Class of 2020 Representative

Name: Abhishek Chakraborty

View post on imgur.com

Party: SEASus (re)Takes The Wheel

Bio: Abhi hails from sunny San Diego, California and intends to study Biomedical Engineering. Abhi also enjoys training and playing with his dog and adding to his aquatic collection. His motivation for running for ESC is his belief in the power of engineering to change the world rooted in his determination to make tools needed by engineers more available and student voices heard. Columbia Engineering is world-class, and it is Abhi’s goal to ensure its excellence and student satisfaction. Abhi wants to change the campus culture with an emphasis on mental care using his experience as a previous council member.

Platform:  Our six-point plan to introduce positive change (+ΔSEAS) is geared towards improving the student life of SEAS:

Unity: SEAS gear, Yule (Winter) Ball, Class Brunch.
Diversity:
for women (partnering with SWE – mentorship)
for internationals (increased career assistance for international students)
for historically underrepresented minorities (conferences with leaders in STEM fields & discussions on intersectionality)
by interest (seminars for non-STEM subjects including visual & performing arts, design, film, policy, and economics)
Sustainability: Motion-detecting hallway lights, solar panels, green roofs, vertical gardens
Academic & Career Support: Pet therapy, greater accessibility to wet lab space, archived lectures, Professor Meet-&-Greet, greater connection with Global Centers
Student Amenities: meal swipe exchange, textbook exchange app, same registration period as Barnard for first semester freshmen
Transparency: public meeting minutes, idea submission portal (ESConnect)

Policy
(in reference to SEAS’s town hall meetings) During some policy meetings, any student can come in for 20 min and submit a proposal. And there would be a system we would institute later so that the proposal can be put into an amendment
Like a bill
But public voting on the proposal
Partnering with Environmental rep to create programs to promote sustainability
Many times motion sensing lights save more energy and thus more money thus killing two birds with one stone
Green roofs: regulates temperatures: solves john jay/ Wallach/ Hartley AC problem while creating an innovative solution
Professor Meet and Greet

Expand
expand engineering innovations education to incoming students.
For example the fm radio and gfp protein usage
Expand edoc events
Engineering info sessions

Counterarguments
Donations box for engineering projects – we already receive funding from the school for engineering projects and events
https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/studentlife/resources/funding
Iclickers –
Free iclicker option by buying the app
Even with subscription, it’s cheaper than buying it for $50 and selling it for $20
http://columbiaspectator.com/spectrum/2016/09/12/how-get-free-iclicker
Better uses of funding than iclickers – subsidize WEBASSIGN
More expensive than iclickers, so it’s more useful to students struggling financially

Film intro classes – make notes public
Save money by using notes submitted to disabilities and post it on a forum online
No need to buy camera equipment and hire extra personnel
Anonymous ideas box
Inefficient – who’s gonna walk to mudd to submit their notes in a box
The notes would have to be transcribed anyway
Our idea is so much better – submit ideas through the convenience of a computer
Connect students
How do you plan on connecting CC and SEAS students?
There’s already free tutoring at the advising center, so wouldn’t they be of more help?
We already have friends in CC and SEAS so
De-stressing events
What do u mean by identify the incoming class
Game day – what did you have in mind for a game day? Would people come to that event when they’re busy studying for midterms and barely have time to even get out of columbia and explore the city
Encourage stem
There are already clubs in campus that works with HS students to encourage interest in stem
Alumni
How would you enhance the alumni network beyond what ESC has already done?
Invite recruiters
We already have an engineering club fair – can you expand on what you meant when you said invite recruiters
Banquets and formals – our idea first


Name: Joanna Paik

campaign pic

Party: SEASus (re)Takes The Wheel

Bio: Born in Chicago but hailing from SoCAL, Joanna is running for SEAS 2020 Class Representative again! She loves contributing to the community at large through ESC and hopes to continue doing so next year. She plans to major in Civil Engineering as she’s interested in green infrastructure and her end goal is to promote sustainability in her career, whatever that may be. As Class Representative, she aims to improve our campus culture by creating a tighter-knit community and support system. Mental health has always been the top priority so she hopes to implement community-building activities that would benefit the students.

Platform: Our five-point plan to introduce positive change is geared towards improving the student life of SEAS:

Unity: semesterly SEAS gear, Yule (Winter) Ball, Class Brunch, spirit week.
Academic & Career Support: CCE support for major-specific internship opportunities, internship advisory panel
Student Amenities: extended hours in Lerner, grants for summer courses,
Transparency: public meeting minutes, upgrade idea submission portal (ESConnect)
Mental Health: Extended Lerner hours, improved housing lottery system (better lottery number by attending mental health, sexual respect, diversity workshops), pet therapy, faculty training on mental health