Columbia's Social Story

"Do you want my password?" A student asked. Halogram, gravedigger, parachute, sunglasses, and twizzlesticksrumplestilkinnes were just a few of the dozens of passwords thrown about on Columbia's campus in the past week.

Monday November 15th marked the beginning of Columbia's Social Experiment. Students had five days to acquire as many passwords as possible from undisclosed password holders. The goal was to collect the most code words through social interactions with other students.

Founder Ben Turndorf explained his reasoning behind the Experiment: "What if we could maybe at least get  people thinking about how to interact more. Or a little differently. Just say hi in the elevator one time. Just because you have the excuse of the game and you go forward thinking maybe i can do that all of the time or some of the time, and whether or not it worked for you or other people, you know it's up for debate."

Freshmen friends Abril Dozal and Sharon Wu won the competition together, pooling their efforts and each taking home 250 dollars.

"We got the e-mail from our RA and the night before some of our friends were talking about how there was this game going on, and a few minutes before the deadline we were like 'let's play!'," said Dozal.

And play they did. Dozal and Wu got off to a quick start, accumulating dozens of passwords by the end of the first night.

"We kept playing because we were on top and I was like, 'we have to win!'," Dozal remembers.

"We definitely had more motivation to play because we were doing well," says Wu. "So, I guess there was like a competitive aspect to it."

Dozal and Wu along with others turned to their facebook friends for passwords, rather than interacting with strangers face-to-face as the founders of the social experiment had wanted.

"For me, it was facebook-ing people who i hadn't talked to since maybe days on campus-like that far back," says Wu recounting her most awkward social experiences of the week.

Ninth place finisher Jeremy Martin was perturbed by players receiving help from friends and working to win with online servers. "I feel a lot of the passwords that people obtained were probably just through facebook and texting people and mine were no exception," Martin says.

The experiment was met with mixed reactions from the student body.

"It seems kind of sham-like," says one student. "I don't really see how it fosters socialization, people just go up to you and ask for the password. It doesn't really foster conversation in the same way going outside and having a cigarette would." Another student cited game theory as to why he did not participate: "They show the statistics also. I went online I saw that someone already had 89 passwords and I had two, so I was like,OK...."

A student in favor of the experiment remarked, "So many outside sources picked up on this news and kind of twisted it and made it into a commentary on social life at Columbia which is sort of true. but it was an experiment even just as a program to see if whether or not it would succeed, and I felt it was really fun and something we should probably do again next year."

In response to the Social Experiment, a group of students formed the Socialist Experiment, a collective that planned to win the game  together and donate the winnings to charity.

"In reducing social interaction to a competition it wasn't really encouraging the best tendencies of Columbians," says a student who e-mailed the Socialist Experiment his password.

Ian Kwok, one of the organizers of the Socialist Experiment, was moved by the positive feedback, the group received from students. "Every e-mail that we got was incredible," says Kwok. "The fact that you have people you don't know feeling the same cause and being a part of it. It was a great sense of unity that you don't really get in a lot of situations."

The socialist experiment did not have enough passwords sent to them, and ultimately finished third behind both Dozal and Wu. The two first-years have already decided how they will each spend their half of the 500 dollar prize.

"I'm actually paying my sorority dues with them," says Wu.

"I'm paying for my flight home," says Dozal.

They also plan to repay their friends who helped supply them with passwords. "We're going to buy our friends who helped us some cake," Wu said. Dozal added, "They helped us a lot so they deserve some cake."

For CTV news, this is Fiona Brunner and Andy Seife.

Harvard needs love, too

As the Social Experiment demonstrated, making friends can be a difficult task even at Ivy League institutions. At Harvard University, an undergraduate has created a website that randomly pairs Crimson students with each other for "non-romantic lunch" dates. In order to be paired, students simply submit their name, their Harvard house, and their Harvard email address to the website HarvardLunch.com.

Intended to help Harvard students meet and network with one another, this effort is reminiscent of similar Columbia-centered website such as Love@CU and Date My School. The creator of HarvardLunch hopes his website is used not only to meet potential love interests but also to expand the social groups of Harvard students. With more than 350 people already trying this service, it will be interesting to learn how this social experiment turns out.

Barnard Launches Film Festival Celebrating Women's Leadership

Barnard has always been regarded as a hub for female empowerment, and in February of next year it continues that tradition by hosting the Athena Film Festival, "a celebration of women and leadership". The festival will showcase films, documentaries and shorts that reflect on the stories of women, both real and fictional, as well as the indelible impact they have left on their country or community.

