A magazine can dream...

Fellow students,

Tonight like every Monday night before it, the Blue and White Magazine meets to feast, farce and foster a sense of community. On the agenda is the upcoming issue, but also whether or not we could redesign St. Paul’s chapter for optimal color-coordination (but not actually). If at all interested, please find your way to the crypt of aforementioned building by 9 pm.

Warmly,

The Editors

Dream home via Wikimedia Commons

There might be some pirates joining us, too

Dear friends,

The semester’s just begun, and if any of you are like us, you’re looking for a venue to make absurd jokes, delve into discourse on funny and interesting campus details, or just eat all of our food and make fun of our silly pants (see photo).

If that sounds appealing, come join The Blue & White in the crypt of St.Paul’s Chapel from 9-10 PM tonight. All are welcome and we’d love to see you there as we discuss our next issue and the semester ahead!

Warmly,

The Editors

Men with culottes via Wikimedia

Be on the lookout for the November and December issues of The Blue & White, on campus this week everywhere you look in Butler. As we always have done, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting features from the upcoming issue. Below, Tom Humphreys asks a very important question: who chooses the movies at 1020?

Illustration by Louise McCune

A man walks into a bar in which a bad movie plays on several TV screens. Thirty minutes later, he freezes. “Wait…why are they playing Donnie Darko? Wait, wait, wait, that’s not Donnie Darko…why are they playing…the sequel to Donnie Darko?” This man is at 1020, where taste is relative and, perhaps, ultimately irrelevant.

The second favorite Morningside dive bar of the staff of The Blue & White (Tap-a-Keg takes the cake), 1020 has a tradition of favoring, shall we say, unorthodox cinema. Except for special occasions, the bar shuns traditional options such as Top Gun or baseball. Whether screening the atypically cerebral (Mulholland Drive), the disturbingly grim (Monster), the grotesquely violent (District 9), or the shockingly insignificant (Cuba Gooding Jr.’s direct-to-DVD works), patrons have come to expect, and even revere, the not-quite-irony of the screenings and their environs.

The reason turns out not to be as sinister as might be feared. Friday night bartender Thalia Dergham, CC ’12, explains, “Nobody ‘picks’ the movies at 1020. We simply pick a channel at the beginning of the night and usually leave it on unless something particularly disturbing comes on, even though usually when that happens we leave it on anyways.” She recalls Silence of the Lambs and The Lovely Bones as two—ahem—favorites. “The bartenders usually don’t know what is play- ing, because their backs are turned to the screens, so it’s a bit useless to ask them,” Dergham explains with a laugh. It appears that the randomness of 1020’s lineup is, indeed, random.

Just because the selection is governed by serendipity doesn’t mean that there is no accountability. 1020 lore has it that one Wednesday this semester, an uncensored porn movie ran for almost ten minutes. Eventually a middle-aged woman inquired at the bar. “I just wanted to see how long it would last,” the bartender replied.

Editors note: Last night Bwog was intrigued and disturbed by the insane samurai movie playing at 1020. If you have any information about this film, please email tips@bwog.com

Be on the lookout for the December issue of The Blue & White, on campus this week. In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting features from the upcoming issue. Such treats include a breakdown of Barnard’s budget woes, a look at Columbia’s proposal for a new engineering campus, and the politics of space in Lerner. Below, Helen Bao gets an update on Columbia’s latest real estate acquisition.

Illustration by Liz Lee

Students can be a little noisier than nuns,” admits Vice President of Campus Services Scott Wright. That’s discomforting to nearby residents of St. Hilda’s House, the convent on 113th and Riverside that Columbia is in the process of converting into a dorm.

Per Columbia tradition, neighbors were invited to a town hall meeting where some expressed concern about the possible increase in noise. Not everybody objects to the new arrangement, however. Keren Blum, Co-Director of the Chabad Resource Center at Columbia, lives close to St. Hilda’s. She explains, “[W]e were so excited that Columbia bought them because we were hoping that students would move in so we can service them more [...] If they make noise, I wouldn’t mind.”

Read more…

Illustration by Maddy Kloss, CC '12

Be on the lookout for the December issue of The Blue & White, arriving on campus this week. In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting features from the upcoming issue. Such treats include a breakdown of Barnard’s budget woes, a look at Columbia’s proposal for a new engineering campus, and the politics of space in Lerner. Below is our profile of campus character Dan Weinstein.

