This evening, the Columbia College Student Council hosted its first official Town Hall meeting in the Satow room of Lerner hall.  The event was organized to solicit feedback from the Columbia College community about any issues that students face on a daily basis.  We as a council want to ensure that we address issues that actually affect students, and we began that process today by inviting members of the student body to air their grievances and get involved in a conversation about improving life on this campus.

The forum was very successful, and all those present had a lot to say, both good and bad, about Columbia and the University bureaucracy.  Some of the major topics discussed included hot water and cleanliness of bathroom facilities, mental wellness and CPS outreach, the standing of Columbia College within the larger campus community, and finally the sense of community at Columbia and ways to create a more friendly and supportive campus culture.

We know that CCSC can’t solve all the problems brought up today, but it is our job to serve students and attempt to improve their experience here.  So, we will be working with the CCSC policy committee to address as many of the concerns mentioned tonight in the semester ahead.  A more comprehensive list of the issues discussed at the Town Hall is listed below.  Please note that these were all mentioned by students at the meeting, and do not necessarily reflect the expressed views of the CCSC.

Please feel free to contact us with any other campus life issues you have.  That is why we are here.  Don’t hesitate.  As usual, CCSC@columbia.edu

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Larger Issues Mentioned

-Disconnect faculty have from important University decisions, like financial aid and admissions.

- The standing of Columbia College within the larger University.  Is the focus on undergraduates being lost amidst global expansion and other University priorities?

- Space on campus.  Lerner Hall should be a student center, and students should have well-furnished space to hang-out.

- Integration of transfer students and returning leave-of-absence students on campus

- Students are not always treated like holistic individuals by the bureaucracy.  Instead, individual departments and offices take care of separate issues with little coordination

-Issue of “study drugs” on campus.  How detrimental are they in the long term, and why are they not talked about more often?

- Disability services.  Campus is not generally handicap friendly.

- The cultural insularity of campus.  Often times, real diversity is inhibited by cultural and religious cliques.

- Mental wellness.  Students need to feel safe and comfortable on campus.  CSA and CPS should coordinate services and conduct outreach more often.

- Campus culture in general is at times stress-filled and not always friendly.  How do we change that?  And how do we equip first-years and incoming students with the skills necessary to change this culture.  Should there be a new program initiated as part of NSOP?

-  Why is the technology on campus so poor and outdated?

Specific/Tangible Issues Mentioned

- No hot water in Woodbridge

- Staircase in Ferris Dining Hall is dangerous.  Students cannot go up and down at the same time.

- Inadequate heating in residence halls, including McBain

- Bathrooms and trash in Carman

- Healthier food on campus.  And healthier food at student council events.

- Problem registering for Chemistry lab classes. Restrictions on size, and extensive waiting lists

- Why do club sports participants have to pay dues?

- Hamilton elevator is too slow for a building that is used by so many students and faculty on a daily basis.

-  Math building spaces and desks are very old and crowded.

- East Campus 6th floor is reserved for transfer students, but there are no kitchens.

-  Columbia’s used furniture should be donated to local residents

- More left-handed desks needed in classrooms across campus.