Elizabeth’s take is that students here don’t actually have imposter syndrome, they’re actually just imposters.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Elizabeth Burton, Barnard, Education Studies, Augusta GA

Claim to fame: my now-deactivated Twitter, going to Broadway shows, getting accosted over Zoom by Ariana Gonzalez-Stokas for writing that Barnard hates Black women. 

Where are you going? Home for a little bit!!! And then who knows 

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2025?

  1. Do not waste time going to things because you feel like you should. This could apply to both class and parties (in a post pandemic world) 
  2. A lot of people here say they have imposter syndrome, but they do not.  They are literally imposters. 
  3. Maybe this makes me a misogynist or whatever, but there are a lot of people who are only at Barnard because they didn’t get in somewhere better. I realized that too late, and by that time, a lot of those people’s bitterness had ruined a lot for me. My advice would be to find the people who are actually genuinely excited about being here. 

“Back in my day…” First years did not take seminars. We need to go back to that

Favorite Columbia controversy?  The classic Mario Badescu foaming cleanser crisis 

What was your favorite class at Columbia? The Worlds of Ntozake Shange and Digital Storytelling. That class was a lifesaver. My last words will probably be “you should take a class with Kim Hall.” 

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? After three years of watching yall walk around barefoot in Milstein, I am a firm believer in abstinence 

Whom would you like to thank? I would like to thank a lot of people who probably would not want their government names listed right below the last question. But, thank you to everyone who did not treat me like a problem at this institution 

One thing to do before graduating: Pass on the @BCMagnoliaTree account!!

Any regrets? I very famously said once that coming here was one of the worst mistakes of my life. I no longer think that’s true. I think my only regret about my time at Barnard is that I did not trust my gut about so, so many things. If I had, I probably would be able to dedicate my time in therapy to childhood trauma and not the Mess I have experienced at this institution.