Surf City denizen Madeline Ducharme imparts her wisdom to the masses. 

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Madeline Ducharme, Barnard College, History (and a minor in English), Huntington Beach, California (Surf City, baby!)

Claim to fame: I directed what was perhaps the sexiest show in Columbia Musical Theatre Society’s recent history, I interviewed Trixie Mattel (and many others) for the News & Arts departments at Columbia’s radio station WKCR, and I’ve read so many of your rough drafts as a Barnard Writing Fellow. I also used the platform of Spectator last semester to loudly proclaim how proud I am to be bisexual.

Where are you going? Back to the sand and the surf of SoCal! I’ll be pursuing an internship with Morning Edition at NPR’s headquarters in Culver City!

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2023?

  1. Don’t be afraid to ask! Because of this philosophy (which I actually had written on a post-it note on my computer for a full year), I ended up interviewing NPR legend, Robert Siegel, for a research paper that eventually turned into my thesis. There’s a ton of opportunity at this school but sometimes you have to carve it for yourself. So, go ahead and ask (as long as you do so graciously and respectfully)!
  2. Read EVERY email and take a conscious moment every week to explore the countless flyers that get plastered campus on bulletin boards. The opportunities shared in these will be the ones that change your life academically, professionally, and even financially.
  3. Speaking up about your own extremely personal struggles, crises, and issues can spark a community-wide conversation about those topics. It’s a major burden to share some of these stories and doing it myself was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, but I do think I came out of that time in my life feeling stronger and more at ease in this community than ever before.

“Back in my day…” We were devoted to Miz Cracker before she was on Drag Race because she used to perform at Suite (the best bar in MoHi) every Friday night! Also, Suite was red! Which was sexy! Bring back red Suite!

Favorite Columbia controversy? The 123rd Annual Varsity Show might as well have been called Varsity Show Presents: The Roast of Debora Spar. I worked on the show and I’ll never forget what it was like to look out from stage left and see her sitting front row, refusing to stand or clap while the two Barnard administrators sitting next to her boisterously applauded. Absolutely harrowing.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Many people have come to my Writing Center hour desperate for help ahead of a rapidly-approaching deadline. I truly believe all of them left feeling better about the assignment.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? It’s a tie between American Diva (taught by Deborah Paredez in the CSER department) and Columbia, 1968 (taught by Frank Guridy in the History/African American studies departments). Divas teach us so much about what Americans prioritize and value in politics, culture, and our social situations. Professor Paredez gave me an amazing gift when she taught my class about how you can use the diva framework to understand the world. Professor Guridy really values, supports, and uplifts undergraduate research and his class made me think more critically about institutional power than any other course I’ve taken.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? All of the cheese I’ve eaten during my four years on this campus has been worse than all of the oral sex I’ve gotten in my time at Barnard so….

Whom would you like to thank? I want to thank Professor Cobrin who directs the Writing Center at Barnard, the Furman Counseling Center’s therapy group for students grieving the loss of a parent (I seriously don’t know what I would’ve done without this resource), every single person I’ve worked on a student theater show with, and every listener of WKCR who called in (even if it was just to yell at me about mispronouncing a musician’s name)!

One thing to do before graduating: Get on the air at WBAR or WKCR! Nothing is more empowering than sharing your passions on the radio. Also, your grandma will love to hear you. One time, mine listened to an interview I did which included graphic descriptions of anal sex. (My grandma later told my mom: “It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea but the guest had a very impressive mind.”)

She!!!!! via Madeline Ducharme