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Ghislaine Pages wants de Blasio to close Rikers Island, and wants all of us to find therapists. Read all about it in her senior wisdom.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Ghislaine-Marie Pages. Barnard. Political Science. SEATTLE (like actual Seattle, not this Issaquah, Bainbridge Island, Sammamish, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue BS… SEATTLE).

Claim to fame: Excessively vulnerable pieces in campus publications.

Where are you going? 16 blocks uptown, working at Columbia Law School.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2022?

1. To the sweet, sweet men of the class of 2022: there will be a lot of pressure for you to engage with women in a transactional way that discounts both of your humanity. People are tender. You are tender. That’s ok. Working to truly respect yourself and allow yourself a range of emotional experiences will make you have much more satisfying interactions with women, if you’re into that. College is hard; you miss your mom; your finance internship is terrifying and stressful; you’re insecure that you play baseball and not soccer…that’s ok, just don’t treat women around you shittily as a coping mechanism. Find a therapist you like and visit them often.

2. To the sweet, sweet people interested in the men of the class of 2022. Don’t put up with their shit because you think you can fix them. Lol. You can’t. Also, you don’t get paid for the hours of talk-therapy you will inevitably dole out in Carman doubles or the third floor of frat houses. Invest that care and energy into your friendships for the first couple years until athletes, sorry, I mean men, men learn to be comfortable with themselves and start being honest with the people around them. Find a therapist you like and visit them often.

3. Ask for money to do cool academic and professional things. There are grants and funds and stipends. You just gotta have some direction and a one page proposal! Find a therapist you like and visit them often.

“Back in my day…” You could reliably have a lost night after a singular drink at Amigos.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: If de Blasio really wanted to he could close Rikers Island in less than 10 years.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Anything with Manu Vimalassery (he is a blessing to this campus and to academia as a whole, oh my god). Politics of Crime and Policing with Matthew Vaz.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? I am a vegan and grew up Catholic therefore I cannot answer this question.

Whom would you like to thank? Anne Herlick from Barnard Primary Care, Mikey from Cannons, and Congressman Seth Moulton. But also MY MAMA who is the epitome of strength, a life spent serving others, and the real GOAT for raising me and my brother. Mariah Webb, Lucy Porter, Selene Canter, James Redd, and Nikkita Oliver.

One thing to do before graduating: Close Rikers.

Any regrets? The three minutes I wasted worrying that I should have gone into finance because thats how we measure success here. Lmao.

Every loss, heartbreak, hangover (emotional and physical), less-than-stellar grade, open tab at Mel’s, mandatory medical leave, night on a bathroom floor, rejection, lost article of clothing, and miscalculation painfully shapes you into the person you need to be so I have openness for that other stuff.

Photo via Ghislaine Pages