Run for CCSC Begins

The Columbia College Student Council campaign season kicks off today, when the three parties vying for control of the representative body are first allowed to present their election platforms.

The election will likely center around proposals to increase financial support of student groups and the number of campus-wide events, which representatives of all three parties highlighted as key issues for the upcoming campaign.

"A lot of times I feel like there's not enough long-term fiscal planning to build up programs," Tracy Chung, CC '08 and Rebel CC's presidential candidate, said.

"Last year, CCSC had a surplus, and instead of rolling that over, we should be giving it to the groups," said Michelle Diamond, CC '08 and One Columbia's presidential candidate.

In order to build a more connected community, One Columbia also expressed a desire to create more cohesion between student groups through meetings with campus leaders to discuss methods of achieving common goals.

Regarding the University's proposed Manhattanville expansion, Diamond said, "we want to ensure that any expansion follows the 197-A plan," a set of guidelines passed by Community Board 9 which represent the Board's vision for future development within West Harlem. Diamond based her support for the community-endorsed plan on the fact that it "would mandate that buildings are environmentally friendly."

Neither Rebel CC nor Voice took a stance on the proposed expansion. "I don't think it's our place to propagate our views," said Katrina Ciraldo, CC '08 and Rebel CC's candidate for Vice President for Policy, while Natali Segovia, CC '08 and Voice's presidential nominee said, "Our role is to advocate and express what the student opinion is, what students feel on campus."

Rebel CC and Voice each advocated different ways of improving what they felt to be a flawed relationship between CCSC and its constituents.

"CCSC ... has previously been out-of-touch with the concerns of many students," Segovia wrote in an e-mail. She wrote that the party wants to ensure a strong connection to students by allowing student groups to present their concerns at council meetings on a regular basis.

Rebel CC also expressed that it wants to bridge the CCSC/student body divide by revamping the council's Web site.

"If there's one thing I want to leave Columbia with, it's a [CCSC] Web site," Chung said. The Web site currently features the 2005-2006 council, which Chung said he felt was "indicative of how CCSC views its role. They focus on working with administrators, but where are the students?"

Bringing in the help of Engineering students, Rebel CC said it wishes to create a Web site that keeps students up-to-date on council activities, while pooling campus activities on a central calendar to reduce flyering.

Rebel CC and Voice's shared goal of increasing communication is consistent with the tickets' allegations that the current council is too insular and needs a fresh perspective lacking from the One Columbia ticket, with Diamond, who has been on CCSC in some capacity for the past two years. As self-appointed outsiders, both tickets said that their strength lies in the variety of viewpoints they bring from other activities with which they've been involved.

One Columbia countered by saying that it has both new faces as well as council veterans.

"What makes us unique is the experience we have," Diamond said.