Venus probably has broken some school record for most classes skipped to sit on the steps. Good thing all the sunshine she’s taken in is reflected in her sunny personality and wise words she’s left behind! We’ll miss you!

Name, School, Major, Hometown:
Venus Law, Barnard College, Economics (Political Economy), Sydney/Hong Kong/Wallingford, CT

Claim to fame:
Sitting in the sun on the steps even when it is literally winter. Scaring all the sorority girls of 2020 when I ran Panhellenic Recruitment with my work-wife Maya Sinclair. NSOP ’18 and ’19 panel speaker for Transfer Students because apparently that’s my niche. Eating a five course meal with Cheryl Milstein on a Tuesday night.

Where are you going?
A 200ft NYC apartment while maintaining social distance, selling out on Wall Street to keep my Visa status so that I don’t get deported, and campus events next year because I am a washed up senior who did not get to experience the second half of her senior spring.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2024?

    1. You don’t have to have the best day to be the best part of someone else’s. I transferred to this school halfway through sophomore year, but in my 2.5 years here, I can easily say that the people are the best part about this crazy place. This school can be really intense with everyone seeming to study in Butler for hours on end, land fancy finance internships, and get into the best grad schools. Support each other, text first, send that invite, reach out, and never take anyone for granted. You never know what someone may be going through, so be kind.
    2.  Just show up. You never remember that extra hour of sleep or that extra hour spent in the library going over your notes one more time, but you will remember all the well-informed decisions you made at Mels/The Heights/1020/Senior Night/EC/frats/a kickback/etc. Even if you show up in your sweats – which is a method I highly recommend – you will never regret at least stopping by. If it really does suck, then leave, but at least show up and see what it’s all about. You might be surprised with what you find. Especially with our semester getting cut short, I kick myself for not showing up to everything I was invited to and missing out on interactions with people that I may never see again.
    3. This may seem trivial, but be nice to the security guards in your building. Learn their names and get in the habit of saying good morning and asking about their days. They are some of the best humans on campus and knowing them makes going back to your dorm feel a lot more like going home. It also saves you so much trouble when you are A) carrying 12 bags and cannot reach your ID or B) awkwardly signing a S/O in or out.

“Back in my day…”
Bacchanal was held on Low, frats threw parties in their brownstones, nobody would ever eat at Hewitt, and I could use post-2am as an excuse to get a free swipe into JJs from a non-Barnard friend.

Favorite Columbia controversy? 
That one naked guy who peed in a Barnard dorm room and, of course, sigep/rugby ‘bringing corona to Columbia’.

What was your favorite class at Columbia?
Classes Skipped to Sit on the Steps in the Sun with My Friends 101. Alternatively, Comparative Politics of Gender Inequality with Clare Ullman – she is brilliant and this class will blow your mind.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese?
I’m lactose-uncomfortable so…

Whom would you like to thank?
Everyone who has made this place home including Spring ‘17 transfer gang, Alpha Chi, the men’s and women’s water polo teams, Justin/SHARP/CMC boys – you all know who you are. More specifically, thank you Shoma for putting up with me from day one and being there for me every day since. I cannot imagine going through this experience without you. Ruthie and Electra, thank you for giving me an ass kicking in the pool and being the voices of reason in my life. Eva, Jonny, Diviya, and Clara, for being my literal family here, celebrating birthdays like we mean it, and being the sloppiest fam. Kwabs, for making my transition here so easy and being my walk home senior year. Willa, for being attached at the hip with me this year. And Justin, big brother, we really bamboozled this school into accepting both of our transfers and giving us degrees – our greatest heist to-date I’d say.

One thing to do before graduating:
Pop a bottle of champagne and smoke a cigar on Low at “graduation”.

Any regrets?
There are definitely some things that I could have done differently, but I don’t regret anything.