Sean Zimmermann reports from last night’s ESC meeting.
Sustainability Representative Will Cybriwsky explained that unused alcohol from Casino Night, including unopened bottles, had to be poured down the drain because the university’s alcohol license does not allow the university to keep unused alcohol after an event. The council is investigating how new policies could be implemented to minimize alcohol waste.
VP Policy Logan Donovan reports that the Columbia Libraries will be piloting a program where the graduate reading rooms on the 5th and 6th floors of Butler will be open during finals. This will add an additional 150 seats.
The new Student Wellness Project presented to the council. They commented that there seems to be a “culture of unwellness” at Columbia—students take on too much work, don’t get enough sleep, and so on. The goal of the Wellness Project is to destigmatize wellness issues and make it easier for students to find the on-campus resources they need. For example, they explained there are nutritionists on Columbia Health staff who will teach you how to cook a healthy meal, but these resources are under-publicized. They gave the example of the Student Wellness Project at Ohio State as an example of an ideal wellness project: giving students ways to figure out where to find resources, without the hassle of the school’s complex bureaucracy.
Drained Jackson from Flickr/Images_of_Money
6 Comments
@Karl Thx for all you rly helped me!
@Here's one solution: the students could purchase a reasonable amount of alcohol. They overbought in the extreme, and I know for a fact that the policy was made clear to the organizers at every stage of the planning process. pouring booze down the drain IS a huge waste, but the fault lies entirely with the students, not the administration.
@Anonymous I’ve worked as a part-time caterer for years. Sometimes an unconscionable amount of food is thrown away at the end of an event, which is painful for anyone who’s ever been hungry to watch. That said, while minimizing waste is good, having a little bit to pour down the drain is better than the alternative of running out of booze.
@Student Unopened bottles could be returned for a refund, couldn’t they?
@Anonymous You know, I don’t see why Columbia can’t just donate them. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Emerson_Good_Samaritan_Act_of_1996)
@Anonymous Let’s look at the other ivy leagues. Yes, we are a different school and should not be trying to copy all the ideas of other schools and come up with our own but let’s at least realize that other schools are looking out after their students a lot more than Columbia. We are the number one stressful school not just because of the workload but because the students are not given the proper resources.