Should the names of every Spice Girl or every BTS member be etched into Butler Library? In a better world, both would be. In today’s world, we have Homer and Demosthenes instead. 

Hear ye, hear ye. Welcome to the second and final post of this series where Bwog investigates and votes which public figure’s name should be on Butler Library.

In the first post, we noted that although Butler seems to have the names of esteemed intellectuals, some of them may not be deserving of their spot on account of Homer possibly not existing (shocking, I know) and Demosthenes never having been required reading for any part of the Core. To begin the investigation, Bwog compiled a list of 16 figures associated—in various ways—with Columbia to fill in tournament brackets that resulted in two final winners. 

We are elated to announce that the results are in and ready to be announced in a play-by-play. 

The first round of Butler Brackets began as depicted below:

With all players on equal footing (more serious candidates on one side and less serious ones on the other), Bwog began the battle for best Butler… nomination. At this point of the tournament, the results were fairly unpredictable, with figures as impactful as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Big Sub still in the running. How did we compare the intellect? The talent? We found the answers to those questions in Round Two.

Zora Neale Hurston, RBG, Hamilton, and Margaret Mead swooped in for a victory on the intellectual side, while the Spice Girls—in the largest upset in history—dominated, along with Neil Patrick Harris, Kate McKinnon, and Kesha on the entertainment side. It is at this point where things become unpredictable. Will Hamilton remain victorious? How can we compare Kate McKinnon and Kesha? How did Big Sub lose? Nevertheless, we persist to Round Three.

Here, Zora Neale Hurston and Margaret Mead enter an intense competition, while Kate McKinnon has to go against the five-person conglomerate, the Spice Girls. There are four great people, but there can only be two winners—one from each side. After careful deliberation, rational thought, and a heavy Round 4 voting session, Bwog concluded that…

Zora Neale-Hurston and Kate McKinnon’s names should be honored on Butler Library. Of course, there is no way to make sure that this happens in real life, but in a perfect world, we would not look at Butler and see names like Homer and Demosthenes but Hurston and McKinnon. 

Butler Brackets via Sahmaya Busby

Butler Brackets R2, R3, R4 and via Sahmaya Busby