The festival is scheduled from February 10 through February 13.

For more information visit www.athenafilmfestival.com

Mayor Bloomberg Speaks on Education

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on campus Thursday morning to deliver the opening address for the International Summit on Urban Education, an event sponsored by the New York City Department of Education and Global Partners Incorporated, which featured panels discussions on improving public education worldwide.

Bloomberg spoke to representatives from 24 international cities, as well as a group of Columbia students and faculty, about the current state of American public schools on the international stage.

“We just cannot continue to do things in education the way we did them one hundred years ago,” Bloomberg said. “Many of us can remember when the educational system of the US was the envy of the world, but we understand that America’s scholastic standing has now slipped badly.”

Bloomberg elaborated on the cause of these recent shortcomings.

“Today we find America’s students ranked 20^th in the world in high school graduation rates, 21^st in science, and 25^th in math. While other nations have raced ahead, expected more from their students and, America has stood still,” Bloomberg said.

The mayor highlighted many of the ways his administration and those before his have worked to improve New York City’s public school system.

“We have ended the practice of social promotion, which for years moved children up a grade even if they hadn’t mastered the necessary skills to do the grade that they were in. What a tragedy,” Bloomberg said. “We gave greater authority to principals, including the authority to decide what works and what doesn’t work in their individual schools, with the student body that they have and the physical resources that they have.”

There has been a lot of progress as a result of these efforts, the mayor said.

“About six months ago, US News and World Report listed the 100 best public high schools in the country, and I’m happy to say that 12 were New York City public high schools,” Bloomberg said. “We have transformed our school system from one of the nation’s worst to one that President Obama’s administration has identified as a model for cities ion the rest of America.”

Bloomberg also looked to the future, speaking about New York’s goals for improved K-12 education going forward.

“We have to make sure that every teacher in every classroom is an excellent teacher,” Bloomberg said. “New York City is blessed with eighty thousand teachers. It’s an astonishing number, and most do a phenomenal job.”

Continuing to fix the problems in New York’s school and schools around the world, Bloomberg asserted, is the key to ensuring a stable future for the next generation.

“I know of no social problem that we have that could not be ameliorated or eliminated if we had better public schools. That has to be where our focus is,” Bloomberg said. “It is the future of our city; it is the future of our state; it is the future of our country; and, in fact, it is the future of our world.”

NPR's Robert Siegel Awarded

The Journalism School's 2010 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism has been awarded to Robert Seigel, senior host of NPR's "All Things Considered." The J-School honor is presented annually to a reporter for his or her lifetime achievements.

Siegel worked at Columbia University's radio station, WKCR, during his undergraduate years and he anchored the station's live coverage of the 1968 riots when students took over buildings at Columbia in protest of the Vietnam War and civil rights violations. Siegel has been the host of "All Things Considered," NPR's evening news broadcast, since 1987.

Bollinger's Bling

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger joined a list of thirty private college executives who's pay surpasses one million dollars, this according to figures based on the most recently available federal tax returns. Receiving more than one point seventy five million dollars in compensation, Bollinger was the Ivy League’s highest-paid president in 2008.

This year, the Internal Revenue Service changed the period and perks reported in the tax returns, but there is still a noticeable rise in university president salaries. Of the top ten highest paid presidents, Bollinger is the only Ivy League representative.

To err is divine in Kilmer's Bad Poetry Contest

Bad poets across Columbia gathered at Barnard's Held Auditorium to participate in the Philolexian Society's 25th annual Alfred Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest on Thursday night. The contest is inspired by former Philo Vice President and CC Class of 1908 graduate Alfred Kilmer, who's poem "Trees" has gained notoriety as being exceptionally bad. Students recite their original poems in hopes of joining the ranks of previous terrible poets.

Some poets recited in the style of Dr. Seuss: "Let me alone! I do not like it on a plane! I do not like it up in Maine...I do not like it here or there! I do not like it anywhere!"

As the literary society's most popular event, the contest easily drew over a hundred enthusiasts. Poems covered a wide array of topics, from Velveeta cheese to the Transportation Security Administration.

In reference to the recent TSA pat-downs, one poet recited, "What are you searching for down there? Is my heart? Because that you already have."

The night was full of surprises, from interesting personalities to unexpected proposals.

"Allie, will you marry me?" beseeched one hopeful suitor.

