Zuzana Giertlova dons her detective hat and pigs out. Read this and more in the April issue of The Blue & White, on campus this week!

Illustration by Louise McCune, CC '13

Rumor had it there was a pig living in a University-owned building somewhere in the city. The Blue & White took it upon themselves to investigate, and set out to find either pink, porky proof or call hogwash on the matter. But a Skype date with Gus and his landlords, to whom we will refer by their self-selected pseudonyms, proved the tail true.

“Young Dirty Tree Hugga” (YDTH) and the less flatteringly labeled “Broken Johnson” verified that a mini Vietnamese potbelly indeed inhabits their living space, despite the University’s ban on animal residents. But losing the hairs on their chinny-chin-chins is well worth the risk. As Broken Johnson explains, “he nuzzles me for hours.”

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Illustration by Chantal Stein, CC '13

Renowned theoretical astrophysicist Janna Levin has mastered the art of simplifying the overwhelmingly complicated into something tangible. She wakes up every morning looking to explain the mysteries of the universe, which, she tells us, has a great soundtrack. While holding the position of Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard, Levin’s research interests include the early universe, chaos theory, and black holes. In her free time, Levin writes fiction; her novel A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines was a runner up for the Hemingway award and brought home the Bingham Fellowship. She recently found some time to chat with Senior Editor Anna Bahr about splattering stars, avoiding the role of the anomalous “woman of science,” and making Star Trek a reality. Read this and more in the April issue of The Blue & White.

The Blue & White: For those of us whose knowledge of physics doesn’t extend past Bill Nye, Can you talk, in a general sense, about your research involving the early universe, chaos theory, black holes, etc.?

Janna Levin: I’ve been most interested in the idea that two black holes can orbit each other. So, just like we orbit the sun, there are situations where you had two stars have long lives together and at the end of their lives collapsed to become black holes. It’s the death state of these two stars. It’s very likely that there are many pairs of black holes that are absolutely invisible to us. They don’t emit light, they don’t reflect light. You’re never going to point a telescope to a bare black hole and be able to say something about them; we could point one right at a black hole and just not see it. We can use telescopes in other ways, like, you can see a black hole tear up a neighboring star; that’s a very violent event and you can see the light from the star being torn apart—the star literally splatters on the black hole. A lot of people have been trying to measure gravitational waves [around the black] holes. When black holes orbit around each other, the shape of space actually starts to wobble around them. The fabric of space starts to squeeze and stress. The waves moves outward, just like water waves would. There are waves passing through us right now that are squeezing and stretching us slightly. It’s happening because a billion years those two black holes orbiting each other collided. And when they collided, the result was so energetic—that wave was so strong—that it traveled for a billion years and right now is uselessly passing through us and we don’t notice it. If I measure this changing shape, it’s literally like measuring the beats of a drum.

B&W: You’re telling me that the universe makes audible music?

Read on for the sounds of the cosmos and of course, Star Trek

Allie Curry is urged to apply to Columbia. Again. Read this and more in the April issue of The Blue & White, on campus this week.

Illustration by Louise McCune, CC '13

Gleaning from the event description that “the ‘Old Sod’ has infused itself at the Club,” this reporter thirsted for nothing more than to investigate “Libations from Ireland: An Irish Whiskey Tasting.” This opportunity to sip on “a unique sampling of Clontarf, Greenore, Knappogue Castle, Middleton, and Redbreast” was made available to members of The Columbia University Club in Midtown this past March 15 at 6:30 pm.

To my dismay, touring guests (non-members) were expected to retrieve their coats and Brooks Brothers bags from the valet by 4 pm. What debauches carried on in the evening hours, I cannot say. House Rules in hand, it became clear that “Working Press and members of the media are not permitted in the Clubhouse, except by permission of management.”

Oops.

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Illustration by Maddy Kloss, CC '12

Augusta Harris profiles the outgoing CCSC prez. Look for this and more in the April issue of The Blue & White, on campus this week.

Aki Terasaki, CC ’12, CCSC president and two-time class president, might be one of Columbia’s biggest fans, as evidenced by his high school graduation gift: a cat he named Roar-ee.

His devotion to community is clear. Most of Terasaki’s work as CCSC president is grounded in absolving the communicative disconnect separating administrative bureaucracy from the student body. One of his weekly emails even included his personal phone number; another announced his resignation from the presidency as an April’s Fool’s joke. It’s important to him that student government has a face, and Aki works hard to ensure it’s a friendly one.

“He’s got a fantastic personality and a bubbling laugh that pours over into every ounce of his personality. First off, he’s charismatic. He has the right attitude and gives personal attention to his work that makes him an effective campus leader. I voted for him every year and I don’t even like voting for things!” Pat Blute, CC ’12, joked, “I’m truly proud to call Aki a colleague, classmate, friend, and future husband.”

Karishma Habbu, CC ’13, will readily list her favorite of Aki’s attributes. “His perfectly coiffed hair, his intensity during our 9 am Body Sculpting Class, his ability to pull off huge events like Glass House Rocks and class formal on a BOAT… Aki is fun and style in one.”

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In “Significant Other,” Conor Skelding examines the Core at the University of Chicago and how it compares to our own. Look for this and more in the April issue of The Blue & White, on campus this week.

