Last week, Spectator reported that a petition calling for the Columbia community to save the Arts Initiative had garnered more than 1,200 signatures.
Today, the Executive Board of the SGB released this statement in support of the initiative, joining ESC, CCSC, SGA, and ABC:
The Student Governing Board of Columbia University (SGB) is the oldest student-led governing board at Columbia and the largest that represents student groups from all four undergraduate schools. The mission of the SGB is to represent and serve the needs of Columbia University student organizations whose concerns are religious, spiritual, political, ideological, activist, humanitarian or identity-conscious in nature.
Over the past few years the deterioration of CUArts has proven harmful to our student groups and to the wider Columbia community that we serve. Through the Gatsby Fund, CUArts provides important funding and logistical support to our groups, and we've watched with dismay as the total sums granted by the fund have eroded. More importantly, CUArts provides a unifying presence to Columbia that creates the vibrant campus atmosphere in which our groups prosper. Its downward spiral is a detriment to the Columbia undergraduate population and the principles of community that the SGB represents.
