Author Archive
Frank ‘Bigga’ Barry, bouncer at Mel’s, dies
Frank “Bigga” Barry, the well-known bouncer at Mel’s Burger Bar, has died. The city coroner’s officer confirmed that his death was reported at 11:25 a.m. January 16 (yesterday). The cause of death is currently undetermined, and more information will likely be available following an autopsy. We will update as we hear more.
In the meantime, we join with the entire community in expressing our condolences to Bigga’s friends and family, and mourning the passing of a Morningside icon. Some have been marking the sad occasion on Twitter:
More reaction from Twitter after the jump. More »
Orgo night liveblog: protest edition
Hello everyone. Jezebel has heard about this thing called Orgo night, and they do not like it. Not one bit. Maybe some of you find find Orgo Night an amusing source of stress relief? That does not make it ok. Just because you enjoy laughter is no reason that Jezebel should have to tolerate your man-splaining.
So we are here to liveblog all the reasons that you should be appalled by the band’s existence. And to that end, we will be sure to rate each joke: “More offensive” than the Gaza strip flier, or “Less offensive.” Prediction: most will be way, way more offensive. Here we go! The band is also livestreaming the whole thing right here (it might be below the jump depending on when you’re looking at this page). Check it out!
12:43 a.m.: Enzymes catalyze reactions in the human body. Our fliers catalyze overreactions in the administrative body.” Draws the biggest cheers of the night. And now the band is playing the fight song and marching out.
12:42 a.m.: Show’s over! The band is now providing study hints for the Orgo exam. All in all an interesting show. Most notable was the fact that the band did not seem to have censored themselves at all in light of the uproar over their fliers. Very few people seemed to mind, though.
12:40 a.m.: “In honor of checking your privilege, the Band now forms the forgotten ten percent and plays ‘I’ll make a Bro Out of You’.”
12:39 a.m.: “We see now that Greek-bashing, like homophobia, is a serious abuse that can no longer be ignored. Being frat is not a choice, they were born this way! Born with an overwhelming desire to chug shitty beer and roofie half the freshman class.”
12:37 a.m.: Talking about the Brownstones now. One commenter on Bwog complained that “the gays” did not deserve a house, because they would turn the brownstone into a den of iniquity and promote an immoral life style — “In other words, Q HOUSE IS PERFECT FOR FRAT ROW!”
12:33 a.m.: Internet problems still slowing things up. SJP called “Students for Yelling in Palestine,” something about Israel’s missile defense system being “as impenetrable as a JTS girl’s jean skirt.” The moral of this drama: “Don’t take anything seriously that is yelled in your face!”
12:30 a.m.: “The Gaza Strip exploded once again this year, like a Barnard girl’s hymen on the first day of NSOP. About 140 people died in the military confrontation. That’s 0.003 Syrian Civil Wars, or 1.4 Hurricane Sandys, or 12 Dark Knight Rises premieres!” More »
Here are some dumb jokes we thought of
It’s late. You’re up. Tomorrow is the last day of classes, so take a break from frantically typing that paper. Since this is the last One Eleven I’ll ever write, I asked everyone on Spectator’s outgoing managing board to tell me the best/worst/dumbest joke they could think of off the top of their head. Here is what we came up with.
MB jokes
Sarah Darville, Editor in Chief: A pretzel was walking down the street. It was assaulted.
Maggie Alden, Managing Editor: What’s Beethoven’s favorite fruit? Ba-na-na-na!
Alex Smyk, Publisher: What has six wheels and flies? A garbage truck.
Sammy Roth, News Editor: Yeah, whatever. I’ll text you my joke. More »
Meet Spec’s 137th managing board
We’re so excited to introduce the new managing board of the 137th volume of the Columbia Daily Spectator!
Editor in Chief: Sammy Roth
Managing Editor: Finn Vigeland
Publisher: Alex Smyk
Campus News Editor: Jeremy Budd
City News Editor: Casey Tolan
Editorial Page Editors: Grace Bickers and Yasmin Gagne
A&E Editor: Lesley Thulin
Sports Editors: Alison Macke and Myles Simmons
Head Copy Editor: Megan Kallstrom
Spectrum Editor: Sara Garner
Design Editors: Regie Mauricio and Ryan Veling
Photo Editor: David Brann
Multimedia Editor: Steven Lau
Editor in Chief, The Eye: Rikki Novetsky
Online Editors: Doug Bienstock and Isaac White
Chief Development Officer: Robert Frech
Chief Marketing Officer: Alan Seltzer
Chief Revenue Officer: Wes Rodriguez
Staff Director: Rebeka Cohan
Congratulations to the new MB! We are so happy for you and we know you’ll be great!
