Listen, then act

This past Sunday, CCSC held a town hall meeting that elicited a turnout of around 60 people­—a large turnout, by CCSC standards. More important than the sheer number of people who attended was the breadth of the discussion, ranging from the lack of hot water in certain residence halls to critiques of Dean Valentini’s “3, 2, 1” initiative to unease about financial aid.

This town hall strategy is undeniably promising. CCSC meetings are often criticized for failing to attract more than just CCSC members. The turnout was likely a result of good publicity—in part, due to the Facebook campaign. However, there is something to be said about the way the meeting’s title, “What’s wrong, Columbia?” set the tone. Those three words communicated a willingness on CCSC’s part to stop and listen to the student body’s various concerns, contradicting the paradigm, however false, that CCSC is often unresponsive to student feedback. It’s not surprising to see why so many attended. CCSC began the semester on a strong note by taking a step back and considering what students had to say.

While we are impressed with CCSC’s efforts, it is important that CCSC go beyond simply holding a town hall gathering at the beginning of every semester to allow students to air their frustrations. While this first discussion was certainly productive, CCSC needs to turn thoughts and intentions into actions. CCSC should continue to hold town hall meetings like these at the beginning of each semester in the future, using Sunday’s discussion as a model—and other councils would do well to follow the same steps. These initial meetings should be used to forge platforms on which to put together a general agenda for the semester. This way, CCSC would do more than just listen—it would create a tentative schedule for the following town hall meetings and be able to allot the necessary time for many individual issues. Such an agenda would be released to the student body, as transparency can only ensure that CCSC remain accountable for responding to student needs. CCSC has often been criticized for failing to turn talk into initiatives, and with the student body looking forward to CCSC’s next move, now is the time for it to disprove that. Now is the time to act.

Hannah D’Apice recused herself from the writing of this editorial because she is a member of the CCSC 2012 Council.