On Sept. 17, all classes and club activities held in Baruch College’s Newman Vertical Campus were canceled due to the six express elevators not working in the building. The announcement was made in the middle of a Tuesday morning while many students were already in the building. Other students were on their way to the NVC and some were still at home. Each of these groups of students heard different announcements — at the same time. 

As those still at home rejoiced because they received an email that classes in the NVC building were canceled, students who were already in class or just entering Baruch were confused because morning classes went on as usual and public safety let everyone in. Adding to the confusion, the Office of Student Life announced in person, and then later in an email, that club activities were canceled and the third-floor club suite was closed for the day. However, to those who asked members of the Department of Public Safety, the answer was not clear, as security guards were only telling people that classes were canceled and not club activities. Others were confused about whether they were even allowed in the building, or whether they had to leave immediately.

The events of Sept. 17 showed a common problem in Baruch — staff departments seem to lack communication between each other, and especially between themselves and students. OSL might announce one thing, but Public Safety officers could say the complete opposite because no one informed them of the new announcements. Clubs on the third floor, including The Ticker, have been affected by this lack of communication when they stayed late hosting events or finishing up their jobs. These clubs were allowed to do so by OSL, but Public Safety still gave them trouble because no one informed the security guards of this. The lack of communication causes tension between students at Baruch and the people who are supposed to protect them.

Also similar to the events of Sept. 17, Baruch experienced an unexpected snow day in the middle of the spring 2018 semester. This is a common occurrence, but since the snow started early the evening prior to the snow day, students started hearing contradicting information.

Students deserve to know what is going on in their school without having to ask several different staff members before they get a correct answer.