Sam Moyn

Sam Moyn, a professor of intellectual history, does not like smart phones, and is not down to chat about cheese. He claims to be neither famous, special, nor wise, but we beg to differ. Here is his Actual Wisdom: 

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I teach existentialism in my classes, so I find it hard to see the argument that anyone’s existence is justifiable. These days, I mostly live for the sake of my children–including sparing them for as long as possible from the truth that there may be no meaning in life. Is that depressing? Sorry.

Your claim to fame: I’m neither famous nor special. See above.

What’s your most valuable or unexpected college experience? Where I went. I wasn’t permitted by my parents to take out the loans it would have took to enroll at Harvard College, which admitted me. I’ve had a completely different—and I hope far better—life because of it.

What’s the craziest student excuse/extension story you’ve heard? I’m a softie, so I’ve never demanded that students come up with whoppers as part of the time-honored ritual of getting an extension. I do like the look of surprise I sometimes get when a sick grandmother is enough to do the trick. (PS: If your grandmother really was sick, I hope she’s better now.)

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? N/A

Back in my day… Unlike when I started, it’s routine today for students to spend lecture classes on their smart phones multitasking (or simply ignoring the teacher altogether). I still find it amazing that students seem to think their teachers are oblivious. But what else could people be doing—at least without breaking the law—when they stare for long periods at something they’re using their hands to manipulate in their laps out of sight?

Three things you learned at Columbia. I learned that from some perspectives there is not much difference between the academic scene and everywhere else, but from others there is all the difference in the world. I was unbelievably lucky to avoid a real job and to have the opportunity to teach college instead. The Core Curriculum is a privilege for its professors, and lecturing to the few students still listening in the age of smart phones is a thrill.

What’s your advice to students/academics/the human race in general? I don’t give advice, mainly because I don’t have any wisdom. At least none that isn’t pretty obvious. Of the goals that people pursue to provide meaning (or distract from meaninglessness), justice is underrated alongside the more usual strategies of God, pleasure, and love. Best of luck in your choices!

Even though Blair from Gossip Girl considers them her “holy trinity,” 2/3 of HYP are officially Big Losers now! (WSJ) (Bloomberg)

Columbia, on the other hand, reports smaller losses. (Reuters)

Morgan Stanley’s new CEO made it through the B-School. (WSJ)

New York Fashion Week keeps on strutting its stuff, despite the recession. (NYT)

And in somber swine news: a Cornell student dies of H1N1. (NYT)

Photo via selfhelpdaily.com

Against the predictions of the preseason pundits, the men’s basketball team continues to rack up the Ivy League victories, defeating Harvard 60-59 on Kevin Bulger’s last-second jumper. 

The Lions again used a K.J. Matsui three-pointer (one of five in the first half) to take a one-point lead into the half. Harvard, though, led for almost the entire second half, until freshman guard Noruwa Agho hit two free throws to give Columbia a 58-57 lead with 50 seconds left. After Harvard retook the lead, Bulger missed an open jumper with nine seconds left, but Columbia got the ball back, and Bulger made up for the miss to give the Lions their 5th win in 6 conference games. The team now has a 5-3 Ivy record, good for 3rd in the conference.

In other news, meteorologists expressed fear over the changing temperatures in hell.

- JCD (photo by Columbia University Athletics)

As some of our more movie-savvy readers have noticed, Hermione Granger (also known by the alias of “Emma Watson”) is currently touring the Ivy League, having already made stops at Harvard, Yale, and Brown (?), and provoking geeky analogies that Bwog certainly will not engage in. Though, just for the record, we would like to point out that Hermione’s crusade on behalf of house elves would fit right in here. Just saying…

Regardless, given that her partner in wizardry is currently parading around in the nude on Broadway, we would not be surprised if she visits our fair campus on her southbound Tour D’Ivy. We ask our dear readers to please keep a lookout for her, and let us know if she is spotted. Without your help, we might miss her: after all, she can apparate.

According to an article by everyone’s favorite authority on colleges, US News and World Report, Columbia was nipped ever so slightly by Harvard this year for the top honor of being the university whose name appears most in global print and electronic media.  Hey, at least we trounced the rest of the Ivies, as Yale, Princeton, and Cornell were the only other Ancient Eight schools to appear in the top ten.

Rounding out the report’s top five were Michigan, UC Berkeley, and Stanford.  For the rest of the results (as well as a different ranking for the number of appearances of liberal arts colleges in the media) check out this New York Times-evoking report courtesy of the Global Language Monitor.

Who knows, maybe this post will push us over the top! Or maybe not!

After years of tumult, Larry Summers, president of Harvard will step down at the end of the semester.

Remember, Bollinger was #2 for the Harvard job a few years ago.

Certainly more on this story soon.