “I prefer my degree in English.” The proposal includes striking the recommendation and any additional language that leads to language that takes one side over the other. Motion B passed.
GSSC banner via Bwog Archives
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1 Comment
@David Lusterman I am a 1975 GS graduate with a degree in Comparative Literature, a major I adopted when I realized that the upper-level Latin and Greek courses I wanted to take would not fit my work schedule. I find the reappearance of the Latin diploma question fascinating, as the nerdy joke among Classics majors was that upon graduation we could either teach (unlikely) or write diplomas (unlikely in the extreme). I was surprised upon receiving my diploma that it was written in English, but I have to say I agree with Dean Awn’s observation a decade ago that a. GS Latin diploma would seem regressive for a college dedicated to the needs of modern working students (I’m paraphrasing here.)
I did wind up briefly teaching Latin to middle-schoolers in Manhattan and loved every minute of it. But I would encourage today’s GS voters to take pride in their modernity and take pity on all those Columbia College grads who have no idea what their diplomas actually say.
I would, however, support a curriculum change that requires a year of freshman Latin, if only for its sheer novelty.