Walk slow.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Juliet Monireh Bogan, Barnard College, English (Creative Writing) and American Studies, Philadelphia PA 

Claim to fame: My perfect face and body. 

Where are you going? Not far, don’t worry baby ;) 

What are three things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2028? 

1. Try all the dining halls early on. On a related note if you don’t know yet learn how to cook. 

2. Riverside walks are healing. Trust in their power. 

3. Ask for extensions and support. Reach out to professors, and reach out to your class dean—they are there to help. 

“Back in my day…” when the smoke from the wildfires reached new york my friends and i had to plug all the leaks in the dorm windows with towels and we set up a makeshift fort-bed in the middle of the living room and slept in face masks in order to breathe. that was wild lol i kinda forgot about that 

Favorite Columbia lore? There’s something to be said about scarcity/unpredictability on campus. For a year Futter field oscillated between mud pit, tent, and field, at a moments notice. Dining halls without utensils. Losing one of Barnard’s cafés to a boba shop. Classroom temperatures spiking 40 degrees and 90 degrees week to week. Police presence. 

What was your favorite class at Columbia? Indigenous Place-Thought with Severin Fowles, What is American Studies? with Manu Karuka, SWANA Diasporas with Manijeh Moradian. 

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? As someone who is mildly lactose intolerant the answer is obviously oral sex. 

Whom would you like to thank? My dearest parents always. My friends, who are wonderful listeners, yappers, and cuddlers. José for late-night front desk chats. All the wonderful staff in Diana for the joy and kindness. My most radical professors. 

One thing to do before graduating? Go out with friends with no plans and little to no money and have a purely spontaneous day. Walk slow on the sidewalk so people get super annoyed with you but you are gleefully at ease. 

Any regrets? I try not to live with regrets (crippling anxiety). But yes. ;)

Juliet via Juliet