The department of art history and archaeology held its spring 2022 Senior Thesis Symposium last month. There, Lilly Jean Cao, CC ’22, presented her thesis on a controversial mural in the Goldman Sachs lobby.

The Journalism School announced Pamela McKelvin-Jefferson as its inaugural director of diversity, equity, and inclusion on March 21. McKelvin-Jefferson previously served as the inaugural DEI director at Columbia’s Business School and will be responsible for overseeing the Journalism School’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and implementing its plan and recommendations for fostering a diverse community of students and faculty.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid recently announced that it will maintain a test-optional policy for the next two admissions cycles—raising questions about how four years’ worth of test-optional admissions policies could fundamentally alter the makeup of a full cohort of Columbia students and influence its admissions practices moving forward.

The Office of University Life announced the second-annual recipients of its racial justice mini-grant program, one of Columbia’s signature initiatives in a bolstered commitment to anti-racism since the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 on Tuesday. The program was given a total funding allocation of $9,800, and the grants ranged in size from $250 to $1,500 each.

Over a week has passed since the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers initiated its strike on Nov. 3 with demands for fair compensation, third-party arbitration, unit inclusion, and expanded healthcare. With classes run by student-workers postponed indefinitely, undergraduate students have been experiencing learning loss due to stalled negotiations between Columbia and the union.