Dear members of the Columbia community:
I am writing to you to share with you how we are thinking about recent events regarding public access and heightened security presence on campus. The vast majority of students and faculty in the Columbia community have expressed disapproval and disappointment with the way we have effectively cut off the university from the rest of New York City, which is not only Columbia’s home, but its greatest resource and closest ally. This relationship is a defining characteristic of our university, and nearly everyone agrees that sequestering ourselves from the city is harmful and counterproductive.
With this in mind, I am proudly announcing that we are changing absolutely nothing regarding public access to campus. The daring choice to stay exactly the same may be universally unpopular, but I will not let that stop me from doing what is absolutely easiest. I’m reminded of an old adage from my upbringing in Alabama: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Or even if it is, honestly. Just because it is broke doesn’t mean you have to fix it. It’s a free country. You can do whatever you want.”
However, we are making some extremely important modifications to the current system:
- The colors are letters now
- Everything else is the same
I hope that this period of stagnation will allow us to further grow as a community.
All the same,
Katrina Armstrong
