A house divided against itself must fully stand

A proposal is only as good as the chance it has to become policy. Today, a revised academic calendar proposed by the student councils, along with a 1,600-signature petition, will be presented to the University Senate’s Education Committee. Whether this proposal—which recommends that finals do not go through Dec. 23 and that students actually have study days—will make it past committee is unclear, but given the importance of this issue to everyone on campus, it shouldn’t be. The Education Committee should bring a resolution to the full Senate for a vote.

According to its bylaws, the University Senate has full power to legislate, and its decisions are final except if overturned by the Board of Trustees, which is an exceptionally rare event—only twice in the Senate’s history have the trustees overturned a decision. Thus, while the Senate cannot technically make the final decision as to what the academic calendar will look like, it will do so for all intents and purposes.

Will the decision come from this particular proposal? Maybe not. It certainly will not, however, if the proposal never leaves committee, or if the recommendation to begin classes the first week of September is considered too contentious given that faculty have historically favored beginning after Labor Day. Individual senators might not agree on the issue, but this should not prevent the Senate as a whole from formulating a clear position on an issue that affects everyone at Columbia.

The University Senate is often criticized as being an irrelevant and archaic body. While this is far from the case, the perception stems from the fact that the Senate often seems disconnected from its constituency. The academic calendar matters greatly to students and faculty alike. If the Senate wants to be a relevant and powerful body, it needs to address, discuss, and vote on issues that have actual significance on this campus. It is not necessarily the easy or agreeable decision for the Education Committee members, but it is the right one. The student proposal should be allowed out of committee—1,600 students have spoken, and the University Senate should hear them.