She said yes. But the highlights of the night - or should I say the lowlights? - remained bad poetry.

One poet offered an especially topical poem: "They came for the absinthe, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a fancy French guy. Then they came for the Joose, and I didn't speak up because I didn't like Manischewitz. Then they came for the Four Loko, and by that time no one was left to speak up."

UPDATE: Gerard Leone, UPenn '07, won the 25th Alfred Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest for his poem "OH Tea Party ME".

Israel & Palestine groups clash

You may have seen students in army attire with cardboard guns guarding Low Plaza earlier this week; you may have even been blindfolded and ordered to drop to the ground. This was all part of a demonstration by the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, a rally meant to portray what Palestinian students go through on a daily basis when they are stopped at checkpoints operated by the Israeli army in the West Bank.

Students from the Columbia/Barnard Hillel started their own counter-protest, distributing fliers and advising onlookers on the necessity of these checkpoints. Following heated conversations among the protesters, representatives said they were displeased with the lack of dialogue between both groups.

Wi-Fi for everyone

Vice President of Campus Services Scott Wright recently announced that a partnership between housing services and Columbia University Information Technology will be working towards providing all upperclassmen with wireless access in dorms before the end of 2012. Only nine dorms currently have wireless access installed.

Due to conflicts with residential occupancy schedules, the work will begin during the summer of next year and pick up the following summer. The project is expected to cost up to two million dollars.

CU-EMS Lobbies for More Space

Columbia Area Volunteer Service (CAVA), also known as CU-EMS, is currently campaigning for a new location on campus. Alexander Harstrick, the organization's primary lobbyist, explains the need for a new, larger space.

"So, essentially, what we're asking for is a move from the Carman basement, which is where we are currently, to the spaces in Broadway, Rooms 102 and 103," explains Alexander Harstrick (CC'12), a primary lobbyist. "What we're facing right now is a record-setting year for CAVA. What that requires for us is more membership. As a result, we need more space. The rooms in Broadway would satisfy all of these concerns. We also don't get any reception in here for our cell-phones or for occasional radio use. That's obviously an issue when your entire job is to respond to medical emergencies."

"This initiative started approximately two months ago, just after the beginning of the semester, when we realized that there was an availability of space elsewhere on campus," adds Andrew Richardson (SIPA), a Probationary Member of CAVA. "And we felt, like, for CAVA's purposes, it would be best to try to find another space that we could move to."

"So far, we have given presentations to the Columbia College Student Council, Engineering Student Council, the General Studies' Student Council, as well as a campus-wide poll, which had 1600 Columbia constituents agree to our move to Broadway, Room 102," describes Harstrick. "So far, it's been very exhaustive. We've been speaking to a lot of media outlets. But, like I said before, it's been very well-received and I am very optimistic about the end of this entire process."

Vuvuzela Veto

Vuvuzelas have blown the nation away since this summer's World Cup, but their arrival may be short-lived. After being prohibited at baseball stadiums, the horns were also outlawed at this year's Harvard-Yale football game.

The ban came after Yale students started a campaign to disrupt the Crimson offense through the use of the vuvuzela. After selling more than 300 horns with the insignia "Harvard Blows" on them, the administration passed a ban on noisemakers. Harvard won the 127th edition of The Game on Saturday.

Sports Roundup

The Columbia Football Lions went out much like Quarterback Sean Brackett: with a limp. Brackett injured his leg in the closing drive of last week's sensational comeback win against Cornell, and was forced to play through the pain in the Lions' final game of the season. Columbia lost to Brown by a score of 38-16. After putting on spectacular offensive performances in its first several games, Columbia lost steam and after Saturday fell to 4-6 on the season.

Columbia men's basketball have started off the season 1-3. The Lions destroyed Maryland East Shore in Columbia's home opener 108-74, with tremendous play from guards Noruwa Agho and Steve Frankowski. They lost two on the road this week against St. John's and Longwood. They head home this Tuesday in what is sure to be a competitive matchup against Colgate.

The women of Columbia Basketball are still looking for their first win. Tied 43-43 in the second half, Long Island University went on a 13-3 tear and took the game 73-60. Farleigh Dickinson proved to be stiff opposition and dominated from pillar to post. The Lions' deficit remained in the double digits almost all game. Women's Coach Paul Nixon received admonishment from the referee for protesting a call. They play Manhattan College Tuesday and then fly to the Golden State to take on the University of San Diego on Thursday.