What's next?

There is no denying that this semester has been a tumultuous one. And as it comes to a close, a few themes have surfaced time and time again. From former Dean Moody-Adams’ resignation in August, to the emergence last week of serious frustrations within the SEAS faculty about Dean Peña-Mora’s leadership, students have had good reason to be concerned about the state of the University. The administration at Barnard College, in severely restricting the possibility for students to pay part-time tuition, infuriated many students and has not been particularly receptive to their legitimate complaints. Even leadership of Columbia’s football team has been sorely lacking—so much so that the school fired Coach Wilson and hired Coach Pete Mangurian to take his place.

Students have many reasons to distrust the Barnard and Columbia administrations, but there are reasons for optimism as well, such as the rumors circulating about plans to establish an endowment for the Core Curriculum. An endowed Core would show students and alumni that the quality of undergraduate education is of the utmost importance to the administration. Students’ satisfaction with this University hangs in the balance until next semester.

If Columbia is to remain a top-tier institution, communication will be essential, and it has been one of the things most missing from this semester. When Moody-Adams left, students learned nothing of what actually happened—only vague claims about Columbia College being under threat, and empty reassurance that this was not the case. Dean Valentini, Moody-Adams’ temporary replacement, has made something of an effort to reach out to students, but little else that he has accomplished is visible. SEAS faculty have been mostly united in their discontent with Peña-Mora, but students knew little of this and were distressed at being kept in the dark.

Moreover, communication is a two-way street. If Barnard students, for instance, are adamant about the administration’s decisions and want to see change happen, they need to voice their concerns in a strong, noticeable way. While Columbia’s leadership needs to take the community’s concerns seriously, it seems that students will be the ones leading the way forward.

Students have already shown that they are capable of this kind of leadership, and in many ways this is what will determine what kind of place Columbia is for undergraduates. Conversation about mental health and depression has spread across campus, and bit by bit these topics are becoming a little less taboo. The Student Wellness Project, not yet launched, promises to be a valuable asset to Columbia, and we hope that it succeeds in giving students courage to seek help and open up about their struggles. The Occupy movement, whatever one’s politics, has pulled countless students off campus and downtown, encouraging a spirit of activism that is Columbia’s signature. If, next semester, students continue to show the leadership abilities that they so clearly possess, Columbia will be a better, more complete place.

In the upcoming months, newly accepted members of the class of 2016 will eagerly anticipate their first semesters here, while seniors will put the finishing touches on their careers as Columbia students. We look forward to crucial changes in the administration’s mode of operation, and perseverance from the students and faculty who are already doing excellent work. Because while we spend a lot of time thinking about what administrators and community leaders will do, ultimately we, the students and faculty of Columbia, get to decide what’s next.

Signed,
The Editorial Board
of the Columbia Daily Spectator

Leena Charlton
Sophie Chou
Sam Klug
Robin Simpson-McKay
Stephen Snowder
Derek Turner

Samuel E. Roth
Michele Cleary
Gabriella Porrino
Rebekah Mays