The NSOP 2011 schedule has been released! Lots of the usual suspects here: a zillion John Jay dinners, a tour of Park Slope, etc. Here’s what the handbook has to say about the (now cancelled) Convocation 2011:

President Bollinger, Dean Moody-Adams, Dean Peña-Mora, Dean Shollenberger, Columbia College Alumni Association President Kyra Barry, administrators, faculty, and student leaders at this event that will welcome you and your family into the Columbia community.

Many things have been canceled uprooted, including everything scheduled for Sunday, the campus resource fair, convocation and the academic assembly. It’s unclear whether any of these are going to be rescheduled.

Update, 9:25pm: GS Orientation scheduled for Monday has now been canceled as well (email below jump). Student Affairs also released Inclement Weather Update 6 earlier this afternoon, noting that COÖP now returns tonight and urging students to adjust plans so they will move in after the storm has cleared. Hurricanes, man.

Bwog wishes we could wish Irene away as Mississippi Joe Hurt once did:

Complete cancellations after the jump

complete shut down of MTA services starting at noon tomorrow”>

Don't bother waiting. It will never come.

If you planned on getting off campus tomorrow and enjoying the city one last time before Hurricane Irene sweeps through, be sure to make it back before noon! Governor Cuomo has ordered a complete shut down of MTA services starting at noon tomorrow. This means subways, buses, LIRR, and the Metro North will begin their final runs at noon and stop shortly thereafter. Seeing as New York is officially in a state of emergency, it probably wasn’t a very good idea to leave anyway. No word on when the MTA will be back up, but except services to be down at least through Sunday.

For Columbia-specific information about preparing for the day after tomorrow, keep checking the official updates from the school.

Eating in comfort (and style!).

Though changes in Dining aren’t as drastic as last year’s, some business is going on, and we think there are some bits in here you’ll like.

• JJ will offer new items such as “sandwiches and sliders at the Pizza Station, and new specialty burger and sandwich options at the grill.”
• JJ’s Place will have expanded hours on Thursday through Saturday, from 12-8pm.
• Some more booths have been set up in Ferris Booth Commons.
• John Jay has been refurbished with new chairs, new light fixtures, and a newly painted white ceiling meant to add light to the dining hall. This sounds dramatic, but we snuck in for pictures and were pretty underwhelmed. (see below)
• The Nescafe machine that loved and left us is back! (see farther below) Read more…

Inclement Weather Update #5 has just been released, and the whole city is abuzz!

Here’s what Student Affairs has to say to a presumably rather confused Class of 2015 this morning: don’t bother coming to college until the hurricane ends. The NSOP schedule hasn’t even been released yet (so when are we going to find out what Taking Root, Branching Out actually means?!) and NSOP week seems pretty up in the air at this point. The update says that international students, athletes, and COOP and CUE freshmen will all be safely back on campus by the time the hurricane hits Sunday morning.

Read the full update here.

We’re enjoying the image of 1,500 eager freshpeople taking a water taxi to Governor’s Island in a Category 3 hurricane for their big NSOP night out .

Ladies and gentlemen, your new NSOP theme: The Day After Tomorrow.

Z.Y. Fu, the Chinese businessman and philanthropist who donated generously to Columbia University over the past 20 years, passed away yesterday.

In 1990, Mr. Fu began his philanthropy by endowing a chair of applied mathematics at the Engineering school, where his brother-in-law taught as a professor. Three years later, he endowed a scholarship fund for Chinese students at the College and the Engineering school. His most famous donation came in 1997, when his philanthropic foundation gave Columbia’s Engineering school $26 million to, in his words, “ensure that Columbia will continue to grow in strength as an international leader in science and technology.” The school was soon renamed the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in his honor.

Mr. Fu also got to experience life as a student at Columbia. In 1991, he took a class to improve his English at the School of General Studies. Reportedly, he “had lots of fun and liked it enormously.”

