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‘Spectrum’ Category
The last one eleven of the semester
It’s late. You’re up. Congrats to all the grads! For the rest of us, at least we have summer vacation. Spectrum will continue to be updated over the summer, but the one elevens are going on hiatus until we return. So today we will skip the news (you’ve got all summer to catch up on that) and get right to the fun stuff.
Watch this awesome video
Goodbye, seniors!
Class of 2012: Class Day Video from Bwog on Vimeo.
Bollinger on Manhattanville, Core endowment, NYPD, and the V-Show
Remember that time Spectator talked with University President Lee Bollinger the other week? We spent so much time talking about the rescheduling of GS Class Day that we had a follow-up meeting to talk with him about some other big issues, including funding for Manhattanville, the endowment of the Core Curriculum, spying on Muslim students by the NYPD, and attending the Varsity Show. Highlights below!
- Although Bollinger speculated a year ago that the cost of the new Business School in Manhattanville would be about $400 million, he said in the interview that that price tag had gone up, as construction estimates often fluctuate as more details of the design are nailed down. The extra funds would not be provided by the University, though, but through additional fundraising. Recently, Leon Cooperman, Business ’67, donated $25 million to the construction.
- We asked Bollinger if he had seen the Varsity Show this year, or if he wanted to. Although he didn’t make it, he said, “I do think about it actually and I’d like to do it. I mean, for some reason, and this is silly, but I don’t get it on my calendar, or I’m travelling, but I’d like to.” We recounted the plot and he seemed amused, so V119 creative team: get an appointment in the presidential calendar early! More »
Columbia College Class Day begins at 9:30 a.m.
It’s the last of the undergraduate class days this morning, as Columbia College seniors become Columbia College alumni. The procession is due to begin at 9:30 a.m. It’ll be a lot less chaotic than yesterday’s ceremonies, but still a day of high emotions for many.
Rick MacArthur, CC ’78 and the publisher of Harper’s Magazine, will be the speaker. He is a former news editor of Spectator and a member of Spectator’s board of trustees.
We won’t be liveblogging it, but you can watch a webcast of the ceremony here.
Ironically, MacArthur has denounced new social media technologies publicly several times, so naturally we’re going to be tweeting the whole ceremony. Associate news editor Lillian Chen will be on the scene here, and you can follow Spectator’s own feed @CU_Spectator. We will be compiling tweets with the hashtag #CC2012. Follow us here!
He came, he spoke, he conquered
It’s late. You’re up. Congratulations to all today’s graduates! For the rest of us, we’ll get there someday. At least we have summer vacation. Check out the news, and the obligatory funny video after the jump.
Actual news
The obvious lead: President Obama was here. What else do you need to read about today?
Related: Will women determine the outcome of the 2012 election? More »
Shollenberger on renovations, student debt, and peer advisers
Last week, Spectator sat down with Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger and Dean of Community Development and Multicultural Affairs Terry Martinez for an end-of-semester interview. Some highlights:
- In with the new: The lounge in Carman Hall will be renovated over the summer, following several rounds of student input on architectural plans. Additionally, construction is getting underway on the three 113th Street brownstones that are being converted to undergraduate housing, following student feedback on furniture and other finishes for the dorms.
- Helping hand: The Center for Student Advising has hired eight peer advisers—six from Columbia College and two from the School and Engineering and Applied Sciences, rather than four from each school as originally planned. The peer advisers are Jennifer Bai, CC ’13, Elias Boujaoude, CC ’13, Phillip Fletcher, CC ’13, Benjamin Frieling, SEAS ’14, Will Hughes, CC ’13, Steele Sternberg, CC ’13, Amanda Suarez, CC ’14, and Min Yeoh, SEAS ’13.
Keep up the graduation fever with SEAS Class Day at 4:30 p.m.
President Obama has left campus and Barnard seniors are now Barnard graduates, but students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science have their own class day ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Ursula Burns, SEAS ’82 and the CEO of XEROX, will be the speaker.
We won’t be liveblogging it, but you can watch a webcast of the ceremony here.
Deputy news editor Yasmin Gagne will be on the scene tweeting here, and on Spectator’s own feed @CU_Spectator will also be compiling tweets with the hashtag #SEAS2012. Follow us here!
We’ll update this post with pictures and highlights from the speech later.
