CANDIDATENAME:       Taarini Vohra

SCHOOL/YEAR:     Columbia College/ 2011

EMAIL/CONTACT#: trv2103@columbia.edu/214-912-8783

WHAT CAN & DOES AN ABC REP DO?

ABC Reps help groups navigate the Columbiabureaucracy, aid groups in event & financial planning and support thedevelopment of student life on campus. Reps are advocates for the groups theyoversee and are crucial in identifying areas in which ABC, the administration,and other student leaders can help improve students' experiences at Columbia.

The Rep sits on the Activities Board, whichconsists of 20 members. Throughout the year, the ABC votes on the allocation offunds, recognition of student groups, the granting of appeals and has a vitalrole in determining the agenda for the Activities Board. We are seeking 13highly motivated and passionate individuals to apply for these positions. Thisis a great place to learn more about student groups and funding, to gainleadership experience and to make an impact on campus.

1.     ABC Website: http://cuactivitiesboard.org

2.     ABC Funding Guidelines: http://www.cuactivitiesboard.org/FundingGuidelines.doc

3.     ABC Clubs: http://www.cuactivitiesboard.org/Public/ourclubs.php

CandidateStatement:

Allcandidate statements will be put up on the ABC website in the order they arereceived.It is to your advantage to submit early as your candidate statement willappear before the others are up. In your candidate statement, please explainyour interest/qualifications/ideas for the position of ABC rep, making sure toanswer the questions below. You may either give separate responses to each orjust address them all in one statement. Please also attach a photo with your application.

EachABC rep represents one of the following 13 general groups:

CulturalGroups (4)

SpecialInterest (i.e. Culinary Society) (2)

Competition(1)

Publications(1)

Scienceand Engineering (1)

Academicor Pre-Professional (1)

Performance:Dance (1)

Performance:Instrumental/Vocal (1)

Performance:Theater (1)

1)Why do you want to be an ABC rep?

I want to be an ABC rep because I’m interested in reforming policieson student life issues. I want to learn more about administrative policies, themanagement of finances at Columbia, and be able to contribute to the Columbiacommunity on an administrative level. Getting the chance to change spendingguidelines, create space for student use, and help student groups receiverecognition from Columbia University would be rewarding and a great experience.

I would like the opportunity to represent student groups and theirinterests in order to better student life and ensure the most efficient andeffective allocation of student funds. I also think by working on large boardswith groups such as Columbia Women’s Business Society and Consilience, I haveacquired and honed my conflict resolution and communications skills. This willprove key in representing the interests of students groups as well as workingwith other ABC reps in order to best allocate funds. Furthermore, having been adebate coach for high school students for the past two years has taught me howto work in large team settings efficiently and effectively.

2)As an ABC Rep, which groups would you be most interested in representing?Explain your interest in those groups as well as any prior experience withthose groups or other related qualifications.

I would be most interested in representing the cultural orpublication groups. As a member of the South-Asian community, I’d really enjoythe opportunity to represent groups that I have a basic understanding of and groupswhere I’d get the chance to see the effects of any positive contributions thatare made. I also think that the cultural groups on campus play an importantrole in creating a smaller community within the larger Columbia community forstudents. I want to help facilitate the organization and functioning of thesecultural groups so that they can continue to serve this central purpose for theColumbia community. In addition, I want to represent the publication groupsbecause having read many of the publications, I’d really enjoy representingthem and their interests on ABC. To me, the publications on campus serve as amethod of connecting the student body at large—students are able to learnabout the events and on-goings on campus by reading the various publications.Given that they serve a crucial role on campus, I’d like to work withpublication leaders to ensure their smooth running.

I believe that I would also be a good ABC Rep because I have strongcommunication and conflict resolution skills—having started my ownorganization and worked on large boards of on campus groups. Particularly instarting my own group called Youth for Debate, I learned a great deal aboutfinancial management, given that I had to carefully manage funds that I receivedthrough a grant. I think these skills will all prove invaluable while workingon ABC.

3) Namesome changes that you believe would positively impact ABC?

Ithink opening new rooms for student use would positively help ABC as well asstudent groups on campus. Perhaps allowing teams to access Lerner, Hillel, andmaking the procedure for booking classroom space online would help mitigate thespace constraints that many student groups face. I also think, in terms ofmaking sure meetings run smoothly, having all of the representatives submitperhaps a weekly paragraph summary of updates from their clubs to the entireABC board would ensure that everyone was on the same page when discussingpolicy issues at weekly meetings. In addition, perhaps holding bi-semester“town-halls” where student group leaders could voice their opinions to the ABCboard would also ensure that students groups are being well represented bytheir ABC reps.

4)Name 1-3 policy initiatives that you think ABC should pursue next year.

I thinkone policy initiative ABC should pursue next year is the addition of bookingspace in classrooms online—which would help ABC groups address spaceconstraints at Columbia. Another potential policy initiative would be placing acap on how much of an increase in their budget a student group can ask forbased on the money it needed in the past year. This would ensure that when agroup asks for money, it is based on how much they accomplished in the previousyear—meaning that ABC could ensure that the funds allocated are beingefficiently and effectively used. In addition, I think this would tie fundallocation to the performance and contributions a group makes to the studentcommunity at Columbia.

Finally,a third policy initiative could be the creation of a part of ABC that would beable to advise students on campus on how to best start and run a student group.This would involve familiarizing the student with ABC policy, guidelines forfund allocations and recognition, and other administrative concerns whenstarting an organization. This sort of peer mentoring probably occursinformally, but it could occur in a more structured manner through a new ABCpolicy.

Past& Current Activities at Columbia:
Pleasedetail your involvement at Columbia (you may attach a resume).

Iam right now a Managing Editor for Consilience, an online sustainabledevelopment journal, a dancer on CU Bhangra, a member of the executive board ofColumbia Women’s Business Society, and a member of the Undergraduate RecruitmentCommittee. In addition, I am in the process of starting my own group calledYouth for Debate, which starts debate programs at high schools in the New Yorkarea. My freshman year I was also a member of Dimensions and Taal, aSouth-Asian dance team. In terms of activities outside Columbia, I have been adebate coach at Bronx Science for the past two years. This summer, I will beworking in the investment banking division at Barclays as a summer analyst.

Commitments for 2009-2010:
Pleasedetail your commitment to other club positions, jobs, internships,responsibilities (i.e. RA) for 09-10.

I will be a managing editor for Consilience, a dancer on CU Bhangra, and thepresident of Youth for Debate.

Deadline:Sunday, April 26, 2009 by 11:59pm to abc@columbia.edu.