We respectfully remember Mr. Fu’s generosity and send our condolences to his family.

reasons for resigning probably surrounded decisions made by the Policy and Planning Committee (PPC) of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Executive Vice President Nicholas Dirks focused his reaction to the dean’s condemnation of FAS on defending the PPC and stressing that whatever Moody-Adams found objectionable has not been set in stone. We’re still investigating exactly what these objectionable proposals were, but understanding the origins and function of the PPC sheds light onto the process of the College’s consolidation with the wider Faculty of Arts and Sciences.”>

FAS meets in the Faculty Room of Low

Moody-Adams’ reasons for resigning probably surrounded decisions made by the Policy and Planning Committee (PPC) of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Executive Vice President Nicholas Dirks focused his reaction to the dean’s condemnation of FAS on defending the PPC and stressing that whatever Moody-Adams found objectionable has not been set in stone. We’re still investigating exactly what these objectionable proposals were, but understanding the origins and function of the PPC sheds light onto the process of the College’s consolidation with the wider Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The inception of the PPC can be traced back to a document prepared by the FAS Academic Review Committee (ARC), a FAS advisory committee that is more administrative than strictly academic; it aims “to assess program quality and effectiveness, to foster planning and improvement, and to provide guidance for administrative decisions.” In its March 2010 report, “Faculty Governance in the Arts & Sciences,” ARC set out to solve a critical problem plaguing FAS, excess bureaucracy: there were duplicate committees, consistent miscommunication, and a lack of transparency. A select quote from the report about the organization of FAS reveals it all: “We tried to obtain a clear flow chart of administrative offices and responsibilities: it proved impossible. Indeed it was not even clear whom to turn to in order to obtain one.”

And so how do bureaucrats fix problems? By creating more committees! ARC recommended scrapping the previous vague yet formidable Executive Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in favor of a new one, the PPC. According to the report, the PPC could ideally improve communication and cooperation between constituent schools of and committees within FAS. However, looking at its actual implementation and influence, we do begin to see the roots of Moody-Adams’ concerns. PPC could appear a mechanism to consolidate power under FAS and leave individuals schools like the College with substantially less control over their matters.

Read on for more on the PPC’s roles and responsibilities

You sure you want that $200,000 hat?

Whether thoughts of the coming year bring joy or fear, recent months’ debate over the value of higher education should give you good reason to have second thoughts. Bwog daily editor Matt Schantz reviews the literature.

Richard Heffner, host of PBS’s Open Mind, began an interview with former Dean Moody-Adams with a provocative quote form MiMoo herself: “Some contemporary critics will wonder whether any liberal arts education can ever be anything more than a ‘remnant of economic privilege.’ Moreover, in a time of extraordinary economic upheaval and crisis it is not unreasonable to ask the larger question of whether there is an appropriate fit between the ideals of a liberal education and the broader demands of a sometimes brutal market economy.” Moody-Adam’s response to these critics: a confident “yes.” She asserts that a liberal arts degree is both economically viable— Columbia provides students with “intellectual cognitive capacities that will suit them well whatever line of work or profession they choose”— and anti-elitist. The liberal arts endow all students with cultural capital (a fancy word for the ability to name drop with the best of ‘em) regardless of socioeconomic background. Yet Moody-Adam’s argument, long the prevailing mantra of the liberal arts education, has come under close scrutiny recently, in part due to an alarming statistic that’s been making the headlines.

In Academically Adrift, sociologists Josipa Rosksa and Richard Arum examine the current state of higher education using the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), a test designed to measure critical reasoning administered to students as incoming freshmen and a second time after they’ve completed sophomore year. According to their results, 45% of students don’t learn anything in their first two years of college due to lack of rigor. Students studying the liberal arts who took classes that required more than 40 pages of reading a week and writing more than 20 pages a semester improved the most. The statistic was the perfect sound bite to ignite further debate around an already hot topic. While some critiqued the methodology and recommendations of Academically Adrift, almost all agreed that higher education in America is broken. Read more…

You are here...somewhere.

