And on the first day, He created PrezBo's hair

Orientation Day One is hardly over yet—there’s still Class Act to see, Gates to run through, and high fives not to give. Here are some scenes from the first eight hours of this long trek of a day. 2014, you kids look good out there. Welcome!

Pictures and video of Day One to come. Send us your first night stories and pictures!

  • We caught up with some Sex is Sexy coordinators, who showed us their shirts (black and red!) and their badges. Each Sex is Sexy group has a name. Some of our favorites: Consent Builders, No Means No, Yes Means Yes, (VAMPIRE WEEKEND) and Consensual Seduction.
  • Convocation was what it always is: hot, too long, and actually pretty sweet. Kevin “Kev” Shollenberger began his speech by telling the audience they should “be grateful you don’t have to wear a black polyester robe today.”
  • We learned that there were 159 flags represented at the Convocation march, and that the Class of 2014 comes from 48 different states, and 52 different countries.
  • Cliff Massey Kevin Magos, CC ’12 and NSOP maestro, took the stage next, and talked about Columbia as home. Borrowing our favorite 7th grade strategy for rushed papers, he quoted the Merriam Webster dictionary’s definition of home to give us a better sense of what Columbia as home means. Then he quoted Ms. Frizzle and redeemed himself: “it’s time to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.”
  • The alum speaker, president of the SEAS Alumni Foundation, brandished his original Columbia ID card during his speech.
  • Feniosky Peña-Mora and MiMoo were both truly adorable as usual. Peña-Mora introducing MiMoo: “you might say this marks the beginning of our sophomore year together.”
  • MiMoo and PrezBo both gave genuinely good speeches, rare for Convocation. It’s the first time Bwog has heard Columbia administrators talk about ideas like learning for the simple joy of learning, and using college as a time, as PrezBo said, when you can be “single-minded about learning.” Another PrezBo gem, speaking for the old folk: “For us, it’s not ‘been there, done that,’ it’s been there, and would do it again in a heartbeat.”
  • Overheard on the line to the cookout on Low Plaza: An OL to his group: “Do you want to keep consent sexy?” Fresh-person with foreign accent: “Oh, I’m bringing sexy back!”
  • A parent asked an OL if there were bedbugs in Columbia dorms, because she read it about it “in the news.”