For advocates of broader General Studies dorm access, it’s back to square one.
A proposal for more lenient GS student access to residential halls—one that would allow them to sign into dorms—was shot down Tuesday night when administrators nixed the potential policy change.
General Studies Student Council representatives—including council president Katherine Edwards, vice president of policy Jenny Chong, delegate-at-large of policy Sabrina Buckwalter, and University Senator Jose Robledo—argued before a panel of administrators that GS students are barred from certain campus facilities they pay for, as well as from club spaces and class recitations.
GS students are not given full access to all Columbia Psychological Services, some of which are housed in residential halls. In addition, several class recitations meet in public spaces within dorms, as do some student clubs. The need to sign-in to group meetings, members argued, continually prevents GS students from fully integrating into the Columbia student body.
Despite support from Associate Dean of Students Dominic Stellini and Assistant Dean of Students Mary Waldorf, both at GS, the proposal was rejected by a panel that included Assistant Dean for Community Development and Residential Programs Scully Kromm and Executive Director of Housing Services Joyce Jackson.
Administrators noted that all but three CPS locations are easily accessible by GS students, though they admitted that there should be another system in place for those seeking counseling, such as a medical slip that would allow students to come in for appointments at psychological facilities without being swiped or signed in.
GS administrators also agreed that recitation courses should not be held in residential halls, and GS students should protest these situations to their TA, professor, or academic advisor. As for club spaces, the administration suggested groups find alternative meeting spots—rooms in Lerner, for example—or appointing a representative from the clubs to sign in GS students when meetings occur in dorms.
Members of the GSSC delegation found the decision surprising. “I’m frustrated and disappointed,” Edwards said.
According to Edwards, the administration added that even if the four undergraduate student bodies protested on behalf of GSSC, the University still wouldn’t pass a revision because of security concerns. “They feel like the system that they have right now is ‘too liberal,’ and if they had their way only residents would be in resident halls,” Edwards claimed, referring to the current system that does allow non-residents to be signed in.
Despite the recent setback, the GSSC still plans to move forward on the initiative. Edwards described the meeting as “educational.”
“There isn’t any false hope, and we are going back to our policy committee to brainstorm to get access through other means,” she noted.
Engineering Student Council President Whitney Green, who had been an ally in the fight for increased GS swipe-access, said her council is “waiting to see what GSSC is considering,” and that the ESC is “still in support of the sentiment.”
Swipe access was a hot topic at Tuesday night’s GSSC meeting, and some students said they were dissatisfied with the administrators’ arguments against the proposal. GS students in the Jewish
Theological Seminary program said they felt particularly discriminated against because they are mostly college-aged students, unable to fully integrate into Columbia because of swipe-in difficulties.
While it’s back to the drawing board for GSSC, there are no plans to change the current system of resident sign-in at this time.
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