The most iconic BSAR.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Ellie G, Barnard, Architecture & English, Portland, Oregon. 

Claim to fame: “You were my tour guide!”, Writing Fellow, Social Impact Fellow, NOMADS President, Barnard/Columbia Urban Review Treasurer, NSOP OL. Joining and quitting Spec Opinion within a day then submitting a View From Here immediately after (lol). 

Where are you going?: To show some attention to all the TV shows that I’ve neglected while being a student. (Priyanka, we WILL finish Succession before leaving campus!!)

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2027?

1. I spent much of my time here paralyzed by choice and tried to do everything out of compensation. Hence the double major and the (whole-ass additional) thesis that I didn’t even need to write! But also, I felt paralyzed over what clubs to join, what internships to pursue, hell, where to eat lunch, even. Part of this is due to my fear of not squeezing out enough financial return on college and wasting the opportunities that come with being part of a motivated, involved community like this one. But I want to assure you that these choices are only as serious as you want them to be. Hop aboard something, and ride it out until you want to hop off. Then change directions. It’s really that simple. You learn more about yourself by doing, so just get out there and do something—anything—and I promise you’ll figure it out along the way. 

2. Think more critically about place and positionality. You are not just a student here at Barnard or Columbia, you are also a resident of New York City and your choices and scholarship do not exist within a vacuum. Extend your conception of community to include people outside of the Morningside bubble. 

3. With that said, I had a lot of hard conversations about wealth, money, and privilege. Of course, I must thank New York City for this growth, as life here is positioned amongst a confusing smattering of extremes. But also, this serves as a note to other low-income folks or anyone who feel like this school is not designed for them: please advocate for yourself and your experiences, especially when other perspectives dominate what is considered “normal.” On the note of class privilege and elitism, here’s a gentle reminder that this school costs ~$70k PER YEAR to attend while the median American worker brings home an estimated ~$57,200 a year (!!!). This school only exists because it is upheld financially by the elite class, and therefore it thrives off perpetuating elitism. For starters, for each student who receives financial aid, there must be a certain number of others who can pay the full sticker price to ensure that the school remains financially viable. And more broadly, Columbia is “of the city of New York” yet has a PHYSICAL GATE surrounding it. Our campus is positioned atop a hill where the university RENAMED its neighborhood to separate itself from Harlem. Which New York does Columbia serve? I struggled to make sense of these contradictions. Current and future Barnard and Columbia students: please reflect on why you came here, how you got here, and what you’re looking to get from this experience. Work to understand how your presence shapes what it means to go to “an elite” institution.

4. Bonus advice: At the end of the day, we’re all just 20-year-olds in polyester suits trying to understand the world (and ourselves!) within a rigorous, expensive, and occasionally exhausting campus culture. Just remember that and always choose to meet people with grace.

“Back in my day…” My pandemic classes were 6 AM to 11 AM, so I could treat my classmates to a beautiful Oregon sunrise through the 720p of my laptop webcam. 

Favorite Columbia controversy? It’s been four years and I still can’t get over the Spec op-ed “Venmo me for your emotional labor.” When did friendship become an economic transaction? 

What was your favorite class at Columbia?

The Just City with Nick Smith. Absolutely life-changing. One of the most engaging, challenging, and FUN classes I’ve taken here. Anyone can take this class, not just arch majors!!! Please please please take it. First of all, the format is engaging—its debate style—but the content also makes you confront challenging, nuanced problems present in the real world. What should the Singaporean government do to house its migrant population? What action should Jakarta take when the city will become underwater within 50 years? Now carefully formulate a stance while taking a critical look at your own priorities and assumptions, and then form a team and debate with your peers! (And the class even votes on a winner!)

The Writers’ Process with Pam Cobrin and DaMonique Ballou provided me with the language I always wished I had when talking about writing, writing pedagogy, and the writing process. It invited me to take a critical look at what constitutes academic writing and spurred my imagination for what it could (read: should!) become in the future.

Critical Writing: The Family in Fiction and Film with Maura Spiegel made me declare a double major in English. I wrote some of my favorite essays ever in this class. We talked Greta Gerwig, Maggie Nelson, Octavia Butler, Alison Bechdel, Toni Morrison, I mean… COME ON! What’s not to love?

Honorable Mentions:

Playwriting 1 with Ellen McLaughlin. Absolutely kicked my ass, but Ellen really knows her stuff and my writing grew tenfold.

Adv. Architectural Design 1: Climate Links with Kadambari Baxi. Design a museum for climate change!  

Borders in American Literature with Kristin Sanchez Carter. Absolutely fantastic reading list. Expertly curated, no duds. 

Intro to Logic with John Morrison. Lowkey almost changed my major to philosophy for a hot second. It’s like math with words. (Also, non-STEM folks: you can use this for your Thinking Empirically!) 

Poor in America with Rose Rozaghian: SO sososososososo important. Understanding the absolutely compounding yet nearly inescapable forces that facilitate poverty in the USA.

Art of the Essay with Alex Watson. Love a good essay. Also, shoutout to Prof Watson for kickstarting my Jia Tolentino obsession…and Cathy Park Hong…and Zadie Smith. (Just take the class already!!!) 

Architectural What-Ifs: Narrative and Storytelling in Architecture with Ana Ozaki. Banger of an architecture theory class. Non-studio classes often seem like the misunderstood, slightly-ignored stepchild of the architecture department. This class is survey-style, each week focusing on a different lens through which to understand “the history of the environment”—Indigeneity, Afrofuturism, eco-criticism, etc. Architecture theory just rocks you guys!! Give it a chance, it’s worth it, I promise!! 

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Neither <3

Whom would you like to thank? Gah, too many people. Anyone I’ve shared a laugh with. The entirety of NOMADS and BCUR. The Social Impact Fellows. The folks over at Barnard Admissions and the Writing Center. Professors Lynn, Baxi, Watson, Smith, Chen, Carter, Seiner, and Lahiri. Kristen Hecht and Lisa Dolberry-Hancock from Columbia World Projects. My parents. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

But most of all, thank you to my dearest friends—you know who you are. You challenge me to be the best version of myself and meet me with compassion and insight when I fall short. I feel so lucky to be in community with you. 

One thing to do before graduating: Grab dinner with all my underclassmen friends! I’m gonna miss you guys. You’ll have to bring Barnard to her next evolution without me. Treat her well. <3 

Any regrets? Of course—but I’m endlessly proud of the relationships I’ve built and the work I’ve produced here. I feel at peace.

This post has been updated to reflect changes to the author’s name.

Portrait via Ellie