The Barnard Student Government Association’s Monday night meeting was largely focused on transfer students, although a Columbia College Student Council representative stopped by to talk about the Arts Initiative. Chris Meyer, filling in for Emma Goss, has the highlights:

Lend me a hand: Ani Bournoutian, Barnard’s dean of transfer student services, told SGA members and transfer students attending the meeting that she plans to streamline the course registration process for incoming transfers, many of whom are kept out of the computer system until after summer registration. “When they come in September, they have to sign up for courses that are often full, so it can be a frustrating experience for them,” Bournoutian said. “They are stressing to find courses, and advisers do a lot of calling to cram them into classes.”

Meet and greet: Onika Jarvis, Barnard’s associate director of residential life, is preparing a series of transfer orientation events and activities called Transfer Time. Among the ideas discussed at the meeting was a proposal for biweekly luncheons to help transfer students navigate academic and career advising issues.

We’ve got your back: Transfers are spread through dorms across campus rather than concentrated in one place, and students at the forum proposed a number of programs, such as a buddy system, to help them integrate into campus life. Jervis said it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of concentrating transfers in a single area.

Fight for the arts: CCSC Vice President for Policy Will Hughes, CC ’13, gave a presentation on concerns surrounding the Arts Initiative, which has seen a 40 percent budget cut and a reduction from nine employees to three employees over the last few years. You can see Hughes’ presentation here.