I believe I can fly
It’s late, you’re up. Hopefully, you’ve had a more productive night than I did. My friends and I spent tonight blasting Disney music and belting out the lyrics to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan.
Actual News
Facebook Goes Public: Everyone’s GPA’s worst enemy will be selling public shares starting next week. Its decision to offer initial public offerings (IPO) follows similar decisions by LinkedIn and Pandora last year.
Google changes privacy settings, cue outrage: Google recently announced plans to collect people’s search info so that advertisers may better market to users. People realize that Facebook’s been doing the same thing for quite a while now, right? More »
Rebounds, olympics, and advancing to the Super Bowl: Who’s hot, who’s not
In this new series from sports, we’ll highlight some individuals and teams that are doing well, and others that could use some improvement both inside and around the Columbia bubble.
Who’s Hot
Sh*t Jim Gilchrist Says
Like many of my fellow students, I was tired when I woke up Thursday morning. Not because I had to get up early or because I had a late night, but because I arose to find a front-page story about the Columbia University College Republicans attempting to invite Jim Gilchrist, Co-founder and President of the Minuteman Project, back to campus.
Sigh.
I don’t like Jim Gilchrist. I don’t like that he has close ties with someone convicted of murdering two people—one of them a nine-year-old girl—in a robbery she hoped would fund her own vigilante border activities. I don’t like that one of his fellow Minutemen violently kicked a Columbia student in the head the last time he was here. Most importantly, I don’t like that he leads an organization that engages in hateful and inhumane practices.
Nerdy sleep deprivation logic
Chances are that if you are a Columbia undergrad, you fall into at least one of the following two categories:
1. You would sell a kidney in exchange for a nap
2. You’ve taken Principles of Economics
If so, you might be able to relate to my post. That, or you’ll just think I’m crazy.
Knee-deep in work last night at 2 a.m., I asked myself: Is it really worth it to stay up, or should I stop fighting against gravity to keep my eyes pried-open and on the page? I considered whipping out an old yellow legal pad to compile a pro/con chart, but I realized three things:
1. Pro/con charts have never historically helped anyone make a decision (probably).
2. I don’t even own a yellow legal pad, and un-perforated notebook paper just isn’t the same
3. Be real, my handwriting just isn’t legible at 2 a.m.
More »
Tom Green interview preview
Spectator interviewed comedian-actor Tom Green, who will perform standup at comedy nightclub Caroline’s on Broadway Jan. 26 to 29 as part of his world comedy tour. Read more about Green in the Weekend issue. Here’s an excerpt from the end of the interview.
Lesley Thulin: Do you ever get nervous before you perform?
Tom Green: Oh yeah. I always get nervous before I go onstage and in fact I’m always nervous generally, in life. I’m full of anxiety all the time. I’m always flippin’ out about things and worrying about things and stressed out about stuff, and that kinda makes me who I am. And that’s why I like being a comedian because it gives me a chance to get up on stage and talk about all these things that stress me out. Before I go onstage I get definite strong sense of nerves and that’s really a big part of what makes standup fun. It’s the rush you get from releasing that nervous energy in front of a crowd. I think if you ever don’t get nervous before you go onstage, that’s usually not gonna be a good show. You got the nervous energy and the adrenaline. It focuses you and it helps you focus on everything that you’re gonna say and what it is you’re trying to accomplish. It gives you energy. It’s there for a reason.
LT: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done onstage?
TG: Hmm. I do a lot of crazy stuff. It’s almost impossible to say. You have to come down to the shows this week at Caroline’s and make that determination for yourself because it’s just A LOT of craziness going on.
More »
After a life in shelters, Vietnam vet now leads one
In today’s paper, the News Desk’s Madina Touré profiles Hakim Rasheed, the director of social services at Broadway Community, Inc., a homeless support center at Broadway Presbyterian Church. Rasheed tells his story of how he was once homeless, addicted to drugs, and in jail—but after finding BCI, he turned his life around and is now one of the fiercest advocates for the center’s patrons.
