General Studies Lounge

The GSSC has heard your call. GS students face some of the most debt-ridden situations in all of Higher Education, let alone the Ivy league. Tonight in a historic vote, the GSSC has unanimously passed the following Resolution calling on the University to rescue our students from the crushing effects of debt.

for a video of the proceedings (4 short minutes) - click here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5187112689198752352&hl=en

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GENERAL STUDIES
STUDENT COUNCIL

March 4, 2008

WHEREAS, attending Columbia University’s School of General Studies (GS) full-time costs more than $60,000 annually; and

WHEREAS, the majority of GS students bear the financial burden of their education by themselves only; and

WHEREAS, GS has no algorithm for its merit-based financial aid system and if it does, said structure has not been made public; and

WHEREAS, GS offers no need-based institutional financial assistance; and

WHEREAS, the average GS student graduates with more than $60,000 in student loans (according to survey of seniors self-reporting their current personal educational debt load) which is significantly more than the $16,358, as of 2006-2007, that is incurred by the average Columbia College graduate; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Stafford Loan program grants a maximum of $46,000 in federally guaranteed loans, GS students are forced to mortgage their futures by committing to private loans at substantially higher interest rates; and

WHEREAS, it should be the goal of the school as well as the university to attract students based on intellectual abilities and individual achievements; and

From the Columbia Spectator on February 12, 2008

"In a late January memo to the University Senate, Housing Policy
Committee co-chairs Paige Lampkin and Craig Schwalbe brought the issue
of housing for students in the School of General Studies before the
Senate with the support of University President Lee Bollinger. GS
students suffer from a shortage of units and the burden of sharing a
housing office with graduate students and off-campus residents. The
University should heed the recent calls for change by working harder to
help GS students find and finance housing of their own.

Read the rest of the Editorial here........ 

Super Tuesday is in full swing across the nation.  Columbia is proud to claim two of the final three Democratic hopefuls as our own.  Barack Obama, (Senator from Illinois) CC '83 and Mike Gravel (former Senator from Alaska), GS '56.  Dont forget to vote today!

Read more about GS's Presidential hopeful here...