“I feel like I spend my time on all these different things, but I just can’t think of any of them,” Dan Weinstein, CC’ 12, says sheepishly as he pauses from rattling off a incomprehensible list of accomplishments, hobbies, and experiences.

Weinstein’s involvement in Columbia’s community has been so widespread that most students have probably met him in some capacity. He’s been involved in COÖP since freshman year, and has served as a leader for COBOP, its biking orientation program, since sophomore year. “I love it a lot,” he reflects. “I just think that being outdoors is the number one bonding experience you can possibly have [...] and it is cool to know a subset of the incoming freshman class each year.”

But even those who wouldn’t dare pass the city limits owe Weinstein thanks for his part in another Columbia tradition: Bacchanal. As current president and a former concert chair, Weinstein was responsible for bringing Whiz Kalifa, Ghostface Killah, and Of Montreal to campus in 2010, and Das Racist and Snoop Dogg this past year. Though the club has recently been plagued by budget issues, Weinstein remains positive, and takes great pride in having the opportunity to “choose the direction of the biggest event on campus other than graduation.” His favorite part is building relationships with all of the musicians. “They’re some of the weirdest people to work with,” he laughs.
Read more…

Illustration by Eloise Owens

Be on the lookout for the December issue of The Blue & White, which will be arriving on campus this week. In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting features from the upcoming issue. Such treats include a breakdown of Barnard’s budget woes, a look at Columbia’s proposal for a new engineering campus, and the politics of space in Lerner. Below, find the transcript of our interview with Todd Gitlin.

Columbia Journalism School Professor Todd Gitlin first immersed himself in protest culture when he got involved with New Left political activism in the 1960s. After a stint in the underground intellectual and writing culture, Gitlin turned to academia, becoming a prominent public intellectual and prolific author. He has recently asserted himself as a prominent and informed voice in the debates about the Occupy Wall Street movement, upon which he is currently writing a book. Gitlin recently found the time to sit down with Blue & White contributor Anna Bahr to discuss the trajectory, politics, and core values of the movement.

The Blue & White: In the last month the majority of media attention on the movement has been more focused on police brutality than what Occupy Wall Street has actually been accomplishing. Do you think the shift in focus has negatively affected the purpose of OWS? Can you comment on the vilification of the police force?

Todd Gitlin: Right after the eviction [from Zuccotti Park], I was hearing a lot of indignation and outrage about the police tactics and [Mayor Michael] Bloomberg. That was about two and a half weeks ago and it seems to have faded. In the conversations I’ve had since them with people since then, with people who had been deeply involved, there wasn’t that much about the police. They rolled up their sleeves and started to address other issues.

In terms of the outer impression, it probably looks to people who have not been paying such close attention that the big story is this collision, the confrontation. That always happens whenever there’s violence—that’s what happens.

B&W: Has the public and media attention on instances of violence detracted from the effectiveness of the movement’s other efforts?
Read more…

As reported by basically everyone, Stanford has withdrawn its bid to construct a science and engineering campus in New York as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign to reinvigorate the city’s reputation as a technology hub. Proposals from Columbia, Cornell, NYU, and Carnegie Mellon are still under consideration. Originally considered a front-runner in the competition, Stanford claims to have withdrawn due to an inability for the school and city to “reach an agreement on a number of points, including whether the school could withdraw from the project without penalties” and the decision was “partly a result of the different cultures and expectations of a private university and a major city,” according to a Bloomberg source.

We reported on the announcement that Columbia had made it to the Mayor’s “short list” of proposals a few weeks back. In their December issue the Blue & White examines in-depth the impact of Columbia’s plan, which conveniently fits into the grand Manhattanville strategy. Look out for the print magazine on campus next week!

Illustration by Eduardo Santana, CC '13

From the Issue: Bloomberg Means Business, Again

“We have presidential candidates who don’t even believe in science… it’s mind-boggling!” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg exclaimed at a recent international economic forum on Columbia’s campus. Science has certainly been on Bloomberg’s mind of late (not to mention for most of his life—he did, after all, make his name as a tech entrepreneur before it was cool). After his early-morning eviction of Zuccotti Park, his most publicized crusade over the past few months aims to reinvent New York as the next Silicon Valley. The mayor has called for universities all over the world to submit proposals for new tech campuses within the city.

