This could be you and your future roommate! (If Columbia were this aesthetic.)

You’ve heard of “prompose,” but do you have any idea how to pop the question to the most important person in your life? No, not your spouse, your future roommate. Senior Staffer Abby Rubel has some ideas for you.

1. Actually propose. Buy a Ring Pop, get down on one knee, and ask them, “Will you be my roommate?” Enjoy the oohs and ahs from people who wish their roommate were that romantic.
2. Scavenger hunt! Hide letters that say “Roommates?” around campus and give them hints to each location. For example, “Kim and Kanye’s baby” would mean NoCo.
3. Broach the subject gently. Don’t just come right out and ask, beat around the bush for 15 minutes first.
4. Explain why you think the two of you would be good roommates. Persuade them that you’re their perfect match.
5. Fill up their room with balloons that spell out “I think we’d be really good roommates. Want to live together next year?” Be sure to get question mark and period balloons. There’s no excuse for sloppy punctuation.
6. Complain loudly about your current roommate and hope they get the hint.
7. Go to JJ’s and pop the question over stale chicken fingers.
8. Ignore all of the above advice and ask them calmly, “Hey, want to be roommates?”

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The seats look a lot more intimidating when they’re stadium-tiered at a 45 degree angle

All-seeing and all-knowing Bwogger Ross Chapman calls out everyone in his Pupin 428 lecture, as though he didn’t write this in Pupin 428. 

Pupin 428 may not be Havemeyer 309, but it’s still an important classroom for anyone in STEM (or in other big classes that needed a lecture space). The 154-seat auditorium actually spans two floors, and features a very steep slope of desks which look toward the lecturer. While the classroom doesn’t usually have assigned seats, students will often gravitate towards specific sections. What does seating in a certain part of Pupin 428 say about you?

• Row A (Front Row): Your syllabus said that the class was in Room 328, and so you entered down at the bottom of the room through the 3rd floor entrance. Seeing a full classroom, you sheepishly took a seat in the front row and prayed that the professor wouldn’t notice you.
• Rows B and C, Seats 5-14 (Front Middle): You’re a teacher’s pet, even if you won’t admit it to yourself. Your courteously fill in to the middle of the row to allow others of your kind to occupy the best seats in the house. The professor will spend the entire 75 minutes pretending you don’t exist in hopes of somebody else answering a question for once.
• Rows C through H, Seats 5-14 (Middle): The nameless masses. You think, “If I sit here, the professor will never notice that I’m only in class every other Tuesday.” (She will notice.) You arrive one minute before class time, and you start shuffling your papers five minutes before the class is scheduled to end, setting off a chain reaction which interrupts the professor’s profound end-of-lecture summary.

Find out more about your subconscious seating decisions after the jump…

What you wish was in your Ferris Salad

Bwoggers Cara, Iga, and Mary are back at it, whipping it up in the kitchen for us. Very much encouraged by the response they got from their chocolate cupcakes, they’re here to do it again. This one is for all you vegan readers out there – we see you.

This week, Bwog made this amazingly fresh and vibrant Thai-inspired Peanut Lime Cauliflower Salad and we CANNOT stop eating it! Simple and packed with flavor, it only takes a few minutes in the kitchen to throw all together (not to mention it’s completely vegan)! Although cauliflower may seem like a strange base for a salad, tossed with crunchy peanuts and a spicy Sriracha kick, you’ve got a bowl that you can eat morning, noon, and night.

Peanut Lime Cauliflower Salad, adapted from Budget Bytes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups of cauliflower
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 fresh lime (or 2 Tbsp juice)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• Sriracha and/or Harissa
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Eat more than dining hall food after the jump…

You would think all of space is public domain.

Happening in the World: A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Hualien, Taiwan today, on the second anniversary of the devastating Tainan earthquake which claimed 116 lives. Despite buildings tilting over and roughly 40,000 homes being without water, President Tsai Ing-wen stated hope that “people’s lives would return to normal as soon as possible.” In the midst of the crisis, civilians have been very active in rescue efforts, reporting about 150 people retrieved from ruins. (BBC)

Happening in the US: SpaceX has launched the Falcon Heavy, what CNN is calling “the world’s most powerful rocket.” Onboard is CEO Elon Musk’s very own Tesla, allegedly playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” While Elon Musk has committed to doing vaguely villainous acts (A car? In space?), we applaud him for his appropriate taste in music. (CNN)

Happening in NYC: The Caribbean community of Brooklyn has filed suit against the officers of the 67th precinct, alleging that these cops are unfairly targeting Caribbean-owned restaurants with false alcohol violations. Community members noted that the discrimination has extended to venues and events associated with the annual New York Caribbean Carnival Parade as well. (NY Daily News)

Happening at Columbia: Today at 12 pm, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the APEC Study Center at Columbia University will be hosting “The Trump Administration’s Policy Toward Asia,” a lecture on East Asian foreign policy, in the International Affairs Building, Room 918. No registration necessary.

Overheard: “You’re a guy and we’re in Barnard so nothing you say matters.”

SPACE via Public Domain Pictures