Upon returning from winter break, many Barnard and Columbia students were rudely awakened to the fact that they could not access the other school’s dining halls until the semester officially started, causing trouble for many hungry students.

Picture this: I, a Barnard student, just arrived back from winter break. I wake up Monday morning hungry and ready to spend the day planning my semester. To fuel up, I head to my favorite breakfast spot Ferris to get scrambled eggs and a biscuit, but to my surprise, I am turned away at the door. The employees (who I don’t blame at all) informed me that Barnard students wouldn’t be allowed in Columbia dining locations until Tuesday, the official start of the semester. Thus, I took my walk of shame out of Lerner and made my way to Hewitt. 

This rubbed me the wrong way. First of all, it seemed totally unnecessary. Everyone at Barnumbia is used to being able to eat in whatever dining hall they want at both campuses so what is the point of changing it? It’s also not as if nobody was on campus before Tuesday; nearly everybody I know returned at least one or two days in advance. So why cause unnecessary confusion?

I later learned that the rule also worked in reverse, since I watched multiple Columbia men get turned away from Hewitt. This seemed even more pointless once I overheard them asking their Barnard friends to get them food. Clearly, the rule is not deterring people from eating the food they want to eat, it is just causing unnecessary inconvenience and effort. 

Thankfully, by now, all of the dining halls are opened to everyone, but I worry about the start of next semester, and pray that I won’t experience the same humiliation that I did that day. 

Image via Bwarchives