SGB Move Provokes Discussion

Monday night in Earl Hall, the Student Governing Board held what could have been its last town hall in that venue. Next semester, the board will have a new home.

Administrators plan to shift SGB, the student club board which oversees all political, activist, and religious groups, to Lerner Hall and the Office of Student Affairs by the end of the semester-likely incorporated into Student Development and Activities, the office which currently oversees the Activities Board at Columbia. Students on the SGB executive board and leaders in its 85 member groups have expressed concerns that SGB groups will lose the freedom of expression and the close relationships with advisors that they have enjoyed at Earl Hall.

One of the biggest issues many students shared is the fact that administrators made the decision to move SGB before involving students in the discussion and without fully explaining the reasons for the move.

"There are larger concerns about why we are even having these concerns, about whether students are even part of this process of self-governance," SGB representative-at-large Alex Jung, CC '07 and a Spectator columnist, said at the town hall.

Other student leaders said they worry that in the move, SGB will lose some of the flexibility in funding and event planning that its groups have enjoyed in the past. Groups under ABC, which oversees academic, cultural, and performance groups, have to go through more extensive bureaucratic channels to reserve space for events. The political groups in SGB say that they need to be able to plan discussions or meetings quickly in response to national and campus events.

At the town hall on Monday, Office of Student Affairs Dean Chris Colombo told students that he and other administrators within Student Affairs wanted to get to know more about SGB groups before deciding how to accommodate them.

"We want to work with all of you, we want to work with the groups, we want to find out more about you," he said. "That's why we're here, that's the reason."

At the town hall meeting, student representatives of the different SGB groups discussed their concerns regarding the move in smaller groups with administrators who came to the meeting for this purpose. Colombo, Executive Vice President of Student and Administrative Services Lisa Hogarty, Columbia College Dean Austin Quigley, University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis, GS Dean of Students Mary McGee and various other administrators from the Office of Student Affairs and the Chaplain's office attended.

One of SGB members' most serious concerns is that moving to Student Affairs will limit the freedom of SGB groups to host controversial speakers and events or to voice complaints against the University.

"It's not about reigning in protests," Josh Lipsky, CC '08 and vice-chair of the SGB executive board, said, though he admitted that "contentious events take up a lot of resources, and the chaplain's resources are limited."

One of the reasons for the move, according to administrators, is that Student Affairs could provide advisers and other resources to support SGB that Earl Hall does not have. For example, the chaplain's office cannot provide overdraft protection when events end up costing more than was originally estimated.

"They [administrators in Student Affairs] feel that Earl Hall and Chaplain Davis don't have the infrastructure to support us," Lipsky said. But instead of moving SGB, "we wish Earl Hall would be built up," he said.

Chaplain Davis said that she would still be available to SGB groups for advising and co-sponsorship of events.

"The SGB has been such a part of my heart for over a decade," she said. "The role of a chaplain at a research university is always to be an advocate of students."

Some students on SGB have speculated that Columbia wants to move the organization further away from the central administration. In the board's current position at Earl Hall, members report directly to the chaplain, who in turn reports directly to Provost Alan Brinkley. Under Student Affairs, the group would ultimately report to Colombo, who advises CC and SEAS students exclusively.

This aspect of the change is especially troubling for some General Studies and Barnard student leaders.

"That's very concerning to us, that our administration has no control, no influence over SDA," GS Student Council President Susannah Karlsson said. "There is just this oversight and leadership network in which we are not a player."

Details on the advising infrastructure that will be created to accommodate SGB are still unclear. Many students suggested hiring separate advisers who would know how to meet the special needs of political, activist, and religious groups. Colombo would not confirm whether such advisors would be hired, but a job opening on Columbia's Human Resources Web site indicates that Student Affairs is looking to hire a "manager of event advising and services."