It’s Obama headquarters here: Everything you need to know
Asiya Khaki
Good morning, Morningside Heights! President Barack Obama, CC ’83, is returning to campus to deliver the address at Barnard’s Commencement, his first visit to campus since September 2008 and possibly the first visit to campus by a sitting president (we’re checking on that). It’s going to be a hectic day, with ultratight security locking down all of South Campus. Graduates are scheduled to arrive in Roone Arledge Auditorium at 8 a.m., four hours before the procession is due to begin.
Spectator will be bringing you coverage from inside and outside of the ceremony but we urge anyone on campus to send in pictures or stories to dailyeditors@columbiaspectator.com and tweet @CU_Spectator using the hashtags #ObamaAtCU or #Barnard2012.
Didn’t get a golden ticket to commencement? Don’t worry, you can watch Obama’s speech streamed live here. We’ll be liveblogging the whole day, from the 8 a.m. arrivals to what it’s like inside the press filing room, from the procession at noon to the speech, to the moment Obama leaves campus at around 3 p.m.
(UPDATE: 3:21 p.m.) Photos after the jump, too.
The POTUS will be here in less than 12 hours
It’s late. You’re up. Your sleep schedule is probably still messed up thanks to the week-which-must-not-be-named.
At the moment, I’m trying to decide whether I want to skulk around the Barnard campus all day in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mr. President, or avoiding the area altogether by going to Flushing and drowning my sorrows in soup dumplings and kebabs because I didn’t get an invitation…
Actual News:
Obama chooses to phone a friend pastor: Multiple pastors, actually, after he openly declared his support for gay marriage on the 9th.
Mitt Romney responds with: “Culture…matters…Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.” I could make a jibe about his overemphasis of the word one, but that would just be petty.
Obama is given a new title: The “first gay president.” Check out the interesting Newsweek cover. More »
SEAS valedictorian is Yuan Kang [Update: Salutatorian is Tao Mai]
For the second year in a row, the School of Engineering and Applied Science has picked a computer science major as valedictorian. This year’s valedictorian is Yuan Kang, according to a spokesperson for the Division of Student Affairs.
But with less than 24 hours remaining before the SEAS Class Day ceremony Monday afternoon, SEAS students do not seem to have been notified about their valedictorian. Engineering Student Council President Nate Levick, SEAS ’12, told Spectator that he hadn’t heard anything about a valedictorian, as did several other SEAS students.
[Updated]: The salutatorian is electrical engineering major Tao Mai, according to the DSA spokesperson.
Columbia College announced Zach Brill as its valedictorian April 17, and the School of General Studies announced Maxwell Bertolero as its valedictorian April 13.
Check back for a full story from the News desk tomorrow.
Graduating GSers share their stories
The School of General Studies held its class day this morning on Low Plaza. You can read our news story on it here. We asked some of the graduating seniors how they feel now that it’s all over. These were some of their reactions:
Lydia Chan, psychology major, came from Singapore and attended Westchester Community College for two years before arriving at Columbia. “I wanted a good education — an excellent education.” She found the School of General Studies by chance. Now that it’s over, she says she feels “happy, tired. Tired!” Next up: grad school, right here at Teacher’s College.
Ben Wirtshafter, political science major, came to Columbia after having spent time as a professional actor in New York. “I realized I wanted to continue my education and this was the best place to do it,” he said. He came to Columbia after a friend told him about the General Studies program.
“I was really intrigued by the concept of people who’ve taken some time off from school, who’ve tried to learn another vocation or learn something outside of the academic realm, and getting to be in classes with people like that, and also being able to be around a bunch of 18- to 20-year-olds who are brilliant and genius in their own way.”
Now that it’s all over, he says he feels “Relieved. I still have to finish a paper that’s due on Wednesday.”
Kayran Abasali, sustainable development major, started her journey to Columbia from Trinidad. After she scored well on her SATs, her friends encouraged her to go to America for school. She went to FIT for two years, and then decided she wanted something different. She applied to Columbia and was accepted.
Abasali said her experience her was good, though it had it’s ups and downs. “One of the ups was realizing that I can do anything, and that I belong here. The GS deans were awesome. One of the downs was realizing that some of the professors are difficult, and very set in their ways.” Overall, she says she’s glad she came here, “minus the $180,000 debt.” Next, she says, she’s “going to take over the world.”
Are you a graduating GSer? What was your experience at Columbia like? Share it with us in the comments!