/10-24-11%20web

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Vol. CXXXV—No. 102

Monday, October 24, 2011

columbiaspectator.com

Tian Bu, CC ’13, dies over the weekend Shollenberger, CPS encourage students to seek support BY FINN VIGELAND Spectator Senior Staff Writer

DAVID BRANN FOR SPECTATOR

TRAGEDY

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Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger said staff members from CPS were meeting with residents in River Hall.

LGBT community looks inward after big campaigns BY YASMIN GAGNE Columbia Daily Spectator This year, Columbia’s LGBT community has been increasingly focused on internal reorganization, after several highprofile campaigns dominated campus conversation on sexuality and gender identity over the last few years. Queer groups, in partnership with student councils and other groups, spent the last several years rallying behind

gender-neutral housing, a program that allows any two students, regardless of gender, to live together in double-occupancy rooms. Students from LGBT groups said they were on the defensive after the College Republicans challenged their safe spaces flyer campaign, in which students were asked to post pink flyers on their windows proclaiming their rooms to be safe spaces. Kellie Foxx-Gonzalez, CC ’13 and a co-chair of Queer

Awareness Month, said that now that these publicity-generating campaigns have passed the LGBT community can work increasingly on internal reform. “We are starting to see queer groups turning inward into their own community,” FoxxGonzalez said, adding that programming for October’s Queer Awareness Month has reflected that shift. “QuAM is really looking at ourselves and trying to better our own community.”

Last May three prominent leaders of the LGBT community—Lianna Reagan, BC ’11, Avi Edelman, CC ’11, and Sean Udell, CC ’11—graduated, leaving Columbia’s queer community noticeably quieter. Foxx-Gonzalez explained that although QuAM may be focused inward this year, Edelman’s vocal nature was a particular inspiration to her. “I came out a little late in

A Columbia College student died this weekend. Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger confirmed the death of Tian Bu, CC ’13, Sunday evening. Bu, who went by Tina, was from Greenville, S.C., and was studying psychology. She was actively involved in a Bible study group on campus and had a passion for writing, art, and music, according to an email Shollenberger sent to students. “It is always very tragic when we lose a member of our community,” Shollenberger told Spectator. Richard Eichler, executive director of Health Services, urged members of the community to reach out to Counseling and Psychological Services. “People react to a tragedy in a host of different ways. People who are closer to someone who is deceased are more likely to have a very strong reaction,” compared to those who are less acquainted, Eichler said. “There is no right way or

wrong way to grieve,” he said. “Some people need to throw themselves back into life very quickly. … Other people need to take pause and take a little time to process what’s happened.” “People should feel that they get support,” he added. Staff members from CPS were meeting with Bu’s friends and residents of River Hall, where Bu lived. The death is being investigated as a possible suicide, Shollenberger said. According to Shollenberger, Bu was discovered dead after a concerned friend was unable to reach her and contacted Bu’s resident adviser, who set into motion the University’s emergency response system. “My advice to any member of the community, when you don’t have a person to speak to within your ordinary support network, come and speak with us,” Eichler said. “Or it could be the clergy, it could be an adviser, it could be a coach, whoever you’re comfortable with. It’s better to seek help than not.” finn.vigeland @columbiaspectator.com

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS: Counseling and Psychological Services: Appointments / 212-854-2878 After-hours emergencies / 212-854-9797 Nightline: Barnard-Columbia Peer Counseling and Referrals / 212-854-7777 Center for Student Advising / 212-854-6378 Office of the University Chaplain / 212-854-1493

SEE LGBT, page 2

Columbia Public Safety / 212-854-5555 St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital / 212-523-3347

CU to build affordable housing complex for displaced residents

NOCO

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DEPARTMENT DISTRIBUTION

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BY ABBY MITCHELL AND MILES JOHNSON Columbia Daily Spectator

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Biology

Chemistry

Physics

SEAS VACANT IN USE

GRAPHIC BY CELINE GORDON

Plan emerges for filling Northwest Corner labs BY SAMMY ROTH Spectator Senior Staff Writer Almost a year after it opened, the Northwest Corner Building still has 12 lab groups and nine empty lab spaces. It’s unclear how long those spaces will remain unoccupied, but administrators now have a plan to fill them. Professors started moving into the 14-story interdisciplinary science center at 120th Street and Broadway last fall, and the building officially opened in December. Eleven professors moved into lab spaces last year, and biology professor Ozgur Sahin became the building’s 12th occupant when he was hired for this semester. The remaining nine spaces—three of which have not been fully built yet, due to financial constraints— are still vacant. Executive Vice President

for Research G. Michael Purdy said in a recent interview that he hopes the building will be filled to capacity within five to 10 years. “It’s a question really controlled by resource availability within the School of Engineering and with Arts and Sciences, neither of which I control,” he said. The remaining spaces have been divided between departments. Physics professor and Dean of Sciences Amber Miller said that of the nine empty lab spaces, the Physics Department will get three, the Chemistry Department two, and the Biology Department one, with the remaining three allocated to the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Administrators decided several years ago that SEAS would get seven spots, and it

