Name: Briley Lewis 
Bio: My name is Briley Lewis, and I am a junior majoring in astrophysics. I currently serve as senior advisor to BlueShift (the Columbia Undergraduate Astronomy Club), CCSC Academic Affairs Rep for Spring 2017, and I am a part of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. I spend much of my time doing astrophysics research work (about exoplanet detection and characterization), and I also volunteer at public outreach events with the CU Astronomy Department.
Platform: Academics are core to the Columbia experience, and students should have a say in shaping this large influence on our daily life here. As academic affairs representative, I will listen to student concerns, comments, and ideas and enact policy initiatives based on what my constituents want.
If elected, a few key issues I would like to focus on are: 1. Mental health awareness and support, including coordinating opportunities for workshops and collaborations between CPS and student groups on campus and continuing the campus-wide discussion on this issue; 2. Expanding access to student research and unpaid internships, especially through reducing the Summer and Semester Work Contributions and/or expanding the Work Exemption Program; 3. Increasing access to faculty mentorship and streamlining the advising process, making it easier to find who can help students with a given academic/career situation.
I am qualified, experienced, and passionate about both helping the Columbia community and about the importance of education in which the students have an active role in shaping their curriculum and experience. Over the past few years, I have served as president of BlueShift (the Columbia Astronomy Club) and more recently this semester I have been the Academic Affairs Rep on CCSC – these experiences have taught me a great deal about how to get things done here and how to navigate the bureaucracy, and also I have seen many different perspectives on the educational experience here at Columbia. I would be honored to have the opportunity to give back to my community in the capacity of this role on CCSC, and I promise to be committed, thorough, and responsive to the community in all I do as academic affairs representative if elected.
Name: Sam Safari
Bio: Hi, I’m Sam Safari from Fresno, California and I’m a sophomore in the college pursuing a degree in Political Science and History. I currently serve as your Student Services representative. My hobbies include shooting and editing film, discovering new spots in the city, and spending copious amounts of time on the Columbia Buy Sell Memes page. As your Academic Affairs Rep I plan to extend the drop deadline, require professors to post their course syllabi, expand double-counting possibilities for courses, and increase the number of four credit courses. For more details about my plans, please look to my platform.
Platform: As your CCSC Academic Affairs Representative, my main goal is to mitigate academic stress through better course flexibility.
First, I plan to make a concerted effort to extend the drop deadline for CC students. The current drop deadline for Columbia College comes a full month before the SEAS drop deadline. I negate the reasoning that SEAS students have an exponentially higher course rigor that would justify an extra month of deliberation before dropping a class. By extending the Columbia College drop deadline to the established SEAS drop deadline, this would allow students to receive midterm results and have more time to experience their course load along with other commitments.
Second, I plan to initiate a policy that requires professors to upload their syllabi to Vergil well in advance of shopping period. I find the “Syllabus” tab on Vergil is rather arbitrary considering almost no courses have uploaded their Syllabi. This is especially crucial for students that are trying to decide between courses with conflicting times and courses with waitlists. If a student is not enrolled in a class, they do not have access to the class’ Courseworks. A lack of access to Courseworks also means a lack of access to the syllabus and, as a result, the course’s workload. Making sure professors upload their syllabi to Vergil alleviates this issue.
Third, I would like to expand the rules regarding double counting certain courses for majors. The Committee on Instruction has already approved a double-counting policy last May, however, they have been slow to implement it. I will work hard to make sure this policy is not only enforced but well communicated to the student body for utilization.
And Fourth, I plan to continue expanding the number of four credit courses. Right now, many courses have mandatory discussion sections but are only worth 3 credits. I would like to identify such courses and confirm the credit value represents the course’s time commitment.
I plan to address these issues and more this coming year as I serve as your Academic Affairs Representative.
Name: Robert Godfried
Bio: Hi! My name is Robert Godfried and I am a junior in Columbia College studying sociology. I grew up in Manhasset; on Long Island but since my family has followed me to New York City. On campus, I am helping plan the 2017 Ivy League Policy Conference, a member of the Journal of Politics and Society and president of Schapiro Hall Council. I also have an obsession with architecture and urban planning. In my free time I play Jazz on the Alto Saxophone.
Platform: If chosen to serve as your Academic Affairs my first goal is to reduce the academic stress culture on campus. I hope to do this by creating mentorship programs within each department, in which professors will give advice to students on what courses they should take and how they should go about pursuing their interests.
My second goal would be to increase student-faculty interaction outside the classroom. I plan to do this two ways, first I plan to host a series of masters teas and student-faculty dinners in which professors would be invited to sit down with interested students and talk about their work and give life advice. My second proposal involves making the process to host a student-faculty meal more simple. Oftentimes professors have to file paperwork and undergo an excessive logistical process in order to setup this meal. Instead, I would find a way to ensure that the responsibility was shifted to an administrator or secretary in order to incentivize professors to have more meals with students.
My third goal will be to ensure that major information sessions hosted by each department at the end of the year are better publicized. Oftentimes, these events happen without students being aware of them, and if elected I would find a central location in which information on all of these different information sessions would be posted. In addition, I hope to create a major declaration fair, which would give sophomores the ability to find out information about different majors without having to attend multiple different information sessions that often happen at the same time.
My last goal is to be accessible to all students. Oftentimes, students on Columbia’s campus feel as if their needs are not heard by the administration. If elected, I hope to bridge the gap of communication between the student body and the administration. I hope to host listening days periodically, in which any student can come to talk to me about any academic problem they have and I will do my best in order to bring their issue to the administration.
Name: Dafne Murillo
Bio: Dafne is a Peruvian sophomore majoring in Latin American Studies and Economics. In Peru, she worked as an activist and volunteer leader. She arrived to Columbia College enticed by the opportunity to critically engage with the Core. Since then, she has been an active member in the Columbia campus; she is currently the International Chair at the Student Organization of Latinx and leads a project for the Alternative Break Program which empowers girls through education in rural Peru. She has been part of the International Students Advisory Board and the Latinx Film Series. She is passionate about politics and education.
Platform: My priority as Academic Affairs Representative will be to improve the mental health on campus by reducing academic stress. I will do this through (1) increasing academic flexibility and (2) fostering inclusivity in the Columbia academic environment. Flexibility: The p/d/f and Drop deadline should be extended for it to match the SEAS deadline. CC students should be allowed to p/d/f either a global core or a science requirement, this will encourage us to take classes outside our comfort zone without the burden of a letter grade. Classes with long waitlists should be encouraged to add another section in the following semester. Students wanting to take an internship should be allowed, if pertinent to their major, to receive credits for it – this system exists in several colleges to prevent the students who take internships during their academic year from having trouble meeting minimum credits for graduation and will also allow International student to actually be able take the off-campus internship by applying for CPT. Finally, double-counting credits; this is already being done by some departments such as the Institute on Latin American Studies therefore the framework already exists and more departments should allow it. Inclusivity: Continue the work being done by current Inclusivity and Equity Rep, Lewit Gemeda, to make official the inclusion of classes that offer a non-western perspective, for I believe making more students feel represented by the Core is a task that should also fall on the Academic Affairs Rep. Courses should make reading materials readily available free online (including books that can be found in Butler and scanned) to decrease the financial stress of purchasing books for students on financial aid. The library system created by Undocu should also be further promoted for it to reach more low-income students. Lastly, students who miss the registration appointment because they could not afford to pay the semester by the deadline should be put first in the waitlist of the classes they want to register for. Through addressing these issues I hope to contribute from the position of Academic Affairs Representative to the effort to improve the mental health of the CC community.