68 Comments
Name, school: Kate Redburn, CC
Claim to fame: It began with intense year of campus politics—Dems, Ahmadinejad, 5 Years of Occupation–5 Days of Action. Then I devolved into Madame of that Den of Thieves, the Potluck House, from whence came countless Spectator columns, Subway Parties, and the occasional naked art project. I did college backwards.
Where are you going?
Chasing the sun—a year of perpetual summer with my camera.
Three things you learned at Columbia:
- If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.
- You can buy anything with e-forms.
- The more worthwhile your endeavor, the harder they push back.
Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I got the Jumbotron on the lawn when Ahmadinejad came to campus.
Any war stories from the War on Fun?
Dan Savage always says it’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, but he never experienced the Columbia Inquisition. Don’t get caught.
Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese?
Cheese is so heteronormative.
Any advice for the Class of 2014?
Take classes that get you out of the classroom or out of your head. I learned the most in Photography, American Studies, and African-American Studies classes that went off campus. Read through all all ALL the courses being offered each semester, including the ones you’re not exactly qualified to take. Also, go to Friday potlucks at Potluck House. And bring food.
Any regrets?
Answering the cheese question.
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68 Comments
@lova Kate Redburn is so hot!
@Charles Bronson Dear Kate Redburn – even the young ones are graduating. The Thai-Burma border loves you, and beckons. Even though you were busy thesis-sing when the border came to visit…
@Some guy GIVE SAM REISMAN A SENIOR WISDOM
@Anonymous Best cheese answer so far. In other news, great choice for a senior wisdom, bwog. Although I don’t know Kate, she seems like a person I wish I had met.
@blah Kate Redburn: Awesome, or the awesomest??
@Um... Neither – she’s even awesomester
@I reallly liked This sr. wisdom. Don’t know her, but it was very true.
@dude, rich brown for senior wisdom, he’s the wisest fucker around.
@Anonymous yes please
@whatever you do don’t do varun gulati for SW. i might vom.
@Anonymous yo this girl went to my high school back home. she was straight up thugged out. she jacked me a couple times, made me buy her a salad at our school cafeteria with all kinds of weird shit in it like lo mein noodles, lettuce, cranberries, mozzarella balls, and some other crazy items. that was like a super expensive salad! i would have never bought that for her if she didn’t beat my ass every day after this one English class we had together with this teacher named…ms. horwich, pronounced WHORE-WITCH. that was the one thing me and gangsta ass katie agreed on; we felt sorry for her name, but not that much. one time i heard katie redburn pulled a .22 and stuck up the principal for his wallet. no lie. back in high school katie was the type of girl from one of those old Fat Joe songs from the 90s:
“Fools talk shit at school and on the block,
but never to her face, ’cause you know she packed the glock.”
i’ll miss you katie!
@lw'06 all this is true
@i want his babies dave mulhern.
dtm2104
@Anonymous DAVE MULHERN.
SO GODDAMN HOT.
dtm2104@columbia.edu
@umm unemployed? again? seriously? why do ppl even come here?
@more fundamentally how do you support yourself without an income of some sorts? Who pays for shelter, food, and clothing?
@VS There’s something beautiful about following your dreams and the sun, perhaps more admirable than going straight from school to slogging away at a 9-5 job you may or may not enjoy. It’s great that Kate has the courage to take a year to see the world and push her limits, pursuing her love of photography and the spirit of adventure.
There’s a whole world outside of academia and office jobs: if you don’t want to follow the well-worn path, take a leaf out of Kate’s book and travel somewhere. Do odd jobs, teach English, or work at a hostel to support yourself: it’s sustainable for months, or years. We’re only young once, and we should take advantage of it while we can.
Kate is one of the most wonderful people I’ve met at Columbia: smart, kind, and ambitious; someone with real integrity. I know that she, among all others in the senior class, will go on to do great things. Underclassmen, heed her advice, it is wise and very true.
@UGHH this is the most hipster/hippie thing ive ever read.
@UGHH and im referring to the quote:
Do odd jobs, teach English, or work at a hostel to support yourself…
@what's gender got to do with it? second comment — how the heck do you mix up a hipster and a hippie? clearly i have my categories all confused.
