Archive for June, 2012
Here’s your XMAS!7 creative team
The creative team of XMAS!7—the student-written musical that sends up the holidays every December—has been announced, and it’s chock-full of talent, including a number of former XMAS! actors and XMAS!5 composer Eli Grober. Mark your calendars: the show has two performances only on December 10. That’s also the last day of classes, for those who want to start the countdown.
Writers: Eli Grober, CC ’13, Bob Vulfov, CC ’13, Isabel Lopez, CC ’13
Composer/Lyricists: Andrew Wright, CC ’14, Ben Russell, CC ’13
Director: Hannah Kloepfer, CC ’13
Choreographer: Rachel Chavez, CC ’14
Art Director: Marcus Levine, CC ’15
Tech Director: Brett Berger, SEAS ’15
Producers: Adam Deutsch, CC ’13, Adwoa Banful, CC ’13
Correction: A previous version of this post misspelled Deutsch’s last name. Spectator regrets the error.
The Eye’s suggestions for new CUID design
Yesterday, an email was sent by from Student and Administrative services informing the Columbia community letting everyone know that there was going to be a new CUID design. The new CUID has a slightly bluer image of Alma Mater, darker blue type, and the giant, “Columbia University” has been replaced by navy text, which uses the university’s full name and is accompanied by a crown. The ID picture has also gotten smaller. The new ID is only for students on Morningside and Manhattanville campuses, and you only need a new one if you lose yours.
Upon reflection, the very, very minimal changes made to the card, while surely an attempt at font uniformity and branding, don’t go far enough. I think the following additions to the CUID would be fitting.
Give everybody PrezBo’s hair
Who wouldn’t want hair as perfectly coifed and dignified as Lee’s? It would be a nice touch if the ID office would hire somebody whose job it was to personally give every member of the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses their own head full of silvery locks. More »
PrezBo stands by J.P. Morgan’s man
J.P. Morgan Chase announced last month that it lost $2 billion this past quarter. The losses apparently stemmed from “errors, sloppiness, and bad judgment,” according to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Now some are calling for Dimon, who has a seat on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s board of directors, to step down from his post at the Fed to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
One person who doesn’t think Dimon should step down? Lee Bollinger, chairman of the New York Fed’s board of directors. Prezbo says Dimon should not resign, and anyone who says that he should resign has a “false understanding” of how the Fed works, and is being “foolish.” You can check out the full story at the link, or the Reader’s Digest version after the jump: More »
Additional registration begins now
If you need to make changes to your fall schedule, now is the time to sign on to SSOL! Additional registration opens today, and will remain open until June 22.
If for some reason you are busy for the next 11 days, there will be an additional additional registration period running July 30 through August 10. Consider yourselves reminded, and good luck!
Three dead from gunshot wounds on 122nd between Broadway and Claremont
Updated with surveillance video, 11:48 p.m. on Friday. Read the full news article here.
Three people were found dead in a parked car on 122nd Street between Broadway and Claremont Avenue on Thursday evening. The apparent cause of death was a gunshot wound to each.
The three victims—all Hispanic men who appear to be in their 20s or 30s—were found inside a newly registered, legally parked BMW. A passerby noticed the men, who were wearing white T-shirts drenched in blood, at around 6:30 p.m. No windows or doors of the car appeared to be broken, but, according to Paul Browne, the NYPD’s chief spokesman, the police do not suspect a murder-suicide.
The car was parked four carlengths from the northeast corner of 122nd and Claremont, in front of the Manhattan School of Music, and across from the entrance to Knox Hall, a Columbia building.
As of 9:50 p.m., the police were moving a van in front of the vehicle, blocking sightlines. Crowds of locals had gathered in the median and across Broadway. Most networks were on the scene. By 10:08 p.m., the police had hung sheets between trucks so as to completely block the view of the crime scene.
Browne issued a new statement to reporters at 10:15 p.m. with the following details. Check after the jump. More »
Dario Pizzano drafted by the Seattle Mariners, teammate Lowery drafted in 21st round
Columbia outfielder Dario Pizzano was selected by the Seattle Mariners in MLB’s amateur draft this evening in the 15th round, 461st overall.
Pizzano was recently named Ivy Player of the Year following his junior season in which he anchored the Lions’ offense with a .360 average, 16 doubles, 36 RBIs, and 31 walks. He also tied Gene Larkin on Columbia’s all-time home run list with 25 home runs.
If Pizzano were to sign with the Mariners, the Light Blue would surely miss its two-time team MVP. He was slated to play in the elite Cape Cod League this summer.
Let the experts decide Peña-Mora’s fate
The race card has been played over and over during SEAS Dean Peña-Mora’s battle to keep his position, but New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguiez just initiated a game of 52 Pickup.
Rodriguez, a Dominican-American who represents Inwood, Washington Heights, and Marble Hill (all predominantly Dominican neighborhoods), has led the charge in rallying his residents to steadfastly defend Peña-Mora, who happens to be…you guessed it, a Dominican-American.
However, this sudden rally by Rodriguez is similar to the kind of opportunistic Sharpton-esque behavior that others have used to blackmail communities in defending individuals who merely happen to share a genetic trait. The three-year City Council member recently went as far as as saying, “the community is on alert” for any attempt to remove Peña-Mora. What is this, a hockey team ready to scrap if their star player gets checked into the boards too hard? Have the two even met? More »
Medical center receives $40 million gift
The Columbia University Medical Center announced today that Herbert and Florence Irving, already two of CUMC’s top donors, have made a $40 million donation toward cancer research. The money will go to the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, which Herbert Irving first established with a $10 million gift back in 1997.
The cancer center will use the funds to “recruit and retain new cancer investigators and to support its current investigators, as well as for Cancer Center operations,” according to CUMC. The Irvings have now given almost $200 million to CUMC and the Columbia-affiliated New York Presbyterian Hospital.
CUMC expects to raise more than $200 million during the current fiscal year, and it has already raised $1.8 billion in a capital campaign originally intended to raise $1 billion. More »
Sex expert Dr. Ruth may teach at Columbia this fall
Do you want to learn how to do sex stuff better? This fall may be your chance. Teacher’s College alum Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the 84 year-old “sexpert” (let’s never use that word without putting it in quotes) plans on teaching a course at Columbia. The mention is buried in this very long and interesting article on Dr. Ruth’s life and continuing impact:
There is the new book, her 36th, a women’s guide to sexual health. She is putting her name on a wine, Dr. Ruth’s Vin D’Amour. In the fall, she plans to teach a class on families and television at Columbia University.
So the course apparently won’t explicitly be about sex, but surely she’ll hold office hours. Columbia doesn’t seem to have listed the course for the fall yet, so this may not be a sure thing, but keep your eyes open!
Just don’t fall asleep in class. Another nugget from the article: Dr. Ruth used to be a sniper in the Israeli army.