“Last year, I was in McIntosh everyday for one reason or another,” Allison Down, BC ’10, remembered. “I would see people there, it was a good meeting spot. McIntosh definitely fostered community in a way that Lerner just can’t do for Barnard students. There are a lot of friends that I just don’t run into on campus anymore because McIntosh is gone.”
Down isn’t alone in feeling less than welcome in Columbia’s student center, Lerner Hall. Though Lerner’s eight floors house student mailboxes, administrative offices, food courts, and lounge space, many Barnard students say they don’t feel at home.
“I definitely feel out of place in Lerner,” Natalie Reilly, BC ’11, said.
Since Barnard demolished McIntosh to make room for a new, state-of-the-art student center currently referred to as the Nexus, Barnard students have had no central location in which to spend their time. “Obviously, not having our own student center has been a challenge,” Sarah Besnoff, SGA Vice President and BC ’09, said.
Besnoff cited unfamiliarity with Lerner’s layout and a general lack of understanding about Barnard’s equal access to Lerner as possible reasons that Barnard students may be disinclined to use the space.
“It’s not like I have ‘Barnard’ tattooed on my forehead,” Elizabeth Pitula, BC ’11, said. “But I feel like Barnard students just aren’t as accepted in Lerner.”
CCSC first-year representative Melissa Im, CC ’11, said that, although she does see that the majority of students in Lerner are from CC and SEAS, she doesn’t think that there is any open animosity toward Barnard students that directly discourages them from using the center.
Another concern was Barnard students’ inability to use their meal plan points in Lerner eateries like Ferris Booth. Under the current meal plan system, Columbia students can use their Dining Dollars in Java City on Barnard’s campus, but Barnard students can’t use their meal points in any of the café-style dining options on Columbia’s campus.
Im admitted that she was unaware of differences between the Columbia and Barnard meal plans, acknowledging them as potential deterrents to Barnard students, and expressed interest in looking into the issue further.
Despite this dissimilarity, all Columbia University students in each undergraduate school pay the same service fee to use Lerner and all have swipe access to the building. “We treat everyone exactly the same,” said Syed Shahidullah, Executive Director of University Event Management.
“This is supposed to be a space for all students,” Learned Foote, first-year class president, said. “It’s the student center for everyone, not just for CC or SEAS students.” Foote said he was surprised to hear that there are Barnard students who feel unwelcome there.
According to Besnoff, students’ lack of comfort in Lerner has become an area of primary concern for Barnard’s SGA, which has been trying to cope with a campus under construction. “SGA has been working to come up with new ways to make the interim as conducive to community-building as possible,” she said.
Still, many students eagerly anticipate the Nexus’ completion. “Having a second student center will be great,” Sue Yang, sophomore class president and CC ’10, said.
“Getting people onto Barnard’s campus is also a good thing, and it [the Nexus] might improve the relationship among the undergraduate schools, making it more mutually beneficial and based on sharing.”
Foote and Im seconded the idea of increasing inter-campus socialization, acknowledging that most events sponsored by the undergraduate student councils are currently held in Lerner. Both hoped that the completion of the Nexus would open up new social spaces on Barnard’s campus for the benefit of the entire University.
“Students come to Barnard because of the sense of community,” Besnoff said, “and it’s important to make sure that that’s true with or without our own student center.”
Lydia Wileden contributed to this article.
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