At her last Fireside Chat, Barnard President Debora Spar expressed concern over a perceived lack of community at Barnard. Her response was to create “societies” to which first years would be randomly assigned—an idea which seemed to go down well with the assembled students, at least partially due to a wisely chosen Harry Potter analogy (will Potter-mania never end?!). But the fact that this discussion was even taking place, let alone in a manner with such open and transparent student-administrator dialogue, makes me wonder if a lack of community really is such a problem on our campus. In my experience, our community is strong and vibrant, but just like everything else we do at Barnard, it’s a little bit different. Barnard women aren’t lacking in pride, or friendships—just places to gather.
Barnard women are, on the whole, independent and driven. We go to school in one of the most exciting cities in the world, are a part of a vast and interesting research university, and have interests that cover far more areas than our tiny campus can provide for. This is a school that lends itself to supporting the individual, yet when so many individuals are off pursuing all these wonderful opportunities, a small campus can feel like more of a springboard than a meeting place.
Perhaps the opening of the Diana Center next semester will bring students back onto campus to just hang out, but in a school with so many busy and proactive people, this might not be enough. What will make a difference is the space that will be available for clubs to meet. Barnard’s campus is severely lacking in extracurricular activity, and not for want of student involvement. It is these activities, the shows, debates and concerts, that create a vibe of excitement and interest outside of class hours. One of the most important things that the administration and SGA can work toward is opening up space-booking as much as possible for student activities—there are so many talented people across the University who would love to produce work on our campus. We just need to give them the opportunity.
The greater problem may not lie in the lack of community, but in a degree of confusion as to how to express and relate to it. Barnard’s place within Columbia University is a topic gleefully debated by incoming first-years, but while the rest of us might have come to terms with the situation (at least in practice if not actually in theory), we are still faced with contradictory messages. To the wider world, we might find ourselves having to use our connection with Columbia as a reference point, sometimes to the point where the ‘Barnard College’ distinction ceases to mean anything. Our friends are at Columbia College, SEAS and GS, we play sports on Columbia teams, and we pull all-nighters in Butler—and we feel that admitting to being a part of a community separate from this will somehow divide us more from the rest of our university. Barnard women still feel as though they are in a precarious position, and do not want to disturb the balance. Having more student groups physically based at Barnard is one way to create a greater feeling of equality, but both administrations can still do more to clarify the relationship for incoming students.
Perhaps instead of dividing into ‘houses,’ we should embrace the fact that our focus is on the individual as a part of a whole by connecting students and alumnae on a personal level and opening the campus up to student groups from across the university.
The author is a Barnard College sophomore.
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