General Studies Lounge

Minutes

7:45:

Rollcall:

Present: Niko, Nancy, Alex, Allen, Brendan, Melissa, Helena,
Raul, Chikodhi, Elie, Evan, Jong William, Richard Clair.

No Present: Brody, Melissa, Jake, Joel, Monique

Late: Keith, Karly

7:50

Nancy:
discussion of agenda;

Financial Aid resolution: explanation
of “merit based system;” no information from the Deans about the particulars;
been told there are no GS financial aid numbers; need the administration to
know there are problems with the model (even those worthy less aid than
CC/SEAS); survey launched to find out the numbers from GS students;
administration very unhappy about information being compiled (GS is $60000+
while CC is about $15000 and State schools $5000)

Jong: update

William: introduces himself

Clair: introduces herself

Richard: introduces himself

Karly walks in

Allen: talks about budget; huge slashes in budget

Vote on “Whether to Discuss the Budget Now”: 10/2/4

Discussion of budget:

Brendan,
roll over

Allen responds, includes roll over

Evan
includes Osekre?

Allen
responds, tightly includes Osekre with no wiggle-room

Helena, questions about Gala budget expended
(umbrellas)

Niko: all spent

Helena: when will we have numbers
Keith: next week

Niko: “Motion to table discussion
till next week” 9/5/2

(Continue with updates)

Raul: Event for “learning how to get a job if interested in
the arts” on March 13^th

Ari: Liszt
College forum, talent
night coming up

Chikodhi: gift table had a good presence (senior gift);
professional DJs at next Senior Pub; senior cruise planning underway

Julie, “GS Relay for Life”: team captain meeting for Relay
for Life, so far raised is $250, team goal of $5000 with personal goal of $1000

William, arts initiative: three events coming up this month
(1) art of the DJ and two others

Richard: nothing

Alex: met with freshman presidents; set up study breaks
throughout the semester; planning a luau after spring break; planning a
blacklight party

Whitney: review, internal elections

Maria: Town Hall

CCSC Rep: March 12^th April 7-April 12, College
Week

Joel

Karly: Junior class luncheon March 28^th; creation
of Junior Class Council on March 21^st; Raul, Evan, and Karly CCE
events with a GS focus; liaison position with President of SIPA, SIPA seeking
to do a university-wide event, wanting to volunteer and work with C@LC; secret
spaces tour approved for April 4^th (place to study and/or place to
eat); basic XL tutorial

Evan: yoga class for juniors, challenge with space

Helena:
working with OMA to create awareness for how to behave and work with LGBT
community; found out that LGBT students feel that campus is homophobic while it
is not homophobic; program is called CUSpeakOut with pins to visually show
support; email should be sent out this week or the next week

Brendan: La Negrita quiz night on 26^th of March;
second week of April there will be a movie night.

Keith: Gala a success with numbers next week

Niko: survey results, 463 respondents, 216 personal letters,
over 100 volunteers, explanation of findings; Niko’s email privileges dropped
because Dean Awn doesn’t want the numbers to be public; discussion

Evan:

Karly:
transferring credits with Nancy
responding

Allen:
statistically valid

Raul: not even going to go into it;
not even eligible for scholarships or FAFSA, this is not a privilege, not a
right, no one owes you anything, this is an expense school; must understand
this; Columbia is a business

Joel: not eligible because I was
working; is this a good reflection of the school

Raul: free-ride students

Niko: echo what Raul says; announcements
received for CC/SEAS, with much competition; social responsibility of Columbia University

Raul: is social responsibility but Columbia University is

Evan: writer of resolution – bias,
not a for-profit business but is profitable; not exactly the case that we are
adults and should understand; not all students are treated as the same because
of the need for diversity; university sees the benefit of a diverse student
body, add something that wouldn’t be there; ask to be treated like all
students; a large portion can work or be supported; call attention that we are
all treated the same; the school can do more

William: given facts, what should
we do.

Clair: rich CC kids?

Niko: average institutional aid is
higher than the highest institutional aid

Raul: question, why is GS treated
differently?

