2008-2009 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

and serve as a resource for the residents
of their floors and buildings. They are
available to assist and respond to the
variety of issues and incidents that
emerge in a residential community.
Additionally, RAs/CPAs serve as the front
line of a layered on-call system. As backup,
they have graduate assistants (GAs),
associate directors (ADs), and a dean-onduty.
The well-known and highly successful
program of Faculty-in-Residence allows
students, alumni, and faculty to meet formally
and informally throughout the year
for conversations, guest speakers, and
other activities. These faculty members
live in several of the residence halls
throughout the year, establishing mentorships
with residents that often endure
long after graduation. Resident professors
invite students to dine in their apartments;
organize special programs around
issues of interest; provide opportunities
for academic growth and challenges
within the residence halls; and help students
establish links with major cultural,
political, and professional institutions in
New York City.
Begun in fall 2006, the Gateway
Residential Initiative allows SEAS firstyears,
sophomores, juniors, and seniors
to live together clustered in the Hartley
and Wallach Living Learning Center
(LLC). This initiative seeks to bridge the
academic and co-curricular experience
for SEAS students. Mentorship between
students, connection among the class
years, and alumni interaction are the
foundations for the success of the program.
Fraternities and Sororities
Columbia has a diverse Greek system
that includes fourteen men’s fraternities,
one coed society, and four National
Pan-Hellenic conference sororities. Many
of the organizations have brownstones
near the campus and most of the
organizations without brownstones have
a suite within the residence halls. There
is a full-time Assistant Director for Greek
Life and Leadership.
OFFICE OF JUDICIAL AFFAIRS
The Office of Judicial Affairs was created
to assist students in the maintenance of
a safe, honest, and responsible campus
community. To achieve this goal, the
Office of Judicial Affairs partners with
various offices on campus to create programs
designed to educate students
regarding the potential impact of their
actions on both their individual lives and
the community at large. In addition, the
Office of Judicial Affairs works with student
groups to facilitate the development
of skills and processes students
can use to hold each other accountable
when they encounter inappropriate
behavior. The Office of Judicial Affairs
also holds students accountable for
inappropriate behavior through the Dean’s
Discipline process when necessary.
OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY
CHAPLAIN
The Office of the University Chaplain is
located in the Earl Hall Center and
includes the United Campus Ministries,
the Common Meal Program, and “Music
at St. Paul’s.” The mission of the Center
is to build community within the
University and with its neighbors while
providing students with an opportunity
to explore the relationship between faith
and learning. The Center is as diverse as
the university it serves. United Campus
Ministries, which includes denominations
of Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and
Eastern practices, provides students
with individual counseling, religious and
nonreligious group support, referrals,
and personal assistance.
The University Chaplain is the director
of the Earl Hall Center. As University
Chaplain, Jewelnel Davis supports the
coherence and unity that connects the
University. She focuses on a nexus of
issues including religion, spirituality, race,
ethnicity, sexual identity, gender, social
justice, and community service.
One point of focus for Chaplain Davis
is accessibility to students. Students
often e-mail her, make appointments
with her individually or in groups, or
speak with the chaplain associates or
program coordinators—student liaisons
who work directly with Chaplain Davis
on student programming initiatives.
The Common Meal Program is a weekly
gathering to which student leaders
from Columbia College, Barnard, SEAS,
General Studies, and the graduate
schools are invited along with faculty
and senior administrators to discuss
ideas and opinions about Columbia’s
past, present, and future.
In addition to student programming,
community service is also a main function
of the Center. As a center for all
undergraduate, graduate, and professional
schools at Columbia, the Earl Hall
Center offers any student a number of
great opportunities. Columbia University’s
largest community service program,
Community Impact, which is located in
the Earl Hall Center, involves more than
900 student and neighborhood volunteers
in twenty-six programs, including GED,
Earth Coalition, Peace Games, a soup
kitchen, and student help for the aging.
Besides Earl Hall, the Center includes
St. Paul’s Chapel. One of Columbia’s
oldest and most beautiful buildings, the
Chapel not only hosts weddings and
various religious services, but also features
many speakers and performances.
The Postcrypt Coffeehouse at St. Paul’s
Chapel is a favorite spot for artists to
play music, read poetry, or exhibit artwork.
The administrative offices for the
Center are open during regular business
hours, but the buildings have more
extensive hours—as late as 11:00 p.m.
on weekends. For more information,
please call the Earl Hall Center at 212-
854-1474 or 212-854-6242.
LERNER HALL
Columbia’s new student center, Lerner
Hall, officially opened in the fall of 1999.
Located on the southwest corner of
campus, this 225,000-square-foot student
center was designed by Bernard Tschumi,
the former Dean of Columbia’s Graduate
School of Architecture, Planning and
Preservation. Architectural features of
Lerner Hall, such as the glass facade
and ramps, allow the campus to clearly
view the activities within the building,
and offer those within Lerner scenic
views of the campus.
Undergraduate students are likely to
visit Lerner to check the mail from the
7,000 student mailboxes located along
the ramps. Students may check their
e-mail in Lerner’s computer center or by
plugging in their laptop computers at
one of Lerner’s Ethernet-outfitted lounges.
Students will also visit Lerner to interact
with one another in various ways. They
may strategize and plan events with
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SEAS 2008–2009