At the Barnard Student Government Association’s Monday night meeting, representatives approved a “Good Samaritan” policy, discussed how to change the campus culture toward student wellness, and spoke with two governing boards about Barnard’s controversial new fliering policy. Emma Goss reports:

• Stress Olympics: In light of recent administrative decisions such as the reduction of Barnard’s physical education requirement and the planned closure of the Barnard pool, SGA representatives spent the majority of their meeting discussing ways to help students manage and reduce stress. They were joined in the discussion by Jessica Cannon, BC ’03 and coordinator of health promotion and education, as well as representatives from Well Woman and the Student Wellness Project. SGA members talked about how to cure the “Columbia University Syndrome,” which they defined as stress being accepted as an ordinary part of student life. They also discussed the notion of the “stress Olympics,” the idea that students compete with each other over who is the most stressed out.

• Picketing the posting policy: The chairs of the Student Governing Board and the Activities Board at Columbia explained why their boards voted not to comply with Barnard’s new posting policy, which requires student groups to receive approval from Barnard’s student life office before posting fliers on its campus. Read the full story from the News Desk here.
  

• Like a Good Neighbor: Blaine Harper, CC ’13 and Columbia College Student Council’s student services representative, spoke with SGA about adopting Columbia’s Responsible Community Action Policy, also known as the “Good Samaritan Policy,” which protects students from penalty when they call for medical help for a friend who has violated the University’s drug or alcohol policy. Columbia adopted the policy in September 2011, but the policy does not extend to Barnard’s campus. SGA representatives passed a resolution supporting the policy.