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MY PLATFORM

"As Senator, I wish to use a collaborative and open-minded approach to bring attention to policy issues on campus by focusing on two main components; representation and inter-school initatives."
LIST OF POLICY ISSUES AND INITATIVES

Representation

Inter-School Initiatives

Competitive Club Culture

If not you, you probably know at least a few people who have been disheartened by a rejection from a club they have been pining for. With the endless application cycles and recruitment quotas, the club culture at Columbia poses a main issue for students. These are some ways I plan to mitigate this issue:

  • Enforce transparency in recruiting process

  • Disburse necessary funding/resources to students and organizations to enhance campus involvement 

  • Work with independent DEI teams in student organizations to foster communication

Financial Accessibility

There are gaps in education about managing finances as a college student for both students and faculty alike. In the case of textbook accessibility, many books requested by professors either show up at the FLI library too late or never if the professor is not aware of the time frame of getting those books. Often, certain books are not available in Columbia libraries, in which case relying on Book Culture becomes a financial limitation for FLI students. Additionally, a lack of financial literacy makes many students too late to use opportunities related to finances. These issues can be solved by: 

 

  • Expediting book purchases to the FLI library and implementing Book Culture discounts by engaging with professors in the process

  • Increasing financial aid literacy by working with CCE and Multicultural Affairs Board (FLI and Student of Color Board) to host webinars/events catered to this demographic

  • Expanding summer funding programs and easing access to HEERF 

  • Enforce transparency in University spending in order to best optimize financial allocations for FGLI students

Reporting Incidences of Bias

It is easy to overlook the persistent and, in many cases, hidden incidences of bias around Columbia by solely focusing on diversity as a form of repellant to these problems. However, this only makes hate crimes and hate speech less easily identifiable and thus, easily reported. Many students are more likely to avoid reporting these incidences because of the process it takes to do so. Therefore, I wish to:

  • Increase awareness of the Bias Incidence Reporting Process through anonymous conversations between students and the Bias Response Team.

  • Create transparency of campus incidences through social media and student run accounts like Columbia Confessions and Barstool Columbia.

Mental Health Services

According to the 2022 CCSC Expansion Survey, around 900 students seeking CPS aid were unable to do so because of certain circumstances. This is an appalling number of students who were rejected the services they sought out for themselves. To ensure better mental health and wellness, I wish to:

  • Partner with the Office of Disability Services and SHIFT to provide individualized attention to students seeking medical leave or excused absences.

  • Budget more resources for mental health initiatives in the form of events and staff hires and encourage transparency in these processes.

  • Implement excused absences, extensions, and modifications of exam schedules for students dealing with mental health issues.

Adapting to Holidays

As events return to being in person, there may be a lack of attention to scheduling conflicts certain students have due to their background. No student's faith or identity should be a reason that they can not partake in the campus culture because without them, we are not a collective student body. To mediate this, my plan is to:

  • Collaborate with major event-planning organizations to minimize holidays conflicts in the academic and extracurricular calendars

  • Celebrate and bring awareness to student backgrounds by leading discussions on campus and on social media educating everyone about these events.

  • Work with Registrar to plan out the academic calendar according to major holiday celebrations

  • Implement excused absences, extensions, and modifications of exam schedules for students celebrating their 

Covid Inconsistency

COVID has been a huge presence within student life and policies pertaining to COVID are always changing. This also means there are inconsistencies in policies in which the mask mandate is imposed in classrooms but not in libraries or dining halls. To get a better understanding of why these policies are enacted, we have to:

  • Clarify the COVID monitoring system to reduce misinformation

  • Enforce mask mandate consistently in both classrooms and libraries.

  • Engage with Columbia Public Safety about the rationale behind the policies

  • Ensure a smooth transition to normalcy by openly communicating with students about COVID updates on a consistent basis.

Pre-professional Interaction with Affiliate Schools

Columbia undergraduates have a large range of professional interests. So why not make use of the networking opportunities and mentorship they have at their disposal? To do so, I wish to:

  • Establish spaces for networking and mentorship between CC undergraduates and relevant Columbia affiliates (Medical School/Law School)

  • Host graduate school student panels for students to engage with them

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