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AROUND THE QUADS

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Oh My!
Michelle Oh ’06 tackles the CCSC presidency

By Jennifer Preissel ’05

The first in a series of profiles of students shaping life at Columbia and beyond.

While Columbia College has admitted women since 1983, only a few have held the position of president of the Columbia College Student Council (CCSC). Though such a role might seem daunting, Michelle Oh ’06 is self-effacing. When contacted for an interview, she suggested that CCT write about a fellow student instead: “I definitely think unique talent like [his is] far more deserving of a spotlight than myself,” she wrote. It’s clear that Oh always seems to be thinking about her classmates, even when the spotlight is on her.

PHOTO: CATHERINE OH

In recent years, CCSC’s emphasis has been on building community on campus. In addition to last year’s successful Glass House Rocks event (a carnivalesque undergraduate takeover of Lerner Hall), recent CCSC boards have instituted events such as Midnight Madness, a pep rally to kick off basketball season, and fought to obtain free student tickets to athletic events. Last year, Oh created Columbia Restaurant Week, in which Morningside Heights eateries offer discounted meals to students to welcome them back at the beginning of each semester.

Oh’s board wants the College to work for its students. CCSC hopes to find ways to reduce textbook costs and make performance space more available to undergraduate organizations. It wants to make the Center for Career Education more accessible and effective for students, in part by starting a searchable database of international internships and a site that rates internships based on student recommendations. But the CCSC also addresses more typical demands, such as new sinks in the Broadway dorm, more bike racks on campus and fitness units in dorms.

Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo says that Oh always works to find a solution to students’ problems. “She is a terrific listener, meaning she is ideal in addressing the needs of her constituents. She is successful in promoting those needs to the administration because she does so in a clear and concise way.”

Though she served as student council treasurer at Northern Valley Regional H.S. in her home state of New Jersey, Oh did not plan to work in student government at Columbia. “I didn’t get involved in school council at first because there were other things I wanted to do on campus,” Oh explains. “I knew student government would deserve the utmost attention.”

After high school, Oh planned a career as a journalist, so she joined Spectator as a news writer. Her first assignment was President Lee C. Bollinger’s inauguration, and she interviewed Columbia brass such as trustee David Stern ’66L and then-e.v.p. of administration Emily Lloyd. “It was a great introduction to the administration at Columbia, an amazing first experience as a writer,” she says. Oh also worked the student government beat at Spectator and became well-acquainted with CCSC’s inner workings.

Oh’s Spec subjects meshed with her initial academic interests — politics and business. She began a major in East Asian languages and cultures but changed her specialization after a modern Korean literature class. “Literature personalizes the political in Korean history in compelling ways,” she notes.

Oh’s affinity for literature is complemented by a strong interest in culture, spurred on by one of her favorite courses, Art Humanities. “I really enjoyed the recurrence of themes of Lit Hum in the visual media of Art Hum. The class forced me to get out into the city and go to museums.”

Her interest in Asian cultures led Oh to join the boards of the Korean Students’ Association and the Chinese Students’ Club. In only her sophomore year, Oh took the reins of the Lunar Gala, Columbia’s largest annual culture show, as creative director. Her ability to plan the complex, large-scale event, which involves various campus cultural organizations, caught the attention of CCSC v.p. of funding Matthew Harrison ’05, who was looking to run for the CCSC presidency and needed to assemble an administration.

Harrison praises Oh’s ability to incorporate others into the CCSC fold and teach them through participation. “She turns ideas into plans very well and in a way that’s remarkably inclusive. She helps people learn to accomplish something rather than do it herself.” These skills earned her a spot on Harrison’s ticket, and she was elected v.p. of funding.

Many of Oh’s pet projects as a CCSC board member have dealt with logistical problems that students face. For example, she developed a shuttle service that transports students to the airport at the end of each semester. Her initiatives emphasize improving the details in students’ lives. According to Oh, “Nothing’s too big or too small for CCSC.”

Oh plans to pursue a career in public service, with law school in the near future. In the meantime, she hopes to continue working with her administration to make Columbia a home for students before they enter the real world. Though metropolitan New York often lures students to Columbia, Oh says the campus itself attracted her. “After going out into the city,” she says, “the second you walk through the gates, you feel more at home.”

Jennifer Preissel ’05 is production coordinator on the independent film California Indian. Her favorite things about New York City include pastrami from Katz’s Deli, the D/F express train, and the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria.

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