Bloomberg extended the invitation on July 19th, promising free city land and $100 million in funding to the winning plan. The mayor speculated enthusias- tically that the innovation (and the further innovation it sparks) could bring the city $6 billion in economic activity, and somewhere around 400 new companies with 22,000 new permanent jobs—what he called a “real game changer for this city.”

Read more…

We're hoping he tried to order a sausage pizza

So as to continue this wonderful recent trend in overheard/seen pleasantries, now a gossip gem from the Harvest issue of the Blue and White:

One recent Saturday night, a drunken blond gentleman tried to order Koronet* pizza with his jeans pooled around his feet and his eerily transparent boxers on full display. When the cashier refused him entry, the young lad addressed him as, “Papi,” told him to “fuck off,” and then spun around, bent down and flashed the entirety of his ass. He then ran outside and hailed a cab, but before making his final exit, he decided to come back Koronet’s entryway and flash his balls.

*Editor’s note: we debated for a good five minutes whether it’s Koronet or Koronet’s. Verdict: technically it’s Koronet, but colloquially we’ll stick with Koronet’s.

Gratuitious meat addition via Wikimedia

The editors always dress like this for meetings, but it's not required

So why don’t you join us? We know you’re all blowing off class/work this week because of Thanksgiving Break anyway, so spend some of your newfound spare time (specifically that between 9-10 pm) in the crypt of St. Paul’s Chapel with convivial company, delightful discussion, and the tastiest of treats. We’ll be talking new pitches for the December issue and beyond, so if you’ve any thoughts on what you’d like to read about or simply desire to contribute to the Blue & White, your presence is most welcome.

Sincerely,

The Editors

Inaccurate depiction of the crypt of St. Paul’s via Wikimedia

Low getting all classy

For those mystified by Low’s new, blue lighting and accompanying bagpipe soundtrack, the effects are there in honor of tonight’s Alexander Hamilton Dinner. During the dinner the Columbia College Alumni Association awards the Alexander Hamilton Medal to “a member of the Columbia community for distinguished service to Columbia College and accomplishment in any field of endeavor.” This year, the prize goes to HF. “Gerry” Lenfest who has donated over $100 million to Columbia College.

For your auditory enjoyment:

The magazine's chief publicist and senior contributor, pictured above, may or may not be in attendance

Like reading things? If you do, and at least some of those things happen to be magazines, then join us at 9 pm in the crypt of St. Paul’s Chapel to learn about how you, dear reader, can get involved in the Blue & White, also known as Bwog’s maternal figure/Oedipus complex/Freudian field day.

We’ve heard tell that there will be articles for next month to nab, as well as some brainstorming of headlines for the soon-to-arrive November issue. And of course, you can expect the finest of snacky snacks.

Yours,

The Editors

Keep your eyes open for the October issue of The Blue & White, which, after a delay from the printers, has finally arrived to campus! In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting highlights of the upcoming issue online. Among the treats to look forward to: Knickerbocker Motorsports: a surprisingly gripping history, an examination of Columbia’s updated sexual assault policy, and the festive search for magic on campus. In Campus Characters, the Blue & White introduces you to a handful of Columbians who are up to interesting and extraordinary things and whose stories beg to be shared. In the current issue, staff writer Sam Herzog profiles the ever energetic Brandon Thompson, CC’12. 

Illustration by Maddy Kloss

Keep your eyes open for the October issue of The Blue & White, which, after a delay from the printers, has finally arrived to campus! In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting highlights of the upcoming issue online. Among the treats to look forward to: Knickerbocker Motorsports: a surprisingly gripping history, an examination of Columbia’s updated sexual assault policy, and the festive search for magic on campus. This month, contributor Austin Williams tells you why the Columbia housing shortage does and does not exist.

Illustration by Marie Nganele

If you take the number of deed listings in New York City’s ACRIS property database as a proxy for power, three men emerge as the synecdochic kings of New York real estate: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, Michael Rubens Bloomberg, and Lee Carroll Bollinger. That is, the Pope, the Mayor, and the 19th President of Columbia University. Our institution, placing third behind the City of New York and the Catholic Church, owns a hell of a lot of the most coveted real estate on earth. Scores of city lots, the vast majority of them on the isle of Manhattan, are under the control of the Trustees. Yet you or someone you know was forced into Plimpton.

