CC Sophomores declare majors

Over the past two weeks, the departments of Columbia College and the Center for Student Advising held major mentoring nights and open houses hoping to entice prospective majors.

"I was major-mentoring for physics and astronomy majors. All the majors were there ... there was tons of food. To be honest, though, turnout wasn't the best in terms of sophomores and underclassmen in general. The ones that did come were across the board - from 'I already know I'm majoring in this' to 'I just want some advice' to 'I have no idea, I'm just shopping around."

As sophomores in the College declare their majors this week, most seemed confident in their decisions.

"I've been planning to major in English for a while, and I think that's the right decision. So, I'm going to major in English and concentrate in music."

"When I was a sophomore, I didn't go to this major mentor event. I was pretty convinced that I knew what I was doing."

"I'm going to declare my major - Women and Gender Studies. As for feeling prepared, I feel quite prepared. I've taken two women and gender, and they've revolutionized my life and the way I think. I'm not going to change - I feel like I can save the world with women and gender studies."

Even students who felt they didn't know enough about their prospective majors said they were ready to make a decision.

"I'm majoring in Urban Studies and concentrating in Sustainable Development. I didn't really decide until this semester and changed my major about seven times because I didn't really come into Columbia with a set major. I feel like I've had plenty of time [to decide], and most other people have had their act together longer than I have."

"I'm planning to declare my major in Econ/Philosophy, and it's a little hard with the core classes to decide this early, because you don't get to try out the different areas of study, but I feel ready."

Because some departmental open houses were canceled due to Friday's snow day, students still have a chance to get advice next week. Please refer to the CSA Advising Blog or contact individual academic departments for more information.

Deluxe fire forces McBain evacuation

Students in McBain got a rude awakening early Wednesday morning. An electrical fire which started in the sign above Deluxe shortly before 2am forced residents onto the street. The fire spread to the restaurant's awning, and students on the second floor report that flames came in through their windows. Firefighters smashed windows and broke through doors in an effort to extinguish the blaze. Damage was limited to a few broken door locks and some water. Residents were allowed back into the hall less than an hour after being evacuated.

Snowed in, again

On Friday, students got their second snow day in less than a month. James McShane, director of Public Safety notified students, faculty and administrators that most classes and non-essential events would be canceled. Since most undergraduate students don't have Friday classes, the impact of the cancellation was limited.

As Mother Nature dumped another foot of snow on the New York area, students frolicked on the snow covered lawns. Students built snowmen, ski jumps and even attempted a model of Low Library.

University releases Winter 2010 Environmental Stewardship Update

This week, the University released its Winter 2010 environmental stewardship update.

The report highlighted the recent LEED certification of the Comer Geochemistry Lab at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The building, which was completed in 2007, achieved a silver certification and is Columbia's first LEED-certified building.

The LEED certification was developed by the US Green Building Council. It evaluates green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Other buildings awaiting certification are Faculty House, McVickar Hall and Knox Hall. The Northwest Corner Building and the Campbell Sports Center are also registered in the LEED program.

Fashion on display at BHM Showcase

On Friday, Columbia students put on a Fashion and Culture exposition as a part of Black Heritage Month celebrations. Musicians, dance groups, and fashion designers displayed work influenced by black culture, joining in appreciation of our diversity.

"The theme this year was The New Black: Molding our Identity and the main issue that we wanted to approach was to make sure that we redefine and try to bring in a community from Columbia University and let them know what black heritage means to us," says Organizer Kalema Boateng.

Throughout the night, artists showcased their talents and paid their respects to the vibrant history of the black community. But what did the event mean to the attendees? What was the sense of Black Heritage that they walked away with?

"To me, Black Heritage Month is just a time to showcase the accomplishments of the black population in America; whether that means Black America, the Caribbean, Africa… it’s all the same to me personally."

"I mean, we should be celebrating it year-round, but it’s the time when we really choose to appreciate our history and look back and remember the people that got us to the place where we are today."

After a night of culture and art, students left the event with a greater appreciation and pride in the richness of cultural diversity here at Columbia.

Noose at UCSD sparks protest

A student at the University of California San Diego admitted to hanging a noose in a campus library on Thursday night. Some students see the noose as a symbol of lynching, meant to intimidate African Americans. In response to the incident, about 300 students protested on campus. The university announced several new initiatives on Friday, including a task force on minority faculty recruitment, a commission to address declining African American enrollment and finding space for an African-American resource center.

Racial tensions were already high at the school, whose student body is less than 2% Black. UCSD has suspended the student who admitted to hanging the noose.

In the Fall of 2007, a noose was found on the door of Teachers College professor Madonna Constantine. That incident sparked widespread protests. Constantine was later suspended from her teaching post after allegations of plagiarism.

Sports Roundup

And now for sports.

The mens and womens basketball teams fell to Princeton this weekend.

The mens team took an early lead in their last home game of the season, but the Tigers came back to lead at the end of the first half. The Lions were unable to overcome the deficit and Princeton took the game 67-52.

The womens team beat Penn in Philadelphia Friday night, but were unable to recreate their success at Princeton on Saturday. Despite some early baskets by the Lions, Princeton took the lead in the second half. The Lions cut their deficit to five points in the last minutes of the game, but Princeton came back for a 69-57 win. The Lions will host Yale on Friday.

CSC impresses at Lunar Gala

The Chinese Student Club held its annual Lunar Gala culture show on Saturday night in front of a full house. CSC showed many of their old favorites and even tried some new acts.

The producers had a lot to say about this year's show as Angela Zhang explained the theme as the "Muse." "In Chinese culture we have a lot of things that inspire us," she said, "I think LG just really wanted to show the inspirations that stem from the Chinese culture." Zhang also described the various acts that were performed: "We have a singing group, Chinese yo-yo, traditional instruments, Lion Dance, Kung Fu, and Raw Elementz. And then we have a modern dance company called "Nie-ni-Chen" Dance Company, and then we have some fashion show people coming as well." CSC tried something new this year as well. Lucas Xi, the other producer, said, "One thing we tried to focus more on this year's show is the art show. In the back of the room we have a light show. And this year, actually, the show is trying to be seamless.

The audience took notice of CSC's new take on the show and enjoyed it as well. When asked, a student said "It was really entertaining. The modern dance was really cool. I thought it was very well put together." A lot of students "liked the Chinese yo-yo." One student went on to say "I think the audience reacted a lot to the yo-yo dancers." A former head of CSC two years ago commented and said, "It was awesome. It was the best LG I've seen in the four years I've been at Columbia. I think the best part about the show was how seamless it was."

Anyone who missed the show can catch it on the CSC website.