Farewell

Farewell

You’ve done it. You’ve completed your final year of college, or your first, second, or third. A lot has happened in these months since late August, and Editor in Chief Taylor Grasdalen reviews them for you here. (And wrote her own byline.) Enjoy and remember.

September ushered in controversy and action, from the Students for Justice in Palestine protesting on 9/11 to the advent of the Carry That Weight movement. No Red Tape and other anti-sexual violence groups began to make more noise; “rape shouldn’t be part of the college experience,” though Columbia’s own data illustrated the campus reality. It also turned out that Barnard students were never supposed to be in JJ’s in the first place. And you might have heard some things about Bwog, but don’t mind us.

In October, there was one very sketchy Town Hall. Questions were asked and askers were asked to ask their questions. “BoSchwo” arrived (thanks, Alex Chang), though we too now call it “Bernie’s.” We saw the first Carry That Weight Day of Action, and Columbia released some choice words in response:

We understand that reports about these cases in the media can be deeply distressing, and our hearts go out to any students who feel they have been mistreated. But galvanizing public attention on an important societal problem is very different from a public conversation about individual students and cases, which colleges and universities do not discuss.

A doctor from the Columbia University Medical Center briefly had ebola. We lost UNI Café. We tried to host an open forum. The University Senate began to review the Rules of Conduct.

November brought us Beta-induced anger, an impostor amongst the Class of 2018, and some contentious fines for the Carry That Weight demonstrators. Students sought to give President Bollinger the raise he deserves. …Speaking of PrezBo, he’s been disappointed with the football team for a while. CCSC and ESC considered raising your activities fee by $4.50. And Bwog might not have an official office, but at least we don’t have to worry about finding feces in our elevator.

December was busy and painfully cold, if nothing else. We lost Joshua Villa. Another student fell from the eighth floor of Wien. We began to talk about mental health. The Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases led to a “die-in” on College Walk, the night of the Tree-Lighting Ceremony. Orgo Night made people upset. Carry That Weight protested their fine. CUSS arrived! (And so did I.) Beta annoyed.

After a restful winter break, AXO knocked it out of the park. Emma Sulkowicz attended the State of the Union as a guest of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. We took some less-than-crusty advice from an apparently-crusty alum. Barnard held its first open discussion on the transgender policy, and held its first Title IX focus group. We tried the Peter Bailinson Diet, which seems notable as any diet might be in history. We leaked an email from Bwog’s own rush chair. We’re also working on some things, and I feel good about that.

In February, we realized that Professor Dorian Warren had disappeared. Students were ignored elsewhere. No Red Tape returned to make an appearance in a prospective student information session. Michelle Obama and daughter Malia dropped by. We completed our Sexual Respect and Community Citizenship Initiative requirement, however problematic.

March was a minefield of Bacchanal-related notifications, emails, explanations, and bureaucracy. We coined what is in retrospect a super-lame name for the whole thing (“Breaking Bacchanal”). For ease of reading, here is a chronological list of our articles, breaking news, and received statements on this year’s Bacchanal:

Some other things happened, too: Barnard (and Ollie’s and Vine) suffered a fire, didn’t let anyone know about it. A shirtless student in Carman was put in a “chokehold” (not actually a chokehold). We endorsed the unfortunately unsuccessful Community Party for a Better Tomorrow. Bwog Weather returned! (We love you, CUSS!)

In April, No Red Tape arranged for the projection of “RAPE HAPPENS HERE” upon Low — converging again with prospective students (who weren’t even allowed a little V-Show). Paul Nungesser filed his lawsuit against Columbia. We all weathered housing. Only a few of us ultimately weathered Bacchanal. Lit Hum might soon be changing.

Finally, May and its flowers. And many, many bees. And the Varsity Show, which was perfect; I occasionally see Skylar Gottlieb on Barnard’s campus or in CUSS videos and tear up a little. We released our first Power Rankings this month. Orgo happened. Barnard unveiled the design for its new library. And lastly, Bwog unveiled the design of its new website (which everyone must certainly realize by this point to be imperfect and fluid and yet in flux).

From our deep, deep hearts here at Bwog, we wish you a great summer and the good sense to join us come fall.