On Tuesday, Columbia continued two of its most revered traditions. Students were on hand for the lighting of College Walk followed by the Yule Log ceremony in John Jay. In her first public speech at Columbia, Dean Moody Adams spoke about the importance of light and religious diversity.

"In each of these traditions, we participate in traditions that unite us, even as they mark our religious and cultural uniqueness. They unite us because they are traditions that provide us with an occasion to celebrate the symbolic and the universal importance of life."

The chilly air could not prevent the Dean from lighting up the stage. Students, on the other hand, were not as receptive to the cold weather. Students commented that:

"The event was really nice. It was a bit long and we were cold, but it was worth it.

"Personally, I was kind of disappointed. You know, I was expecting this event to be kind of a fun study break, but mostly it was speeches. The speeches are important, I realize, but they took up too much of the time."

"There’s so many people, and there’s no more hot chocolate or cider, so I’m sad."

The tree lighting ceremony marks the beginning of the holiday season at Columbia. But with the end of the semester fast approaching, students are having a difficult time finding the holiday spirit.

"I think because of finals and stuff it diminishes,"

"Yea, it gets totally massacred."

"It’s going to last throughout the semester. It’s going to be a bit down later because of finals week, but the spirit’s going to be here."

"Half the people are really busy with finals and that’s all that’s on their minds and they just bounce from library to library, writing paper after paper, and therefore they sort of neglect the holiday spirit. But some people when they walk on College Walk, they appreciate the lights, maybe they’re thinking about it. But mainly it’s finals, I’d say."

"And the holidays isn’t about large events, it’s about the small things you do with your friends and floor mates, so I think this is definitely just the beginning."

College Walk will be lit every night until the end of February, which is a good thing; with finals less than two weeks away, this may be the only light students see walking out of Butler.