Chair of Greek Judicial Board resigns over brownstone decisions
Matthew Renick, GS/JTS ’13, former president of AEPi*, and Chairman of the Greek Judicial Board, just sent out a blistering email informing the “Columbia community” of his decision to resign his board position in protest over the decisions Columbia recently made regarding brownstone allocation. The email was sent to leaders of the Greek community, as well as Deans Kevin Shollenberger, Terry Martinez, and Cristen Kromm.
“Not only do I feel that the Committee and Dean Shollenberger made the wrong decision in this case, but I also feel that the entire process by which it was decided was fundamentally and morally wrong,” Renick wrote. He later suggested that the students on the housing committee may have faced “pressure, threats, and intimidation” from other students. See the entire email below and after the jump.
Spec will be reviewing the claims Renick makes in his letter for accuracy — stay tuned for updates from the news side.
Members of the Columbia Community,
I am writing this letter to inform you of my immediate resignation from the position of Chairman of the Greek Judicial Board. I will no longer notify chapter presidents of violations, and I will no longer hear cases. I will no longer work under the Director of Greek Life, and I will no longer grade the ALPHA Standards of Excellence. I am giving up all affiliations with the Greek Judicial Board, and I am giving up all attachments that I have to the Columbia University administration.
My decision is based in large part on my reaction to the Brownstone Application Committee’s decision to award the three brownstones to Q House, Alpha Chi Omega, and Lambda Phi Epsilon. Not only do I feel that the Committee and Dean Shollenberger made the wrong decision in this case, but I also feel that the entire process by which it was decided was fundamentally and morally wrong. More »
Sociology prof accused of exploitative methods
Good morning Columbia! Here’s what’s happening in the news today.
Read this: In addition to allegations that he has misused Columbia funds, sociology prof Sudhir Venkatesh has been accused of exploitative research methods.
Know this: Andrew Godinich argues that there aren’t enough American authors in the Core curriculum.
Here’s more: Check out the rundown of our basketball team’s loss to Bucknell over the weekend.
And one more thing: Here’s a photo of the new Varsity Show talent!
Photo courtesy of the 119th Varsity Show
Harvard students attend workshop on how to relate to non-Harvard students
It’s late. You’re up. What’s going on at Harvard tonight?
Check your privilege: “How do I talk about Harvard at home? Will my friends and family think I’ve changed? Will I still fit in? This workshop provides an opportunity to describe and explore your experiences and questions as you anticipate going home.” Pro-tip for Harvard students: Best way to ensure normal conversations with your friends is to mention having attended this workshop.
Check your grammar: One Harvard student only listens to foreign music, because English-language music has abused him: “Such mainstays as ‘I Will Always Love You,’ ‘At Last,’ and ‘My Heart Will Go On’ shake me with revulsion.” Shaken Harvard Student Syndrome is no laughing matter. We trust this has been reported to the proper authorities.
Check under your door: Last week, a bunch of Harvard students received invitations to an exclusive campus club. How exclusive is it? The invitation says “Jews need not apply.” And it goes on to add, “Seriously, no fucking Jews.” More »
The Rolling Stones turn 50, drone warfare gets a rulebook, and other news
It’s late. You’re up. Welcome back from wherever you went for Thanksgiving. Here’s a look at some of the news you may have missed while you were away.
Actual news
Saving the economy: The holiday shopping season appears to be off to a record start. So if you bought something this weekend — good job.
Sympathy for Deal with the devil: The Rolling Stones have been around for 50 years now. That is completely insane. Doctors should be studying them. More »
The best parts of holiday classic ‘ThanksKilling’
There are so many great Christmas movies. It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause IV: The Substitute Clause. It’s an unfortunate truth, however, that there are far fewer classic movies that celebrate Thanksgiving.
Good news: That problem has been solved. ThanksKilling is available on Instant Netflix. It tells the story of a group of college students trying to get home to their families while being terrorized by a talking evil turkey. We would recommend that you take it in with your family, but sadly, Thanksgiving is over and your probably don’t have time. That being the case, here’s a time-stamped summary of the entire film (SPOILERS BELOW!).
0:00 — “The year is 1621, the olden days.”
The first Thanksgiving has just occurred, and the scene opens on a semi-nude pilgrim woman running through the woods. She trips over a large plastic rock and is killed by a talking turkey who wields a tomahawk.
0:03 — According to the opening credits, the actors in this movie include Chuck “Dead Body Guy” Lamb, General Bastard, and Wanda Lust. Wasn’t Wanda Lust in Lincoln?
0:04 — We’ve now moved forward in time, to the modern day. The setting is a rustic college campus. Main characters seem to be: Fat Kid, Quarterback, Party Girl, Nice Girl, and Nerdy Kid. They’re all traveling to their respective homes together in QB’s jeep.
0:08 — Flashback to QB’s childhood. He’s throwing the football with his father. More importantly, HE IS NOT A CHILD. It’s the same actor in the flashback, just pretending to be a little kid. This is rapidly becoming the best movie ever. More »