“Because they have to.” Columbia and Barnard students take the same classes, join the same clubs, and all have at least one good friend on the other side of the street. This means that we’ve all been inconvenienced by the lack of access to a dorm across Broadway at some point. Everything is a work in progress, and I look at our swipe-access situation as a product of our University’s progressive approach to incorporating student sentiment with administrative change. While Columbia and Barnard may have separate boards of trustees and curriculums, our student governments need to focus on working together to improve the overall quality of undergraduate life. In a university where pressing issues need to be solved, we must set aside our politics for the sake of everyone who will be affected. It’s critical for students to feel like they go to a unified university, and we all need more space to host our events.
During the campaign, my party ran on a platform of establishing universal swipe access. It is now apparent that universal access won’t happen, so we’ll discuss “increased” swipe access. Why “increased” instead of “universal”? From Barnard’s perspective, I understand this choice—Barnard has to look out for the safety of its students, and with the Quad’s layout, granting access to one part of the Quad grants access to the rest. The purpose of swipe access is not to allow students to get into friends’ dormitories, but to increase the number of event spaces available. Barnard doesn’t want a student who enters the Quad to have access to four different dormitories.
List College students are also currently included in our tentative inter-council plan for increased dorm access to Columbia dorms. This is because they all sign housing contracts with the University and because most students are under the age of 23. It is possible that we will open up our proposal to all General Studies students who sign a housing contract with the University— however, this has be discussed more between the councils. If we are to successfully increase swipe access, members of the Columbia College Student Council and the Engineering Student Council must add this as an important agenda item alongside our many school-specific initiatives.
You entrusted the executive board with the goal of increasing swipe access, so we will continue to work on it. Two weeks ago at a council meeting, I conducted an informal survey to figure out how many council members would support increased swipe access with Barnard and List Colleges not including access to the Quad. Only 20 percent of our council agreed to these terms. Looking at more numbers in support of this initiative, in the results from the Student Government Association’s spring survey of the student body, about 85 percent of Barnard students believe that current inter-school dormitory swiping policy is not convenient, and 93 percent believe it does not foster a sense of community. CCSC and ESC now need figure out whether our constituents have the same sentiments.
Before increased swipe-access can be granted, many financial and security matters must be settled. How will the new housing contract look? Who is going to cover the cost for damages? How can we prevent overcrowding? The administration knows these are just the start of the many complications that will arise as we tackle increased swipe access. This initiative is just one approach to solving the space crunch. Still, it is a cornerstone step we must take to foster even stronger inter-school relations.
So, what specifically is preventing the enactment of this new policy? Some might argue that the real reason Columbia students are opposed to granting swipe access to Barnard is because there is a feeling of resentment toward giving more access to Barnard without gaining much in return. We can’t let ego get in our way. We must focus on the practical issues at stake—inter-school relations and the space crunch. As a Columbia student leader, ask yourself—would I want to use my political capital to help other students, who I do not even represent, to get access to our dorms? I say yes.
Although the housing and public safety concerns are important and real, I think the primary issue comes from understanding a sacrifice we have to take as Columbia student leaders. We will use our time to work on inter-council matters in addition to the ones that directly affect Columbia College. After a discussion this past week on inter-council relations, the CCSC unanimously agreed that we need to lead efforts to create a stronger sense of community among the four undergraduate colleges.
From my end, I’ll pull a Jerry Maguire and say to the other councils, “Help me, so I can help you.” We are going to need full cooperation on your side. It’s a major policy decision that has been put on the back-burner again and again. I’m trying to bring it back to our school’s attention. Underclassmen, think about how you’d like the University to look. This is an effort we can see come to fruition during your time here, not during mine. If you believe your role as a CC or SEAS student is to partner up with your peers at Barnard and General Studies, then you have found the right issue.
Adil Ahmed is a Columbia College senior majoring in history. He is the CCSC Vice President of policy.
Additional Minutes runs alternate Wednesdays.
Opinion@columbiaspectator.com.