Maybe they had a bad lottery number. Maybe their group fell apart in suite selection. Bottom line, Columbia’s promise of four years of guaranteed housing sometimes yields a the lonely life of a Plimptonian instead of the cozy experience of Ruggles.

This is only one symptom of an unpredictable, and somewhat unsavory, last minute solution to the crisis of an undergraduate housing shortage. The signs are everywhere: your laziest friends take the 1 to class from their 89 sq ft plot in the recently-acquired Harmony Hall (because it’s cheaper than a cab); and your author, who took leave and thus forsook his four year guaranteed housing birthright, couldn’t even snag a Wien single.

The University, through Scott Wright, Vice President of Student Auxiliary and Business Services, does not deny it’s a problem. “There is a shortage of undergraduate housing—that’s not just a perception, that’s a reality—and to compensate for that shortage what we do is create what we loosely refer to as ‘temporary beds.’” These temporary beds are the rooms in places like Barnard’s Plimpton, or in University Apartment Housing (residence units in Morningside, but also in Washington Heights, Manhattan Valley, and Riverdale, usually reserved for graduate, General Studies, fellows, and faculty or staff), or in the East Campus hotel traditionally for university guests, where you will eat, sleep, study, get drunk, and make one or many kinds of love for the nine-month academic year. These beds are temporary only in the long, administrative view. To the Columbians who inhabit them, temporary beds are as good as permanent.
Read more…

Keep your eyes open for the October issue of The Blue & White, which, after a delay from the printers, has finally arrived to campus! In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting highlights of the upcoming issue online. Among the treats to look forward to: Knickerbocker Motorsports: a surprisingly gripping history, an examination of Columbia’s updated sexual assault policy, and the festive search for magic on campus. This month, man about town and contributor Eric Wohlstadter bares his ankles … and his soul (on the issue of cuffing your pants).

Illustration by Emily Lazerwitz

Keep your eyes open for the October issue of The Blue & White, which, after a delay from the printers, has finally arrived to campus! In the meantime, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting highlights of the upcoming issue online. Among the treats to look forward to: Knickerbocker Motorsports: a surprisingly gripping history, an examination of Columbia’s updated sexual assault policy, and the festive search for magic on campus. In case you did not know, regarded Columbia history professor Richard Bulliet, outside of his academic career, writes fiction. Of his five novels to date, all seem to give a shocking importance to camels, or other equivalent quadrupeds. Below, staff writer Matthew Schantz and senior editor Brian Wagner approach this myster, with close readings analyses of passages from (in this order) Bulliet’s Kicked to Death by a Camel and The One-Donkey Solution: A Satire.

Kicked to Death by a Camel

“…I told [Gino] that I only studied the history of camels and had no intention of getting to know them that closely. Apparently [Gino] just walks out until he finds someone with a camel and asks them to give him a ride. Personally, I think it’s rather stupid. You get on the damn thing; some guy leads you around for an hour until you have a sore ass; and then you pay him money. Ridiculous.” (27)

Camel-researcher Roger’s complaint delineates the dichotomy between those who act and those who study. If we allow ourselves to view Gino not only as a literal fellow traveler, but a “fellow traveler” as the term is used for a communist sympathizer, Roger’s griping hints at the ramifications of never engaging in an activity that one judges. Gino, like the fellow travelers, enters the fray without subscribing to ideology—he “walks out until he finds someone with a camel,” displaying his unbridled gusto to engage with the situation, without assuming it will end well or poorly ahead of time. Likewise, fellow travelers, though they sympathized with communists, did not join the party, thus refusing to blindly swallow communist dogma.

Gino’s nationality reinforces this reading. During the time-period in which the term “fellow-traveler” was in vogue, the Italian government’s stability fluctuated wildly. Thus, the Italians do not subscribe to predetermined readings of their surroundings.

Gino provides the negative space into which Roger’s prejudices emerge, starkly contrasted. Roger, like many Americans during the Cold War, immediately assumes that the Other (the camel rider, the Communist) is bad, dangerous, unknowable, and conflates multiple social taboos. Roger’s description of Gino’s camel riding practices suggests Gino is soliciting sex: Gino pays money to an anonymous “guy” for an hour that will end with “a sore ass.” By heaping socially pre-established taboos upon each other, Roger demonstrates the extent of his blindness. Read more…