Your CC Student Body President, everyone.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Rads, CC, Double Major: Neuroscience & Economics, Empire State of Mind  

Claim to fame: Sliding into the Lionmail DMs of all 6000 CC students once a week ;)

Starring in a Buzzfeed video (extra points if you can find it)

Liking literally every tweet on Columbia twitter

Co-founding Off Beat — the first Columbia acapella group for bad singers (s/o Tamar and Sam Z)

Not having an instagram for 8 years and making one today (follow @radsies)

Also yes… being CC student body president 

Where are you going? Wherever those new citibikes take me… 

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2026?

  1. Make a note on your phone of all the washers and dryers that work and don’t work in your dorm. It will save you so much time and so much ruined laundry. 
  2. Whatever it is that you want to do but are feeling insecure about doing or worried about what people will think of you — just do it. Introduce yourself to that person you think is super cool, wear those pants that you bought 3 months ago but are worried you can’t pull off, dance like a crazy person, do whatever society says is unacceptable. Make decisions based on desire, not fear. 
  3. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Most problems in life just come from miscommunications or someone just having a bad day. We’re all human and we’re all trying. Forgive each other & forgive yourself. 
  4. If there’s an event you want to throw or something you want to change about Columbia, literally just email ccsc@columbia.edu and they will help make it reality. We have hella cash and just want to make Columbia as amazing a place as possible. 

Yes, I know that was more than 3 things, but I’m not in SEAS & Fro Sci didn’t teach me how to count. 

“Back in my day…” Times were precedented. 

Freshmen would roam the halls of EC until they found a random party to go to, all nights ended at JJs, COOP was the hottest club on campus, EC had black mold & hot plates instead of stoves, half the Carman floors looked like they were from the dark ages, and John Jay had a bagel bar with 10 different types of cream cheese, including rainbow sprinkle. 

Favorite Columbia controversy? My freshman year everyone was convinced that Columbia had hidden speakers in all the trees on campus that played chirping noises. Someone on Bwog emailed Prezbo’s office to ask if they had hid bird noise machines in the trees and they responded “no comment.”  And think about it… have you ever seen a bird on campus? (and no, the John Jay hawk doesn’t count)

What was your favorite class at Columbia? 

  • The best classes I took had nothing to do with my majors and everything to do with the professors & my classmates. 
  • Okay not really a class but one of the best decisions I ever made was doing the Berlin Art Hum/Music Hum program the summer after my freshman year. You’re in class 12 hours a week and can spend the rest of the time just wandering around Berlin. I met some of the most amazing people, spent about 40 hours staring at paintings of Jesus Christ, and got drunk with my professors.  
  • Swordfighting 101 (aka Fencing PE) — since you have to take 2 PE classes, you might as well take the fun ones. Columbia offers archery, sailing, hiking, and probably quidditch by the time you’re reading this. Fencing with Coach Mike was super fun and only one person in my class got a scar. 
  • Acting Workshop with Gisela Cardenas — freshman fall I decided I wanted to take a class just for fun and auditioned for acting workshop on a whim. Somehow they selected me and it was by far one of the best classes I’ve ever taken.  
  • Traditions in Nonfiction with Mark Rozzo
  • U.S. Lesbian & Gay History with George Chauncey 
  • You can pass/fail/uncover one class every semester! Take a class just for fun, pass/fail it, and uncover it if it turns out that you might be the next Miranda Cosgrove!!

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Are you really going to make me choose between dinner and dessert?

Whom would you like to thank?

  • If you don’t know these people, then I am so sorry because you are missing out — Lynne, Gustie, Sophia, Krishna, Dev, Emma, Elsa, Nikhil, Rohan, Armaan, Lulu, Celia, Toby, Maisie, Sabrina, Little Ballo Girl, Grace, Zoe, Teji, Nora, Amy, Vivienne, Vivian, Julia, Matt, Alexa :), my COOP children, my CCSC babes — thank you. I would say I owe you one, but I owe you several. 
  • To all the familiar faces that I love to run into around campus, promise to get lunch with, and then don’t see again until the next run in — let’s get lunch!
  • Deantini
  • Rania from Bwog for giving me more extensions on writing this than my professors ever would

One thing to do before graduating: Throw up in an EC staircase

(+1 for good luck) Watch the sunset from the 15th floor of IAB 

Any regrets? Not getting to spend more time with all the wonderful people in the Class of 2022 & not getting to say goodbye to Ferris

Portrait via Rads