Illustration by Chantal McStay, CC '15

The Core Curriculum is the defining feature of Columbia College’s intellectual identity. Undergraduates who chose Columbia specifically for its curriculum—seeking the “wide- ranging perspectives on classic works of literature, philosophy, history, music, art, and science” touted by Columbia brochures—very probably also considered the University of Chicago.

On the surface, the schools are similar: both undergraduate colleges are situated within a prominent research university in a major metropolis, and both boast a robust general education grounded in the Western canon. In addition, both venerable curricula are undergoing significant changes as they adapt to contemporary sentiments in education.

Still, for all they have in common, these two educations are far from identical. Chicago’s “Common Core” is not organized around cornerstone courses like Columbia’s Lit Hum and CC. Rather, their Common Core requires that students choose two or three “Hume” courses, three Social Science (“Sosc”) classes, two or three under Civilization, and one or two in Art, Music, or Drama. It’s not “Common” at all. Finally, students must take five to seven math and science courses (far more rigorous than Frontiers), in addition to fulfilling language and physical education requirements.

These various tracks provide a self-selective slant to Chicago’s Core: while some are less demanding, others offer a rigorous, traditional sequence in the Great Books. For instance, students on the Classics track engage deeply with the same thinkers taught in Lit Hum and CC. More zealous students major in “Foundations,” a deep and broad sequence in the traditional liberal arts, which spans all four years. Columbia, on the other hand, takes a more centralized approach: one track for all, Global Core and science requirements excepted.

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Mark Hay relates the story of the controversy surrounding the formation of new A Cappella group Sharp this past fall. Read this and more in the upcoming April issue of The Blue & White.

Illustration by Celia Cooper, CC '15

When Columbia got a new a cappella group this past fall, most people didn’t think twice. A cappella groups, though perhaps not central to life for many people, are a defining feature of collegiate institutions—especially in the Ivy League. So the addition of another band of wandering male minstrels popping up in floor lounges to serenade students with soothing Top 40 hits was just part-in-parcel with everyday life.

But within the a cappella community, the birth of “Sharp,” as the group calls itself, was a dark bit of history, resulting in a disquiet that emphasized the seriousness and professional competitiveness undergirding collegiate singers. Upon founding, this new group poached the big talent in a capella across campus, threatening the established choir hierarchy. Through the silent background efforts of the other a cappella groups to resist Sharp, however, a new tone of cooperation, communication, and respect has developed in this idiosyncratic community that may change it forever.

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Illustration by Julia Stern, BC '14

Brit Byrd chats with Columbia’s (independent) branch of the Occupy movement. Find this and more in the soon-to-arrive April issue of The Blue & White.

“Nothing will grind our gears like the words ‘head of the group,’” Elliott Grieco, CC ’12, corrected me. After spending only a short time at the occupation of Tuck-It-Away Storage at 125th Street and 12th Avenue, it became clear that I had assumed a top-down leadership structure that didn’t exist. Today’s occupation site—a West Harlem step bedecked with picket signs, plastered with fliers, cluttered with musical instruments, and cordoned off by NYPD barricades—reflected this plurality of aims, motivations, and interests.

Nothing regarding Occupy CU points to an overarching agenda. Instead, one feels an intense sense of hyper-locality. As Grieco understands it, this is the Occupy movement at its most effective: “While what happens downtown at Zuccotti has a global audience, [this] enables self-empowerment at a much more local level, oftentimes implicitly asking me, ‘What can you do with your power, your position of privilege?’”

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Illustration by Maddy Kloss, CC '12

Claire Sabel introduces you to the life and times of former Spectator Editor-in-Chief Sam Roth. Look for this and more in the upcoming April issue of  The Blue & White.

Sam Roth, CC ’12, hopes for a future in politics. He doesn’t plan on running for office, but rather “would love to be the guy that that guy turns to.”

While Roth has made his undergraduate career as the Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator for 2011-12, the Westchester native dabbled in various political organizations and publications before winding up at the helm of the newspaper.

Yet even Michele Cleary, who worked with Sam as Spec’s managing editor, didn’t know that he made several attempts at writing the Varsity Show script, earning accolades from the show’s managers before being ruled out in the advanced rounds. He admits to keeping a file with bits and pieces of humorous sketches, though he insists—with typical modesty—that “there are way more talented people at Columbia.” While Sam presents himself with remarkable composure, his friends unanimously emphasize his keen sense of humor, described variably as “subtly intelligent” and “pretty dirty.”

But what strikes you when you first meet Sam is his seriousness, immediately apparent when he describes his relationship to the University. “I fell in love with Columbia very quickly,” he recalls, “I still am in love with Columbia…but it’s become more complicated.”

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Illustration by Chantal McStay, CC '15

Sylvie Krekow investigates a forgotten tale of campus larceny. Look for this and more in the forthcoming April issue of The Blue & White.

Few at Columbia were thrilled when Livingston Hall was renamed Wallach Hall. “I do remember there being people, including myself, who thought that was the wrong thing to do,” recalls an anonymous CC alum. The building was originally named after Robert Robert Livingston, a King’s College graduate who enjoyed an illustrious political career—he was even one of the five original drafters of the Declaration of Independence. But after a generous donation from Ira Wallach, CC ’29, LW ’31, to renovate the building, the founding father’s name was literally ripped off of the building and mounted onto a bulky hardwood sign that hung inside a Hartley housing office. Livingston was thus replaced with the surname of the newer, wealthier benefactor. For many undergrads, this amounted to nothing less than an underhanded buy-in to Columbia’s cultural institutionality.