Columbia College students demand LGBTQ, POC resource centers

Columbia College students demand LGBTQ, POC resource centers

The Columbia College Student Council unanimously approved a resolution calling for "staffed centers" and other resources exclusively for LGBTQ and minority students.

The university declined to comment on any aspect of the resolution, and would not say whether the administration intends to meet any of the Student Council's demands.

A student council at Columbia University unanimously approved a resolution calling for spaces on campus reserved exclusively for LGBTQ and minority students.

In fact, according to a copy of the resolution obtained by Campus Reform, the Columbia College Student Council (CCSC), which represents one of Columbia’s many undergraduate colleges, explicitly calls for a segregated room for “more institutional support, staff, resources, funding, and space for LGBTQ+ students, students of color, and those who hold combinations of these identities."

“There are many spaces on campus, especially those that are dominated by straight males, that leave me tense.”    Tweet This

[RELATED: Emory to establish regular POC-only social events]

The proposal calls for several accommodations in the reserved space, including a “mounted television,” “resources that could accommodate computers,” “bookshelves,” and more.

Meanwhile, the resolution demands a similar space for LGBT students, noting that “Columbia’s LGBTQ+ communities are relatively underserved compared to those our peers institutions,” making Columbia “one of two Ivy League institutions without an official LGBTQ+ student center.”

[RELATED: Illinois college defends ‘blacks-only’ course offerings]

To further accommodate LGBTQ students at Columbia, the resolution asks for the establishment of several paid positions within the center, including a full-time director, part-time graduate student workers, and possibly some undergraduate student workers..."