@UGHH plus, why would you glorify this kind of lifestyle? do you know that many people in this world and in the projects struggle and dream their entire life to NOT live like this every day, to not live paycheck to paycheck with that minimum wage? did you know that people in mexico are willing to escape to the US just to work below minimum wage, simply because minimum wage here is better than slave-wage over there?
thats like saying its glorifying to live in south africa for 10 years in a hut eating grass just because its somehow against the norm of a 9-to-5.
and hey, while were at it, why dont you call up NYC Dept of Water and Energy and tell them to stop filtering our water and cranking out electricity so we may all revert to a simpler lifestyle? ban all city taxis! wheres my horse-drawn carriage? lets all pray to God that the more modern and high-payed society of England sends over helicopters that drop Brita water filters so we can finally have drinkable water and stop living like hippies! ideal post-graduation right there!
ughhh come on columbiaaa. im a girl and even i understand this!
@Anonymous Yes, the poster went a little to far into “let’s return to our roots” and thus fell into the cliche of “yuppie turns hippie”. But nothing wrong with wanting to follow a dream for a while.
@huh? “im a girl and even i understand this”
what does that even mean?
@A. Mouse second. Hint: it doesn’t help your argument when you say that it’s so obvious a girl could make it. It just makes you look like even more of a fucking idiot.
@riiight so by choosing to not immediately enter the “workforce” and instead making a living from doing disparate jobs, young college graduates are insulting mexican immigrants? Your entire argument rests on a kind of idealistic entitlement that all graduates should immediately be searching for, and offered, lucrative and stable jobs. I agree with the person who posted this–we are young, and if we want to be unattached from institutions, we have a right to be. How about you choose what you want to do with your college degree (and maybe spend less time worrying about a degree and more about what you want to do with yourself and your life), and let live?
@p.s also, really? thousands of people “struggle” to NOT get free room and board at hostels while they organize events and manage a small business? to NOT move to a new country and succeed in following an artistic passion and making ends meet by teaching English? By the number of applicants this year to ESL programs abroad, Fulbright fellowships, and au pair networks, I think you’re fighting the wrong battle.
@UGHH Well, I kind of see it as responsibility to your life and to your future family. Mind you, I want to get married from age 26-30 and as a girl, I do NOT want to get married to a rich guy and then depend on him for his money (he CAN be rich if he wants to but I want to be independent). And, pray tell, if I am 33 years old and the highest position on my resume is \”Columbia University Bachelors of Arts\” and right under that says \”Assistant Manager – Westside Hostel, New York, NY\” how do you expect me to land a job that pays high enough (at least comparable to a HS teacher) so that I can contribute to the family income and support kids?
Or are you saying that when were all in our 30s, THEN we can start acting like 23 year olds again and go for entry level jobs? Employers would rather take the 23 year old over us by then because theres less baggage in their younger lives.
Im just being real here. Why dont you ask your parents how hard it is to make money if you dont build up solid skills and resume from an earlier age.
@jeeze give her a break. once you start a real job, you’re basically working until you retire. it makes sense to take advantage of your youth and lack of attachments to do whatever you want for a little while before you enter the working world. plus, not everyone has a four-year time period for marriage (also wtf? what if you don’t meet someone you want to marry before you’re 30? will you marry whoever you’re dating at the time?) and lots of people don’t necessarily want to get married or have kids at all, so the concerns you raise could be completely irrelevant.
@well some of us don’t make life decisions based on our hypothetical future families.
@well maybe if you had some real passion in life it would make sense to you.
i for one can’t wait to get out of here and land a part time job as a grocery clerk/waitress so i can actually do what i love, because that is more important than anything.
yippee kay ay, motherrfuckers.
@OMG favorite bwog comment EVER.
@senior wisdom!!!! from learned foote!!!! THAT WOULD BE AMAZING!!!!!!
@Eliza Learned is CC’11.
@senior wisdom and general campus knowledge FAIL
@snr wisdom wayne simonetti — wms2106@columbia.edu.
do
it
@2010 kate redburn is awesome.
unrelated: EVA GR FOR SENIOR WISDOM.
@Anonymous seconding eva
@Anonymous Scott St Marie for senior wisdom!!!!