Cynthia Jennings, the direction of New Student Orientation Programs from Student Affairs spoke enthusiastically about the new program: “We want every student to have a successful transition into life at Columbia. ISOP will help our international students achieve that goal.”

Over the next four days, 75 students from 33 different countries will learn how to navigate Columbia’s frightfully complex bureaucracy, and explore their new city!

Spherical map via Wikimedia Commons

After the jump, check out the full schedule and a list of all the countries that ISOP freshpeople come from!

Mother nature just doesn't want any more freshmen

In case you weren’t aware, there’s a pretty big rainstorm that’s going to hit the northeast this weekend, just in time for NSOP. Bwog has been mystified by the Weather Channel the past few days (Seriously! 24 hours devoted just to weather! What is this madness) and really, the coming Hurricane Irene is no joke. It’s significantly more powerful than last fall’s Hurricane Earl, and some NSOP festivities are being cut. COÖP has already been cut short by a day, and now an announcement has just been posted by Student Affairs (expect an e-mail shortly) announcing that Columbia College and Columbia Engineering Convocation has been canceled. Move-In Day this Sunday has also been moved to Monday, for both Columbia and Barnard.

The Division of Student Affairs advises all those moving in this weekend to frequently check their website for periodic updates. Notes about Convocation and COÖP below.

Update (7:37): Barnard and NYU move-in days have been delayed as well!

Inclement Weather Update #3 (Thursday, August 25, 2011, 3:15 p.m.)
Columbia Announces Changes to Move-In and NSOP Due To Hurricane Irene

Dear Columbia University Students and Families,

As you are aware, it is likely that we can expect to see the effects of Hurricane Irene sometime on Sunday, August 28 in the New York Metro area, bringing the potential for severe weather and hazardous travel conditions. Given the unpredictability of the strength and direction of the storm, the University and the City must prepare accordingly. The safety of our students and campus community is paramount and as a result, we are cancelling Move-In Day on Sunday, August 28. Move-In Day will be held on Monday, August 29 from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. To further accommodate students and families who have experienced travel disruptions and will arrive to campus on Tuesday, August 30, we will extend check-in hours from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

During official check-In, Columbia staff members will guide you to the appropriate check-in locations based on your residence hall assignment. We will not be able to accommodate early check-in or baggage drop-off on Friday, August 26 or Saturday, August 27. If you are unable to check-in during extended official check-in hours, please go to the Hospitality Desk (staffed 24 hours a day) at Hartley Hall, where staff will be able to accommodate your late arrival.

Essential services, including Housing, Dining, and Health Services, will be available for all students on-campus for Pre-Orientation Programs and Athletics.

The following adjustments will be made to the Sunday Orientation schedule:

• The CUE Family Brunch, scheduled for Sunday, August 28 at 9:30 a.m. has been cancelled
• The Family Welcome Reception, scheduled for Sunday, August 28 at 5:00 p.m. has been cancelled

The following adjustments will be made to the Monday Orientation schedule:

• The Convocation Ceremony, scheduled for Monday, August 29 at 2:30 p.m. has been cancelled to accommodate the extended check-in hours
• The Family Welcome Reception, scheduled for Monday, August 29 will have extended hours from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Faculty House

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and your family. We ask for your patience and flexibility as we welcome the Class of 2015 to campus. Please bookmark http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/orientation/preparing for all updates related to Move-In 2011 and the New Student Orientation Program (NSOP).

Sincerely,

The Division of Student Affairs

COÖP note after the jump

With a plot ripped from the headlines, Monday’s episode of Weeds brought the hunky Hunter Parrish up to our Morningside Heights campus to confront the leader of a fictionalized Columbia drug ring. Though, the stock footage of campus appears to be outdated. Does anyone remember when exactly we had recycling bins like that?

But will the Moody-Adams scandal make HIMYM?

To the lad that fellow ale-sipper-cum-tipster Amanda Gutterman spotted last night: That splitting pain in your head is actually from 1020′s massive front window that you plowed into.

