Name: Aida Lu
Party: Back to the FUture
Bio: Aida Lu is a sophomore from Houston, Texas studying Operations Research. Currently, she serves as the ESC VP Finance, and in this role she has made significant improvements in existing funding processes to ensure the fair distribution of student life fees. After a year on the executive board of ESC, Aida better understands the issues SEAS students face and how to effectively advocate for changes with administrators, and she is passionate to continue solving these problems. Outside of student council, Aida is an RA, is active in the Lion Credit Union Initiative, and loves to boulder in Brooklyn.
Platform: As President, Aida hopes to lead ESC in innovating solutions to problems around campus and creating real, positive change in the Columbia community. She is especially passionate about improving mental health and wellness, providing more pre-professional support, and expanding study abroad opportunities. By listening to her peers, Aida hopes to make SEAS students feel like their opinions are being used to improve the community and also empower them to look for ways they can make the campus a better place.
Mental Health and Wellness
– Destigmatize mental health by increasing outreach and drop-by consultations for offices like Counseling and Psychological Services
– Advocate for additional dedicated student group and lounge spaces where students can relax and hang out
– Expand pre-orientation programs like the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program (COÖP) and Columbia Urban Experience (CUE) so first-year students can begin to form friendships and build communities before the start of NSOP
– Partner with ResLife, the libraries, and other organizations to increase mental wellness messaging and programming during high-stress periods like midterms and finals weeks
Pre-professional Opportunities
– Ensure that SEAS students of all majors feel knowledgeable about and supported in their career interests
– Facilitate job and internship searches for SEAS students of all majors by increasing the representation of biomedical, chemical, civil, mechanical, electrical, environmental, and other engineering companies at career fairs and panels
Study Abroad
– Expand study abroad opportunities for SEAS students by establishing opportunities to take global core and non-technical elective classes abroad
– Create sample study abroad class schedules to provide concrete examples of how to successfully incorporate a semester abroad into a four-year academic plan
– Engage more SEAS students in study abroad programming by partnering with the Office of Global Programs to increase outreach and make information more easily accessible
Name: Onur Calikusu
Party: SEAStheCurve
Bio: Onur Calikusu is a sophomore studying Mechanical Engineer. Onur’s pronouns include he, him, and his. He is originally from Antalya, Turkey, but moved to the United States at the age of 14. His favorite TV shows include Game of Thrones and Westworld. He has also served as the Vice-President of SEAS Class of 2019 as a first-year. He is passionate about ESC and wants to improve the community.
Platform: As ESC president, Onur is excited to empower the student body through transforming Engineering Student Council into a center that is more accessible. Onur wants to bring more transparency into ESC and build stronger and more accessible communication tools between ESC, the student body, and the administration. In addition, Onur wants to increase the student space and support student groups — including LGBTQ+, Muslim, and People of Color — through advocating for student space and better advising. Most importantly, Onur is passionate about advocating for mental health. Onur believes that mental health is not an isolated issue and is analytical of the issue on both a micro and macro level. Lack of student space and support to students with marginalized identities contribute to overall mental health issue on our campus. This issue is furthered with heavy SEAS requirements. Onur wants to have a constructive conversation about mental health with the administration and wants to include the student body into this serious and important issue. Onur also wants to improve the Center for Career Education and diversify the companies presented in career fairs.
SEAS Support
Establish a better communication channel between ESC, student body, and the administration
Establish a better advising tool, such as a Piazza Page and construct and strengthen SEAS peer advising
Increase student spaces and designate specific spaces for certain student groups (LGBTQ+ Students, Muslim Students, and Students of Color). In giving these groups specific spaces, Lerner Hall will be a fully functional student center
Advocate for better support from disability services (i.e. making all buildings more accessible). Onur will start with the reconstructing of the Math Building since it is the only building that is inaccessible on the Morningside Heights Campus for people with walking disabilities.
Mental Health
Incorporate the student body, the administration, and ESC into the on-going conversation on mental health
Increase the amount of appointments that could be made at CPS
Increase CPS hours and make it more accessible
Construct a 24/7 mental health hotline for the use of undergraduate students. The calls will be answered by mental health professionals.
Center for Career Education:
Increase and diversify the companies presented in the career fairs
Improve alumni relations
Advocate for a portal to reach out to alumni to encourage and assist networking
ESC
Continue the on-going conversation on diversifying the council and representing the student-body
Increase student unity with other undergraduate student councils
Work closely with Engineering Graduate Student Council to create a unity between undergraduate and graduate programs.