General Studies Lounge

This is your weekly update from the GSSC.  As VP of Communicaton, my
primary role is to keep you informed.  I welcome your feedback.  If you
have any questions/suggestions, please let me know by emailing me at ecm2128@columbia.edu

The contents of the update are...

1. GS Student Council Updates
2. Upcoming Free Excel Workshop for GS
   
3. GS Brunch - Make Your Own Sushi
4. Beyond the Closet: Queer Awareness Month 2008
5. Community @ Large Spotlight: America Reads
6. Interfaith Art Show Submission Deadline
7. Kraft Family Fund Proposal Extension
8. Volunteers Needed for Veterans Day Parade
9. WOrD Project Volunteers Needed

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 1. GS Student Council Updates

• What did your Student Council talk about last week?  Go to the Communications Page.  The week before?  Find out on our Minutes Page. 
• What is on the agenda for your Student Council this Tuesday night at 7.30pm?  Find out by previewing our Agenda.
• Communicate directly with your student representatives.  Email the GSSC.

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2. Upcoming Free Excel Workshop for GS

By Nick Perry
Seattle Times higher education reporter
10/5/2008

Tyson Hunter dresses sharply, works out most every day and can't wait to make his mark on the business world.

Hunter, 23, also happens to owe $152,000 in student loans, accumulated in four years at Boston University. He graduated last year with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and now earns $40,000 a year at a market-research company.

His loan payments soon will top $1,000 a month — the amount of a small mortgage, and about a third of his salary. If he makes the minimum payments, he will retire his student debt when he is 53 years old, having handed lenders some $300,000.

"Buying a house? That's not even in the 10-year goals," says Hunter, who has temporarily moved back into his mom's Bothell condo to reduce expenses. "The next two years are going to be crippling. Hopefully, after that, it won't be as crippling."

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From:

Lisa Fishenfeld
General Studies Student Council 2008-09
Vice President of Student Life
Columbia University
http://gslounge.com

http://gslounge.com/calendar
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of General Studies,

Is everyone excited for the HOMECOMING GAME today?! Kickoff will be at 1:30 PM, but festivities/giveaways/such will begin earlier. Free shuttles will start running to the stadium at 11:00 AM. Those looking for a group of GSers with whom to ride up to the game should meet at 12:00 noon in the GS lounge. If you don't make the noon crowd, feel free to hang around the lounge to find others in the same situation. The shuttles leave from the gates at 116th St. and Broadway.

Have fun, wear your Columbia pride and colors, and remember: GO LIONS!!!

Cheerfully,
Lisa

Directions & Game Day Info

This is your weekly update from the GSSC.  As VP of Communicaton, my primary role is to keep you informed.  I welcome your feedback.  If you have any questions/suggestions, please let me know by emailing me at ecm2128@columbia.edu

The contents of the update are...

1. GS Student Council Updates
2. Proposal for Kraft Family Fund Due
3. Columbia Political Union Voter Registration Drive
4. Off Campus Flex Updates
5. CCE Site Visit to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection
6. Community Impact's JEEP Program is Currently Recruiting 

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 1. GS Student Council Updates

• What did your Student Council talk about last week?  Go to the Communications Page.  The week before?  Find out on our Minutes Page. 
• What is on the agenda for your Student Council this Tuesday night at 7.30pm?  Find out by previewing our Agenda.
• Check out the new Communications page, recently edited by Katherine Edwards, Communication Delegate.
• Communicate directly with your student representatives.  Email the GSSC.

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2.  Proposal for Kraft Family Fund Due

Power in Numbers
By Editorial Board
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

The lack of viable statistics about the School of General Studies’ student body has been fodder for several General Studies Student Council meetings this month. Typically, most issues facing GS students concern housing, finance, and academics, but the lack of published statistical data related to these areas causes problems for GSSC, students, and applicants. The GS administration should provide more information about GS students’ studies, finances, and living situations beyond what is published annually by the Princeton Review so that solutions to longstanding problems can be addressed more effectively.

Currently, the University does not publish information about the number of years GS students spend at Columbia. Administrators contend that coming up with such an average is not plausible, but both applicants and the 54 percent of GS undergraduates who study full-time would undoubtedly consider this information important. Even after enrollment, the University fails to provide statistics on the percentage of GS students who succeed in procuring University housing. Although cursory demographic, academic, and campus-resource data is collected annually for publication by the Princeton Review and on the GS Web site, a more frequent and comprehensive snapshot of GS is needed.

Read more...