Rasheed spoke fondly of one of his guests who passed away recently, nicknamed “Hot Sauce” for his hot sauce business. According to Rasheed, the guest had only six weeks to live due to cancer, but his application for money to fund his housing was rejected.
Impersonating somebody else in order to get the commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services on the phone, Rasheed says he gave an impassioned plea and convinced him to give Hot Sauce another chance.
Furthermore, guests of BCI say that Rasheed is an inspiration. Thanks to Touré, multimedia editor Justine Hope, and the photos of Yan Cong and Miguel Gallego, you can experience an afternoon in the life of Rasheed and the goings-on of BCI. Check out the audio slideshow after the jump. More »
Going green and seeing red in NYC
Rise and shine, everyone! Remember, today is the last day to add a class.
Read This: Eco-conscious GreenBorough, one of Columbia’s ten special interest communities, explains what being green at Columbia is all about. [News]
Know This: An under-performing West Harlem school plans not to accept any new sixth-, seventh-, and eight-graders in upcoming years, a decision marked by widespread concern and opposition from parents. [News]
Here’s More: The Editorial Board explains the benefits of Cornell’s potential presence in New York for Columbia. [Opinion]
SCE student Chris Colangelo relates his experiences as a staff engineer at the Manhattanville Project. [News]
Weather: 59-degrees and light showers. Meh + womp.
Republicans get real—real personal
It’s late. You’re up. But it’s Thursday! You must be ecstatic. Or maybe you have work—I know I do. Love Thursdays at Columbia.
Actual News:
Republican brawl:Bitterness between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney took center stage during Thursday’s Republican debate. The two argued over immigrations policies and their own financial holdings. Things got a bit personal, seeing as Gingrich’s campaign released (and later pulled) an advertisement that accused Romney of being the most anti-immigrant candidate.
Other Ivies exist: Don’t feel bad that applications to Columbia dropped 8.9% this year. It appears that applications to Harvard went down 1.9%, even after they reinstated their early decision program. Penn also dropped 1.7%, whereas Yale saw an increase of 5.8%. More »
Balkans gone wild, in Brooklyn
You may have already known, or you may have found out upon finding a huge spread of Chinese food in John Jay, that the Chinese New Year was Monday. I would venture to say that, at this point, most Columbians are acquainted with this holiday. That makes for two new years on most of our radars.
But I’ve added a new one to mine: the Russian New Year. I’ve been taking Russian since my first semester here, so I do consider myself somewhat versed in Slavic happenings. But somehow the great minds on the seventh floor of Hamilton failed to mention the importance of this holiday, or at least they didn’t make it clear how massively fun it could be, even for a non-Russian.
Lucky for me, I was already back on campus by Jan. 13, which is the day before the actual “Old New Year” is celebrated, and I was fortunate enough to be spontaneously invited to the Zlatne Uste Golden Festival in Brooklyn, a Balkan music festival. It was blistering cold outside and I had already made a vow not to venture out again.
But how could I turn this down? Wasn’t it some sort of duty of mine as a student of Russian? I think the obvious answer is yes. More »
NY Times: Yale quarterback accused of sexual assault
There may be more to the story of Patrick Witt, the Yale quarterback who gained fame when he supposedly skipped an interview for a Rhodes scholarship to play in his school’s traditional game against Harvard. According to a story in the New York Times, the star quarterback had been accused of sexual assault, and the Rhodes Trust had suspended his candidacy.
The Times doesn’t have much detail on the story: The accuser never filed a police report nor a formal complaint with the Yale administration. Yale has refused to confirm or deny the existence of any complaint against its former star quarterback, and Witt himself has declined to respond to the allegations — but he is no longer a student at Yale, nor has he graduated. What is clear is that there is more to the story than a quarterback foregoing an amazing opportunity in order to play with his team.