WEB EXCLUSIVE.In between sparkling cider and some tears, Barnard's Student Government Association convened its final meeting of the academic year as the council said goodbye to its graduating members.
But the meeting also gave next year’s representative council members the chance to introduce themselves to their counterparts before settling in to listen to official business.
Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Daphne Larose, BC '10, recounted her last meeting with the Board, during which she had recommended an increase in internship grants and academic enrichment program spending. She said Board members noted that, in the future, senior classes may decide to give their senior fund to the financial aid office as a gift. Members also mentioned that Barnard President Debora Spar said the college’s subsidization of food by Aramark is inexpensive, but that costs would still have to be cut.
Vice President of Finance Amy Chen, BC ’10, discussed the budget allocation for the 2009-10 school year. The internal SGA operating budget recommended for the coming year is $63,200, which includes funding for each class council. SGA-recognized clubs were recommended to receive a total of $116,470, while Chen advised a budget of approximately $25,411.71 for clubs dually recognized by the SGA and the Activities Board at Columbia. Three clubs were also approved to move onto stage two of club recognition, in which they can request a budget for the coming year.
Muzna Ansari, BC ’10, the representative to Academic Affairs, reported that Barnard faculty is currently reviewing the Nine Ways of Knowing General Education Requirements, which have not been reviewed in depth in more than a decade. Professors have called several areas into question. One is the Reason and Value requirement—some want to ground it in more “moral and ethical reasoning.” The courses that would fulfill this mandate would be more focused on urban studies and philosophy. Another area of concern was the Cultures in Comparison portion, which professors want to re-title “Cultural Disruptions” in order to “challenge students to disrupt familiar cultural assumptions,” professors say.
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