Four heads are sounder than one

Dear Columbia,

As the semester closes, we often stop to think about the beginning. Our first meeting as four newly elected and eager student body presidents took place a year ago. Over eggs and coffee, we came to the realization that collaboration between our councils had been lacking. This we resolved to improve. Fact: Columbia is a decentralized place. While this has its virtues, it also breeds complex bureaucracy and often unnecessary frustration. Acknowledging this, we knew that working together would be the only way to accomplish our goals. Now, in our final collaboration, we would like to share these parting thoughts.

Columbia students are pursuing and achieving remarkable things and deserve much more institutional support than they currently receive.

Our power as student body presidents is admittedly limited, but where we had access, we strove to be the biggest advocates possible of student needs and well-being. We pushed for increased financial aid for General Studies students, stronger career resources for engineers, a real choice in meal plan options and Commencement venues at Barnard, gender-neutral housing, student space in Lerner and residence halls, and a more reasonable fall academic calendar. In taking these initiatives forward, we found heartening support among some administrators and faculty, but often faced exasperating barriers. Were it not for the generous feedback from and proactive pushes made by students outside council, our motivation would have expired. But a good question is, why does it require countless hours of work from students to move on these concerns in the first place?

“Bureaucracy” is not an acceptable excuse for dismissing ideas for improvement and change. It can be overcome with fairly easy measures and to great ends. If mindsets and expectations on the part of students, faculty, administrators, and council members can be focused on collaboration and possibilities first and constraints only second, much can be attained. Drop the defenses, listen up, eliminate the power trips, share the information, and talk with one another, rather than at each other. As we hope we have demonstrated by increasing our own inter-council communication and aligning our own programs and policies, discrete stakeholders can be linked effectively and efficiently for more successful outcomes.

Students, you have a role to play in this too. We call on you to be more active, to insert yourself into the increasing channels where your perceptive observations and solutions can gain traction. No longer do you need to resort to muttering complaints and to resign to indifference and apathy. The activity around the fall academic calendar attests to the power that collaborative councils and student activism can have in making various issues top-priority. The best resource we have as students is our strength in numbers. The only way to be heard is to be loud! Of course, there is more to be done in demanding that the right bodies listen and act upon what is said. At the same time, we as students do need to recognize that there are other stakeholders at the university, and that people are willing to work with us. There are times for shaking fists and times for shaking hands. Let’s try the latter first, the former last, and remember to work together.

What is most striking to us is how easy it actually could be to solve many of the recurring and widely impacting issues on campus. We call for more collaboration on campus and an increase in recognition and support for the undergraduate students. We expect our future councils to continue working not only with each other, but also with the other important stakeholders on campus. We worked to set a collaborative tone this year, but there is always more we can do. We want stronger partnerships and productive collaboration between students, councils and administrators.

This is a point worth repeating: Columbia’s first concern and top priority should ALWAYS be its students. While the global presence, image, and prestige of Columbia should be maintained, it should not overshadow the importance of the students who are currently attending this school. Above all else, Columbia is a educational institution charged with a mission to develop incredible people who will shape the world’s future. At times it feels as if Columbia is so business-oriented and political that it loses sight of the student body. And we, as students, feel it. So please keep in mind that students become your alumni, and that years from now, our donations and contributions will be the lifeline for this school. Remember the students while we are here, and we guarantee that when the time comes to return the favor, Columbia will never have a problem.

That said, we truly appreciate our experiences as members of the Columbia community. It’s been a great year and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Edwards is a student in the School of General Studies and is the president of GSSC. Green is a student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and is the president of ESC. Palillo is a student at Barnard College and is the president of SGA. Yang is a student at Columbia College and is the president of CCSC.