Nancy: colleges are businesses; all
research has not given; baited into attending by provoking hope in more money
next year; rare that straight answers given; we should be told that we are
paying for this Ivy League education; need a graduate degree to pay back debt –
ties hands; decreasing enrollment may point to a disinterest in attending with
racking up of debt; not sure how to go forward

Niko: full disclosure? Put info on
gslounge

Karly: in what way is this explicit
role of DOS

Niko:

Karly:

Nancy: many can fund themselves; no rumor of
no CC need, not all GS need aid; DOS knows the need but won’t talk about it;
tangible evidence now

Niko: discussion of actions

Richard: to me the most persuasive
case is question 4 (humanistic); career choice strains

Alex: does DOS know results?

Niko: no, should we?

Allen: need to launch a PR campaign

Jong:

Angelines: why it took till march
to begin to address this issue; this is a political issue, this is a grassroots
moment and there needs to be visceral demands through protesting; what has the
GSSC done? Are we ready for a mass protest?

Niko: one meeting with Dean Awn
talking about financial aid; last year’s GSSC administration with over 300
letters on President Bollinger’s desk with comments that GS financial aid is a
priority; email sent to Bollinger with results and request to meet; this moment
was the right if inequitable financial aid is passed; resolution

Nancy:
like to pass resolution now; any questions after looking over; think resolution
is the first step; transparency/full disclosure

Evan: considering hard work put
into this questionnaire; want to give to a statistician, what to do to make
this a mathematically and statistically relevant survey; believe this is about
parity but also more, reason other schools have made these moves because the
federal government said that tax would be increased if

Allen: statistics; need to pass
resolution; important

Richard: movement in DOS to achieve
parity in major requirements so now absolute parity in financial aid as well;
logical companion issue

Karly: Quorum?

Niko: yes

Allen:
motion to close debate

Niko: Elie?

Elie:
international students

Niko:
Clair?

Clair: need resolution to include
the need for more transparency in merit-based system

Alex: vote of the resolution but
hold off on making survey public until after university-wide announcement, be
prepared to launch campaign

Niko: should do before or after?

Alex: should be ready to launch; no
preemptive but if in the same paper would be good

Helena: don’t know sure when?

Niko: no, but have feelings

Helena: agree with Alex then

Raul: touch on Angelines, need to
know reaction either way; should be able to mobilize in a bigger way than just
a resolution

Karly: Motion to close debate

Niko: Accepted; unanimous is hoped
for

Nancy: new amendments about information about
merit-based system

Niko: introduces amendments,
resolution passes with 15/0/0 with Niko breaking quorum issue

Niko: introduces Latin Diploma
Resolution, passes by acclamation

Niko: discussion of how to step up this story; need to
discuss by email tomorrow is not good.

Allen:
letters, spec, flyering

William,
arts imitative: how to get national news

Niko: find
names of journalists

Evan:
Delbanco wants to help

Niko: have
Adil, Mark Johnson, Felipe (CC Senator), CC/SEAS Senators on side

Evan: I am
on the taskforce

Raul:
report about next year

Niko: how
strong we go?

Nancy: should develop game plan to become
more and more radical with more and more students involved; let them know our game
plan

William, international rep: what is
goal, since we cannot get the same as CC?

Niko: problems with stats, but we
need to see a good faith movement

Evan: if I came a table, we should
get the same as any other undergrad in the same system as CC/SEAS with
financial need; should get free-ride is $50,000 plus

Helena: asking for GS to allocate more? Not realistic
to ask the same from GS as CC/SEAS

Allen: need 50-100% increase at
least

Angelines: GS gives a surplus to Columbia University

Evan: people give to the
university, not usually to individual schools;

William, arts: why not launch attack
now

Nancy: need to be strategic

Niko: information should be given
now and in tomorrow’s paper

Alex: stats sent to Bollinger?

Niko: yes

Alex: public doesn’t know?

Niko: yes?

Alex:

Niko: then it’s a bullet-point not
a headline

Clair: we have more federal if than
younger students with un-giving wealthier parents…independent students

Evan: married students

Allen: parents needed to give
information

Niko: numbers for CC/SEAS would
have been unimaginable 10 years ago; GSSC has been have this discussion for
years.

Niko: stories are gold

Allen: motion to sent stats to the
spec

Helena: what about statistical problem?

Niko:

Jong: will have statistician look
at it

9:45

Meeting closed