Student Body NROTC Survey Planning Meeting
September 22, 2008 16:55
Posted by Kenny Rivera
Student Body NROTC Survey Planning Meeting
September 17, 2008
Attendees:
Emily Kenison – Barnard Senator
Monica Quaintance – CC Senator
Rajat Roy – ESC Senator
Rishika Samant – CC Senator
George Krebs – CCSC President
Adil Ahmed – CCSC VP Policy
Peter Valerias – ESC President
Prishantha Dunstan – ESC VP Policy
Sarah Besnoff – SGA President
Activities Board at Columbia (ABC)
Asian American Alliance (AAA)
Black Students Organization (BSO)
College Democrats
Columbia Political Union (CPU)
Columbia Queer Alliance (CQA)
Columbia University College Republicans (CUCR)
Hamilton Society
Student Governing Board (SGB)
Student Organization of Latinos (SOL)
United Students of Color Caucus (USCC)
Purpose/Overview:
The purpose of this meeting was to bring all the attendees to the same page with regard to the recent discussion of NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps) and Columbia University. The attendees were selected to provide a group that represents as much of campus as possible while maintaining a small meeting size to facilitate planning. The end goal was to provide for a survey mechanism to gauge undergraduate sentiment on NROTC/CU but also to provide for education on the topic, its history and its implications for the Columbia community.
Personal opinions on NROTC and Columbia were not discussed at the meeting; the focus was on how to best educate the campus and how to lay the framework for a greater discussion in which all undergraduates and undergraduate student groups can participate.
It is important to distinguish that the discussion focused on NROTC, not parallel programs through the Air Force (for which a program exists at Manhattan College) or the Army (for which a program exists at Fordham University).
Referendum vs. Survey:
Contrary to what had elsewhere been suggested, the discussion centered around the possibility of providing for a survey of the undergraduate student body, not a binding referendum. There is currently no provision for a universal referendum in either the rules of the Senate or the Councils. A survey is therefore useful to provide a general sense of student opinion without the difficulty of creating a procedure for a binding referendum.
The University Senators for the undergraduate schools cannot be bound by the results of a survey, though they stated that they will pledge to represent the results of the survey in the Senate, which would then make recommendations to the Trustees of the University, the body which would be ultimately responsible for making policy on NROTC.
General Scope:
There was consensus on the need to have informational programming prior to the eventual survey date. Discussion focused on how to best program and how to ensure that as broad a spectrum of opinions were presented in the campus-wide discussion as possible. It was decided that the University Senators would provide an unbiased history of NROTC and Columbia in “information sessions.” These would be followed by a pair of “town halls,” one on the Columbia campus and one on the Barnard campus, which would feature a panel debate/discussion followed by a general open floor for the audience.
The Councils have pledged not to make policy statements on NROTC until a survey is conducted.
Survey Logistics:
Specific questions as to (1) the wording of any potential survey question, (2) the timing and format of the information sessions and town halls, (3) the date of the survey and (4) the use of the survey results were tabled for the next discussion.