Riding to victory

Here comes some more Senior Wisdom for your reading pleasure courtesy of Tony Lee.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Tony Lee, GS, Visual Arts + Business Management, Tampa Florida

Claim to fame: On my first Halloween as a Columbia student, I went to classes in full costume as the Invisible Man (1933 film version) all day. I was so sad that subsequent Halloweens fell on Friday then Saturday. Also, I was the person that took the lid off of waffle batter pitchers at Ferris, so it wouldn’t take a half hour to pour out the damned batter.

Where are you going? Come June first, I have no idea where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing. So maybe under the bridge at Central Park?

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2020?

1) Being independent and self-reliant are overrated virtues. Ask for favors and do favors for others.

2) Columbia is one of the most diverse communities in the country. This is a very good thing – you’re going to learn a lot. But this also means, especially since we’re so cramped for space, that you often find yourself surrounded by people who are very much different from you. So it’s natural sometimes that you feel like you don’t belong here. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about it. All good things have their dark sides – c’est la vie. Anyway, so don’t make it more difficult for yourself – when someone, or some group, reaches out to you, don’t reject them because you think you won’t vibe with them. Give them a chance.

3) Best restrooms on this campus are located at, in no particular order: basement of St. Paul’s chapel, 7th floor of Dodge hall, and inside PrezBo’s office.

“Back in my day…” You were able to get a slice of pizza for 3 bucks, right across from the gate. Now it’s a place where you pay 14 dollars for a salad. It was bad pizza, yes, but still.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer. What will happen if I try and fail? Will I shift out of reality, and then it’ll be like I never existed? Will I just go “pop” and cease to

What was your favorite class at Columbia? I can’t pick the best professor – every professor I’ve had at Columbia was amazing. But in terms of the best experience I’ve had in a class, that was when I was taking Principles of Econ with professor Gulati. I took that class in my first semester, and then seriously considered majoring in econ. Looking back, I definitely should’ve majored in econ.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? I have never experienced either one of those so I can’t make this decision at this time. I shall update Bwog as soon as this situation changes.

One thing to do before graduating: Take the B Train all the way out to Brighton Beach. Hang out at “little Moscow”. There are amazing pastry shops, and you can drink Vodka at 11 am. I assume it’s just like real Moscow only more derelict. Walk down to the Coney Island boardwalk, go to a beachside bar and ask for a “Miami Vice”. It’ll be worth your trip.

Any regrets? Oh man, too many.

[Bonus from Bwog: a friend of our Wise Senior sent in this pic of Tony as the Invisible Man, adding that “Anyone who would have the balls to wear the costume in the attached photograph to Gulati’s Principles of Econ lecture has some serious wisdom to impart.”]

 World-Traveler Tony via Suzanne Macey

Invisible Man Tony via tipster