Update on Posting Policy

To The Barnard Community,

The Executive Board of the SGA, along with Student Life, and the Dean of the College, want to update the community on the Posting Policy and the discussions regarding the stamp of approval process. You have likely heard that the Student Governing Board of Columbia University and The Activities Board at Columbia University both released statements regarding the change in the posting policy, and that SGA released a comment in response. What has not been acknowledged is that SGA has been actively involved in conversations with Barnard administrators about this policy since it was implemented in September. Today’s statement is meant to inform the community of the steps that the SGA and the College have taken, as well as a change in policy that is being made as result of this collaboration.

The decision to change the College’s posting policy came from student concerns that bulletin boards were overcrowded by excessive flyering. Thus, 8 board spaces were added to campus to alleviate this problem and over the summer, the College formalized the updated posting policy, which included the new stamping rule. The purpose of the stamping rule was twofold: (1) to ensure that only students, student groups, and other offices (as opposed to, for example, advertisements from groups unrelated to Barnard) were utilizing campus posting space, making these postings visible and identifiable to the community and facilities; (2) to proactively prevent any derogatory or discriminatory postings directed at a person or group, in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. The College acknowledges that prior to the implementation of the policy, it would have been optimal for SGA to have been involved in the review process.  

Soon after the fall semester began, the SGA Executive Board heard concerns raised by peers and met with Student Life on October 3rd to discuss the posting policy. At that meeting, SGA unequivocally expressed opposition to the use of a stamp on student fliers. Student Life, in turn, requested that we take this time as a review period to reevaluate the policy with student input through survey (http://tinyurl.com/BCPostingPolicySurvey) and personal communication.

The SGA and the College further collaborated to review feedback from concerned members of the community. The following outlines the current version of the Posting Policy: (1) Postings that do not uphold the standards of community at Barnard will be removed (2) Facilities will standardize the procedure to clear all bulletin boards on Sunday nights (3) finally, the stamping rule will no longer be in effect.

SGA’s mission is “to promote open dialogue and action that will enhance student life at Barnard College” As always, SGA remains committed to expressing student opinion on College policies and working closely with College offices to better the student experience. SGA, Student Life, and The Dean’s Office commend the efforts put forth by students and staff to take action on this issue and welcome further input as we move forward.

To ensure that all student voices are taken into account, SGA will team with the relevant administrators to spearhead a task force devoted to comprehensively reviewing the posting policy. Please email sga@barnard.edu if you are interested in serving on the committee and as always, email with any other concerns and thoughts.

Regards,
Jung Hee Hyun, SGA President                  
Julia Kennedy, VP of Student Govt             
Sarah Steinmann, VP of Student Activities  
Malvina Kefalas, VP of Communications                     
Candace Fox, VP of Finance

Avis Hinkson, Dean of the College
Joyce Lewandowski, Student Life & Interim SGA Adviser