Teaching-Assistant

When Jean Bain got the call, he was sitting on a couch in his Morningside Heights apartment, unwinding after a Saturday afternoon basketball practice.

As the spring term begins, thousands of Columbia students have returned to campus. Despite facing economic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, many local galleries and art-related businesses continue to offer a diverse array of artistic experiences for Columbia students, ranging from exhibitions confronting the pressing issues of race and gender inequalities to craft and pottery workshops that provide an opportunity to step away from the screen and into the studio.

A massive installation created from brown butcher paper weaves throughout the lobby of Barnard’s Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning. It encases three television screens featuring videos of six women of color sharing experiences of their “stuff” being taken away. Alongside the installation, archival materials, including photos and manuscripts, are displayed.

It’s 6 in the morning. Columbia students are fast asleep, exhausted by their Thursday night outings in the city and midterm papers due the night before. Few would even think about getting up at such an ungodly hour, especially on the day that marks the beginning of the weekend. In fact, most of the city is still asleep. You cannot yet hear the typical hustle and bustle of Manhattan.

Students and faculty erupted in protest this weekend after Columbia announced that it would require graduate students to return to the United States to keep their teaching and research positions regardless of their citizenship status. Following widespread criticism, the University has since announced that it is exploring other options to the policy, though no update has been released.

The tissue box screeches as it is pushed across the desk. The copy machine lulls as pages filled with meaningless numbers emerge and the sound of fingers tapping against a keyboard is heard. These details take on heavy meaning in the high-pressure and misogynistic work environment in which Jane finds herself isolated.

Exiting Provost John Coastworth highlighted multiple academic and administrative policy changes including the official Consensual Romantic and Sexual Relationship Policy between faculty and graduate students, along with updates on union negotiations in his final annual newsletter to faculty and staff on Tuesday afternoon.

Barnard Public Safety lacks updated and consistent guidelines for the execution of its duties, enforcement of new policies and existing rules, and interactions with non-college affiliated public, according to the findings of an external investigation into the office.

When footage of Barnard Public Safety officers pinning Alexander McNab, CC ’19, to the countertop of Peet's Coffee in the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning went viral, administrators responded to student outrage by holding open forums, releasing carefully crafted statements, and creating the Barnard Community Safety Group. In the aftermath of the incident, as students have sought more avenues for open dialogue, the need to discuss racial profiling and policing on campus spilled over into the classroom and into the hands of Columbia and Barnard faculty.

The six Barnard Public Safety officers involved in the physical confrontation of Alexander McNab, CC ‘19, have been placed on paid administrative pending investigation, Barnard administrators announced to students on Friday evening.