Growing the University Community

On a campus where the word “community” is constantly being redefined, Columbia and Barnard have struggled to figure out their place in the Morningside Heights neighborhood and the world at large. The growing issue of expansion has forced the University to consider its influence on the surrounding community. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s arrival on campus gauged the community’s ability to respect the identities of all students within the University. The hate and bias crimes that followed have pushed people outside of their comfort zones and opened doors for discussion and action.

Earlier this semester, the Barnard Student Government Association posed the question “Is our community broken?” to a group of over 100 students and faculty at a town hall. Anti-Muslim and Anti-black words plastered on the wall of a bathroom, a noose hung on the door of a Teacher’s College faculty member, and a swastika spray-painted on a professor’s door are all acts of hate that have forced students to confront differences in a positive way through facilitated discussions on campus that foster acceptance and appreciation. Unity amongst students, administrators, and the University as a whole against such hate crimes is essential to promoting inclusion and respect. Acknowledging the rich cultural tapestry that exists on campus enables students to step outside their restrictive social constructions in places like the classroom and dining hall, allowing them a new sense of perspective in their daily lives.
But this outlook should not only exist on campus. In light of the recent death of Delquan Kearns in the shooting outside Radio Perfecto, SGA has renewed its discussion on the integration of this campus into the greater Harlem and New York City community.

SGA is currently campaigning to respond to the social and environmental needs of Barnard and Columbia students. One of SGA’s latest resolutions, “Go Green,” is already taking shape on campus in the form of greater accessibility to recycling centers, the use of waste-efficient plate-ware in dining services, and Green Seal certified products for cleaning in facilities. SGA’s recent recognition of the Panhellenic Council at Barnard is just another way in which it is working to create a more cohesive and inclusive campus environment this year, and it has been working on a pamphlet to better describe the relationship between Barnard College and Columbia University to ensure that no member of the community feels like a second-class citizen.

In addition to these accomplishments, SGA is diligently working to increase awareness among students of the almost endless resources at their disposal through exciting events. The successes of the town hall, fireside chat, and Barnard bonfire are only the beginning of the gatherings to come. Most recently, SGA sponsored a get-together through the Furman Counseling Center entitled “Life’s Not Always a Piece of Cake.” Few students know that 24 percent of their peers visit the Furman Center in any given year, and these types of events allow students the opportunity to take advantage of the wonderful staff and centers on campus.

It is these committed and caring individuals of the Furman Center that are the pillars of our community, and SGA would like to take a moment to acknowledge the many talented people who together shape our administration. Faculty, administration, and staff have all provided support in so many ways: attending and creating events, running the essential programs and departments, and reaching out to each and every student on campus.

With the support of this highly motivated and skilled administration, SGA is also working toward changes not only regarding the culture on campus, but the curriculum as well. SGA recognizes the importance of incorporating identity into class discussion and has developed an initiative for the creation of an ethnic studies program at Barnard. As the resolution states: “Ethnic Studies is committed to studying and historicizing the creation of power dynamics, and ... the degree that coerced people are limited in the choices they can make about their own lives.” The implementation of such study in the Barnard curriculum will not only help students understand power dynamics in this country’s past, but will give them the tools to change the marginalization of specific groups of people.

SGA’s first priority is its student body, and it encourages all those interested to attend weekly meetings from 8 to 10 p.m. on Monday nights starting next semester or to read the minutes of SGA meetings online at barnard.edu/sga. To further increase its transparency, SGA will also be publishing its budget as well as its internal make-up online beginning in the spring.

SGA is working to its best ability to initiate change in the community, on and off-campus, but we recognize that our community is not just student government. Every student contributes to the community in some way, and not every student works through student government. SGA appreciates and encourages each student who has effected change in the community this semester through their demonstrations, writing, art, and many other talents. SGA calls every Barnard, SEAS, GS, and CC student to step up into positions of leadership. Continue to care and challenge Columbia University with intellect and integrity.

Bethanie Mangigian is a Barnard College first-year and Sherlana Moody is a Barnard College sophomore. The authors are both communication specialists for the Student Government Association.