@Never heard of Kyle never seen him out either…must not be too important
Trust me
@um thats because he parties downtownnn and usually hangs out in soho and west village (better than the parties on campus!) …also hes been really busy with a business hes doing with some people so he doesnt go around making his name knownn…but to those of us whos had a chance to meet him… KYLE MARRY ME.
that is all. good night.
@anon Woah. Chill out. You sound like a pre-frosh (with particularly bad grammar).
@with your friends woooo radburn is the best!!!
¡te quiero!
@bpd kate redburn is THE BEST ONE of all
@Anonymous I heart you. ‘Nuff said.
Love,
That surly freshman whose company you so enjoy
@KYLE WHEELER KYLE WHEELER, CC \’10 FOR SENIOR WISDOM!! THE GUY HAS A JOB TOO AND HE\’S CUUUTEEEE! <3
@KYLE WHEELER ps. i begged it out of him and he told me he\’s going to Chicago after graduation on a $91k salary at a startup! FB him…come on Bwog! I think my friend already sent you an email! Not many know him because he\’s a transfer but for those of us lucky to have met him, he\’s awesomeeee. <3
@Eliza Yep, I’ve emailed Kyle and his senior wisdom should be posted this week. Thanks for the suggestion!
@Anonymous Why would you post sensitive information about him on a public blog that is indexed by google? Are you retarded?
Jesus, people. Act like Columbia students and use your fucking heads.
@Yeah! Kate Redburn is awesome. Ye ye!
@Anonymous boooooooooring. where’s the free food?
@oh come on! 2 disagrees? BWOG: Kyle Wheeler, Senior Wisdom..now!
Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000342296466&ref=ts
@Anonymous BWOG:
RAJAT ROY. SENIOR WISDOM. NOW.
@Eliza I hear ya! Rajat has decided not to submit a senior wisdom this year- sorry to disappoint! You can email any other suggestions to me (eliza@bwog.net)
@Anonymous booooooooring. where’s the free food?
@Eliza Brosef, you’ve asked this question twice in twenty-four hours. Hungry? All the free food events we know of should be listed on our events calendar to your left, and we’ll post as many free food events as possible on the main page. I don’t know of any free food events today, but if you’re willing to get on the subway, or walk long distances, try these suggestions for $1 food: http://bwog.net/2009/11/04/true-life-ive-only-got-a-buck. Thanks for reading, 4real!
@Free bbq at 6pm, riverside park/115th. Courtesy of thefreedomblog.
@A dude... …wants to see some Sam.
@senior she seems nice. this was kind of boring though.
@Anonymous i don’t think this was boring – it made me laugh. maybe humor is boring for you? :(
for ppl complaining about being bored by senior wisdoms though — bwog, how about Rich Brown? kid was naked all the time first year and second. surely that’s not boring for most folks?
(in the meantime: go kate! chasing the sun sounds glorious. catch and bring some back?)
@CC 2011 I loved her cheese answer, thank you!!!
@YEAH!!!!! 1) YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! GO KATE, YOU CUTE ASS GIRL!!
2) BWOG, WE THINK IT\’S TIME TO DO ONE WITH AN ENTREPRENEUR (I BELIEVE I SENT YOU ONE)!!! MAKE THAT YOUR NEXT SENIOR WISDOM!!!!
3) WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DONE WITH THIS STUPID PAPERRRRR
@Kate GOD YOU’RE CUTE.
Too bad you won’t be living next door next year. (10 points if you guess who I am. You won’t)
@Anonymous why don’t people appreciate oral sex? I don’t get it.
@yea also, dairy is fattening, clogs arteries, and raising cows destroys the environment. Oral sex on the other hand is healthy and natural. We could solve the healthcare crisis, save the environment, make Columbians more attractive and more liberated if everyone just performed oral sex every time they got a craving for cheese
@Anonymous oral sex is amazing. cheese is rotten milk. nough said
@... Depends on if you’re 1) giving or receiving oral sex, 2) a guy vs a girl, 3) if the other person is any good (if you don’t think there’s a distinction, you’re not doing it right). There’s way less uncertainty with cheese.
@what's gender got to do with it? (cue singing)
seriously curious: how does it “depend if you’re a guy or a girl” for you to like oral sex? enlighten me, pls?
@Anonymous No picture of her face? Mysterious or ugly?
Points for the Spice Girls reference, though.