Apparently he was just "jokingly smashing his head" into the window

Michele Moody-Adams may have only been dean for a scant two years, but she has undoubtedly made her mark in Columbia history. Bwog’s Peter Sterne takes us through the short time she spent as Dean of Columbia College.

When Michele Moody-Adams was first named as Columbia College’s new dean in February 2009, The New York Times wrote an article about “the first female and the first black dean of Columbia College.” They praised Columbia’s selection of Dean Moody-Adams first because of the demographic diversity it would bring to the administration, noting uncomfortably that “the top tier of the [Columbia] administration has remained largely male and monochromatic despite an increasingly diverse student body.” But the Times also recognized the strengths that she brought to Columbia, namely, her background in moral and political philosophy that would allow her to understand the importance and challenges of Columbia College’s Core Curriculum, and her experience working as both an academic and administrator at Cornell.

Dean Moody-Adams certainly seemed committed to the Core. In an interview with Columbia College Today, she spoke of her love for the Core and declared, “I will do everything I can to protect the Core, the best of the Core, and much of what remains and has been handed down through the decades is the best.” And when asked what should be used to judge her success or failure as a dean, she replied, “I think it would have to do with the Core — the health of the Core Curriculum and the extent to which…we’ve managed to preserve the essence of the Core.”

During her short time at Columbia, there have been some small efforts to enhance the Core Curriculum. Chair of Literature Humanities Christia Mercer created an interactive LitHum website that (at least in theory) helps students relate the themes of Lit Hum readings to each other and the modern world. In a similar vein, Professor Mercer, with Dean Moody-Adams’s support, started the Core Scholars program, which gives prizes to students who use Core readings as the basis for projects like songs, woodcuts, and intepretive dances. For Dean Moody-Adams, though, the Core includes more than just LitHum and CC. She believes strongly that the Core must include a basic understanding of science.

More MiMoo after the jump

Empire State of Mind at a discounted price!

So you spent all summer preoccupied with supplying your dorm room with the essentials and choosing a side in the Great Printer Debate and now have no clue what to do in the city for cheap. Worry not, freshperson, that’s what Bwog is here for.

Meet the Ticket and Information Center, aka The TIC, one of your best friends in the coming years. This service will give you tickets to free events on campus, information about events in the city and most importantly, discounted tickets to performances, films and events in and around New York City. You can access the TIC online or at their information center in Lerner.

QuickTix runs every alternate Wednesday to bring you the most popular shows and tips on what to see from behind the desk of the TIC. Here’s what they recommend this week:

Tickets on Sale Now

1. Yankees vs Toronto – September 3rd, 1:05 pm, $48.50

2. Improv Everywhere: The guys who brought you the Frozen Grand Central prank are coming to Columbia for their Mp3 Experiment on September 9th. It’s free!

3. Spider-Man – September 8th, 7:30 pm, $53

4. NY Philharmonic Henry V – September 17th, 8 pm, $37.50

5. Yankees vs Tampa Bay – September 20th, 7:05 pm, $48.50

Tickets that go on Sale August 26th

1. Rent – September 22nd, 8 pm, $50

2. Mets vs Philadelphia – 7:10 pm, $37

3. H2S – September 29th, 7 pm, $38

Tickets to many more events can be found at the TIC’s website

Image via Wikimedia

In our RoomHop feature, Bwog indulges its dream to host an HGTV show. We hope these pics from past rooms inspire intrepid designers. You can totally get more original than that Audrey Hepburn poster. Observe! Click the links to read the full RoomHops.

Will Hughes, CC’13, John Jay:

To offset the hodge-podge aesthetic of his walls, Will created striking clean lines running across his ceiling by randomly stringing and taping blue and red yarn. “I really like the shadows you get when the light is on,” Will says, as he flicks on the lamp that he rescued from a street corner.

Patrick Han and Shao-Wen Ang, Watt

While most people throw away Clementine peels and old tea bags, Patrick and Shao-Wen choose to feature them. They unhinged their window guards and weaved fruit peels, playbills, and photos through the diamond slits. “The window covering is a useful way to hold things,” says Patrick.

Read more…