Back to the FUture.

***LAST HOUR OF VOTING!!***

Last chance to let your opinion be heard before polls close at 5 PM! tiny.cc/votebacktothefuture

Columbia LionLink - Sign In Required

Thank you to Columbia University Financial Engineering (CUFE) for endorsing Back to the FUture for ESC Executive Board!

We look forward to working with you in the future, especially through increased student resources such as travel funding.

VOTE NOW at http://bit.ly/2nTlMbW and make sure to complete the whole ballot before submitting!

We’re excited to announce that CU Informs endorses Back to the FUture for ESC Executive Board!

We really enjoyed our discussion about creating concrete mental health initiatives, focusing on effective ways to create more engaging engineering events, and establishing a closer working relationship between student council and student groups!

Show your support now by voting at: http://bit.ly/2nTlMbW Polls Close Thursday at 5 PM! – make sure to fill out the whole ballot and complete it in full!

Finally in our candidate spotlights, we have Julia Joern, who is running for VP Communications! She is a junior from Minneapolis, Minnesota, majoring in Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Sustainable Engineering.

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: I would like to be able to breathe underwater.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: When it’s not blisteringly cold (and sometimes when it is tbh) I really enjoy biking around the city. I have grown to love turning my phone off and just letting the streets of NYC take me to new and underutilized spaces of the city. I grew up in Minnesota, a place where nature and outdoorsy activities are a priority, so moving to the city was initially quite a shock. But, biking has allowed me to reconnect with the outdoors in a wonderful way—also there are way more hot dog stands here than in MN which is a huge plus. I also really enjoy a good game of Catan and am a big dog lover and will chase down any corgi that I cross paths with.

Q: What has been your favorite SEAS moment?
A: One of my favorite moments in SEAS happened just within the past month. It was the night before a BME midterm exam, and naturally I found myself studying into the wee hours of the night, which was itself quite a miserable experience. But, I was not alone—rather, I was surrounded by 10 other biomedical engineers who were so incredibly willing to help each other. It is my favorite moment because I truly felt such a strong sense of support and collaboration within SEAS and my major specifically, which is unfortunately something I have found rare in the past.

Q: What is something you want to emphasize in your platform?
A: I would like to emphasize that I really hope to bridge the communication gap between council and students. Though ESC is currently incredibly transparent and provides a lot of mediums for online feedback, I think it is asking a lot of students to go out of their way to take these initiatives themselves. Instead, I hope to visit student groups and hold office hours in Lerner in Mudd to provide updates on student council and request direct input, bridging the gap between student council and the undergraduate voice. Ultimately, I believe that ESC needs to be about empowering and amplifying the voice of SEAS undergrads, and the only way to do this effectively is to take on the responsibility of getting feedback in a more hands-on way.

Next up in our candidate spotlights, we have Zoha Qamar, who is running for VP Policy. She is a sophomore from California, majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Comparative Literature.
Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: It would be (/is?!) instantly transforming any bowl of bland cereal into Cocoa Puffs with just a blink (refer to photo).
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: I’m a huge fan of running outside, which has been an engaging way of exploring different parts of the UWS, even all of NYC, during my time at Columbia. Sadly, this is not as convenient during the icier months of the year, and given that I’m slightly scared of treadmills... let’s just say, I’m quite glad it’s warming up. My favorite weather-independent pastime is writing! I love playing around with all sorts of pieces, especially anything that falls under the realm of creative non-fiction.
Q: What has been your fave SEAS moment?
A: Generally in life, honestly, I have yet to discover a more accomplished feeling than the one you get from stopping a titration perfectly and precisely at its endpoint.
Q: What part of your platform would you like to emphasize?
A: I want the actions, not words, of next year’s council to remind our community of the role of student government. It’s an element of Columbia on which our peers should feel comfortable and confident relying, as well as one serving as a platform that facilitates conversations to implement policies that properly represent who we represent. With this framework, I want to help develop CU SEAS-specific faculty training for mental health awareness. Though there are blanket national programs for college professor training, I believe it is critical to consider the issues specific to our University, even more so our particular school within, in order to adequately communicate the wellness issues we want our professors to understand better. I further hope ESC can work with student groups on this campus who dedicate endless time and passionate effort to their respective causes. I see it as the duty of student government to encourage dialogue, discourse, and debate. I ultimately want students to feel like they can count on council to help them with policy efforts, as we all attempt to navigate this bureaucracy that is Columbia.

