At-Large Candidates Spar Over Diversity

After initially drawing from a broad mix of talking points, ranging from sexually transmitted infections testing to academic advising, the debate for the Columbia College Student Council at-large candidates gradually centered around one subject: community diversity.

While candidates discussed expansion of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and an improved response to hate crimes, it was an audience member who defined the discourse.

“I’d rather live and not be killed by the KKK than have my Lit Hum homework printed out,” said one attendee, who asked the candidates to focus on community building after the rash of bias incidents last semester, instead of devoting their energy to technical improvements, such as fixing printers.

The criticism seemed to hit home most with Billy Freeland, CC ’09 and candidate for a one-year senate position. Earlier in the debate, he said his top priority was to make Columbia a 21st-century university.

“Uniting the campus technologically needs to be on the table if we’re going to be united as a whole,” he said.

But he also mentioned the “need for much broader discussion and empowerment of cultural groups on campus.”

Joseph Daniels, CC ’09 and another candidate for a one-year senate position, supported the expansion of OMA, saying, “For a university that prides itself in diversity, we don’t do enough to promote it.”

He also said that there should be a University-wide protocol for dealing with hate crimes.

Yet another competitor, David Zhu, CC ’11, did not hit on diversity directly, but called for improved financial aid for international students and touched on the use of eminent domain in Manhattanville.

“We should do everything we can to expand other ways,” Zhu said, adding that eminent domain should be a last resort. “The University has to expand to keep its prestige.” The fifth candidate for one of the two one-year senate spots, Rishika Samant, CC ’09, missed out on the debate due to food poisoning.

Like Freeland, Monica Quaintance, CC ’10 and candidate for the only two-year senate position, placed technological reform on top of her list of priorities. “It’s really a mess, and it would take two years to clean the whole thing up,” she said.

Her opponent, James Downie, CC ’10, focused on transparency in the discipline process, citing the students punished after the Minutemen event in fall 2006 as a prime example of where such transparency was needed.

The non-senate candidates in the at-large race—including one pre-professional, two student-services, and one academic-affairs representative—talked primarily about students’ day-to-day needs.

Priyanka Gumaste, CC ’10 and student-services candidate, said she hopes to continue the improvements in dining options, while Aaron Edmonds, CC ’09 and student services candidate, said STI testing should be available confidentially through the student services fee. Zawadi Baharanyi, CC ’11, is also running for one of the two student services spots as a write-in candidate.

Unopposed academic affairs candidate Karen Woodin, CC ’11, suggested bringing in “good advisers” to train certain academic advisers, while the only pre-professional candidate Melissa Santos, CC ’09, said it was “ridiculous” that the Center for Career Education offers little help outside of finance and economics-related careers.

Voting for all CCSC positions will take place Wednesday and Thursday online and on the Low Steps, with Lerner as the alternate location in case of rain.

lien.hoang@columbiaspectator.com