SEE NOCO, page 2

The University recently announced its plans to begin construction at the end of this year on a 12-story affordable housing building at 148th Street and Broadway for residents displaced by the Manhattanville expansion. The University acquired the space in September 2008 to house residents from two buildings owned and managed by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, currently located between 132nd and 133rd streets. The tenants are all part of the HPD’s Tenant Interim Lease Program which helps residents of city-owned buildings organize into tenant-owned co-ops. The building will total 42 units for residents, and the ground floor will also give a home to the Meeting With God Pentecostal Church, formerly located at 130th Street and Broadway. While construction is underway, the University has placed the church in a temporary University-owned location on the same block. “You might be wondering what will happen to the unit that the church is in now, and that has not been decided yet,” said Columbia spokesperson Dan Held at a Community Board 9 meeting Thursday. Demolition of the existing buildings will likely begin next month, followed by two years of construction. The project will be carried out by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, a New York City-based firm. This building has been in the

works for a long time and was included in the Environmental Impact Statement, which details the potential consequences a construction project may have on the environment, filed by the University before the expansion project began. The EIS says that the new building “would be of the same or better quality” of the existing units, claiming that the rent and opportunities to buy an apartment would not change. The University has committed to pay displaced residents for the cost of moving, as well as a payment of $5,000 for each household to cover any additional expenses like installing a phone line or printing new address labels. Aside from possible traffic changes or construction noise, the University maintains that this project will not disrupt the businesses nearby. “Here’s what I know: the 99 cent store will remain as their lease indicates. The former Domino’s Pizza store will be used as a staging area and a field office for our construction space,” Held said. Many West Harlem residents said they hope that the new buildings will bring new people and new businesses to the community. “These stores have not been occupied and at the end of the day you need a mix of stuff to come in here,” said Kimberly Rosado, a West Harlem resident and Columbia graduate. “I think it could be for the better.” Hector Nunez, a member of the Meeting With God Pentecostal Church, said that he SEE HOUSING, page 2

National Suicide Precention Lifeline / 800-273-8255

GSSC VP of Finance is third to resign from exec board BY JEREMY BUDD Columbia Daily Spectator Benjamin Paladino, GS, resigned as vice president of policy for the General Studies Student Council on Saturday, leaving GSSC president Jacqueline Thong as the council’s sole elected official. “While I enjoy the office I hold and the people I work with; I cannot complete my duties without sacrificing my academic standards or the happiness of my family,” Paladino wrote in his resignation letter to Thong. “Ben has been dealing with some personal issues and was unable to attend the last 2 weeks of meetings,” Thong said, in an email to the council. “We wish him all the best and thank him for his service on council.” Current members of GSSC declined to comment on

Paladino’s resignation. GSSC has four elected officials, three VPs and one president, who appoint representatives internally. Joshua Lewin-Jacus, CC ’13, was elected GSSC VP of Finance in May but had to resign when he transferred out of his dual-degree program in General Studies and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Two weeks ago, GSSC moved to appoint Michael Oakley to replace Lewin-Jacus by suspending the bylaws in the council’s constitution. Former Vice President of Communications Mahogany Wright resigned in protest of Oakley’s appointment and the council’s suspension of bylaws. Thong said that they will not suspend bylaws again. “Moving forward, we will be SEE GSSC, page 2

KATE SCARBROUGH / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ANOTHER RESIGNATION | Benjamin Paladino, background, raising his hand to speak at a recent GSSC meeting in the Satow Room.

OPINION, PAGE 4

SPORTS, PAGE 3

EVENTS

WEATHER

Stressing up a storm

Volleyball downs Cornell at home

Women’s Soccer vs. Manhattan

Today

Emily Tamkin argues that we need to stop relishing in the hold stress has over our lives.

Dancing with the stars You, not your major, set the standards for your success.

The Lions looked strong as they defeated Cornell in straight sets this past Saturday at Levien. The victory puts they just behind Yale in the Ivy standings.

Tomorrow

Cheer on your Columbia women’s soccer team as they square off against Manhattan. They’re taking a break from Ivy League play to face inter-city rival. Baker Field Athletics Complex, 7-9 p.m.

65°/ 46° 64°/ 49°


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