The Bwog executive board announces that Isabel Sepúlveda has agreed to step down from their position as Editor in Chief and has been dismissed from Bwog.

To our readers:

We at Bwog want to make sure that you have faith in us as a fair, impartial, and thorough source for campus news. 

After careful consideration, Isabel Sepúlveda, the former 2020 Editor in Chief, has agreed to step down from their position and has been dismissed from Bwog. Isabel has been Bwog’s Editor in Chief since the beginning of their term in December 2019, in addition to having previously served as Bwog’s Events Editor and a Daily Editor. Isabel also held the Columbia University Marching Band (CUMB) Executive Board positions of Travel Manager in 2018 and Poet Laureate in 2019.

Recently, there have been allegations relating to racism, antisemitism, theft, sexual violence, and assault committed by CUMB members. Having been in a position of leadership of the CUMB, an organization that has admitted to their own “very serious problems when it comes to racism, sexual assault, and alcohol culture,” Isabel’s continuation as Editor in Chief would impede Bwog’s ability to earn the trust of our readers, especially with regards to coverage of racism and sexual violence on campus. We strive to ensure confidence among our readers and our staff in our reporting and organizational policies. Isabel agreed it was best to step down from their position effective immediately. With further discussions following their vacancy of this position, the Board found it best for Isabel to be dismissed from Bwog in its entirety in order to maintain an internal environment and external confidence necessary for Bwog to move forward, and Isabel deferred to the Board’s judgment at our meeting. The dismissal does not comment on or take a position, implicitly or explicitly, on Isabel’s character; rather, we found that this was the best fit for our organization moving forward. 

For the remainder of the semester, Eva Sher, who previously served as our Managing Editor, will serve as Editor in Chief until the next Editor in Chief assumes responsibility beginning in December. Our Internal Editor, Vivian Zhou, will remain in her position. In order to maintain our three-member Board structure, we have moved the election of the next Editor in Chief forward from November to this week. Once elected, the new Editor in Chief will serve on the Board for the remainder of the semester as the Managing Editor until they assume the role of Editor in Chief. These election plans were approved by a vote made available to the entirety of our staff with 96% approval. In the coming weeks, the Board, in collaboration with the incoming Editor in Chief,  will prioritize building upon Bwog’s current Sexual Respect Policy to create a more comprehensive Sexual Respect Policy for future Bwoggers to come. 

Thank you for your continued support and trust in Bwog, and we look forward to continuing to provide the Columbia community with breaking news, short forms, and much more.

Sincerely,

Eva Sher, Editor in Chief

Vivian Zhou, Internal Editor

Zack Abrams, Publisher

Charles Bacha, Publisher

Butler Library via Bwog Archives