Thank you to The Omega Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta - FIJI for endorsing Back to the FUture for ESC Executive Board!

We look forward to working with you to continue the conversation about mental health and wellness on campus.

Vote for Back to the FUture: http://bit.ly/2nTlMbW

It was great meeting with EWB-Morocco and speaking about increased pre-professional support, expanded study abroad opportunities, and prioritizing mental health! We look forward to working with you in the future!

Next up in our candidate spotlights, we have Aida Lu, who is running for President. She is a sophomore from Houston, Texas majoring in Operations Research and minoring in Computer Science.

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: Probably the ability to know exactly what I can do to to make someone feel better. Maybe it sounds cheesy, but I feel really bad anytime I don’t know the best way to help somebody, whether it’s a sick friend or a stressed classmate. Or maybe my superpower would be being able to eat an infinite amount of food without having to worry about being unhealthy or gaining weight. Hmm, tough choice.

Q: What do you like to do on your free time?
A: I was such a monkey as a kid and would climb anything I could, but I lost touch with this as I grew older and realized that it was apparently socially unacceptable to scale columns in buildings and restaurants. Recently, though, I discovered bouldering, and now in my free time, I love going to different climbing gyms around the city to relax and reconnect with my inner child.

Q: What part of your platform would you like to emphasize?
A: I think one of the most difficult but also most important issues to tackle is improving mental wellness at Columbia, which is one of my main goals for next year. I plan to advocate for both outreach events with ResLife, the libraries, CPS, and other campus partners that react to ongoing stress culture, and work with administrators to create preventative policies such as mental health gatekeeper training for professors and TA’s that will help improve mental health culture for the future. I have had experience in pursuing these changes before, having been a part of ongoing mental health conversations at Columbia by representing ESC in meetings with administrators like Scott Wright and EVP David Greenberg regarding the new LGBTQ+ and students of color centers in Lerner, and I plan to use my experience to continue advocating for more mental health improvements to the Columbia community.

Proud to say that Ben Barton, Aida Lu, and Julia Joern have received an official endorsement from Columbia Daily Spectator!!

http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2017/04/04/esc-and-gssc-endorsements-for-student-council/

ESC and GSSC endorsements for student council Polls for the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of General Studies student councils opened on Monday at 10 a.m. and will close on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

For anyone who missed it, here's a quick recap on the debate! http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2017/04/03/at-esc-debates-candidates-focus-on-mental-health-and-student-services/

At ESC debates, candidates focus on mental health and student services Mental health took center stage during Sunday’s debate for Engineering Student Council candidates, with executive board candidates agreeing on the importance of solving Columbia’s mental health problems and stress culture but proposing radically different solutions.

Introducing candidate spotlights! Get to know us a little better with these Q&A's!
Next up, we have Ben Barton, who is running for VP Student Life for ESC Executive Board. He is a current junior studying Computer Science with a minor in Mechanical Engineering.

Q: What one superpower would you have?
A: The ability of good luck so I can finally get an actually good housing lottery number!

Q: What do you like to do on your free time?
A: In my free time I desperately try to make rollerblading popular again, stare out my window and wonder what life would be like with a good lottery number, and attempt and probably fail at being artsy with the laser cutter in the makerspace.

Q: What has been you're favorite SEAS moment?
A: Going from CAD modeling to 3-D printing in Aerospace Club, bringing my creations to life!

Q: What is something you want to emphasize in your platform?
A: I would like to emphasize that my main objective is to develop a stronger sense of SEAS community across all engineering majors. Some ways to do this are to create fun events that give out great school gear and food, but also much more! Unique activities like fun and quick design team challenges, casual mingling with professors, and outdoor carnivals that not only attract SEAS students of all majors, but also create a non-forced and casual medium to interact with students you wouldn't normally necessarily interact with, thus stronger linking the SEAS community.