Liora says: that’s me at the K-T Boundary, which is basically how we know how dinosaurs went extinct. BAM HASHTAG SCIENCE

Name, Hometown, School: Liora Hostyk (Lee or Munchkin also work). Hollywood, FL. Barnard College, Environmental Policy

Claim to fame? I hosted this dance party. I am the Queen of Free Things, be it tickets to TV show tapings or Broadway shows or champagne/ cheese from Barnard Bartending gigs. I was inadvertently involved with the Robert/Kristine 1020 saga. My first snowman ever got featured on Bwog and it’s been downhill ever since in terms of flirty snow art creations.

Where are you going? Right now I’m heading to South America to backpack/ unwind for a while with this lovely person. And then maybe someone will hire me to do something intellectually and creatively stimulating that also pays well so I can keep doing intellectually and creatively stimulating things forever.

Three things you learned at Columbia: By things do we mean categories of things? Yes? Ok good:

1. School-wise:
a. There’s definitely people here who are smarter and more capable than me/ you. But we’re not too bad ourselves!

b. Miracles do happen here. Like the time friend and I got a whole bunch of free sandwiches from Butler caf. Or the time I got to spend ten days in Italy and get SCHOOL CREDIT FOR IT. Or when something involving Columbia bureaucracy actually works. Or when Live@Lerner came into existence. You just gotta believe.

c. It’s so important to talk to the people in your classes! It’s easy to go to class every day and never meet anyone new because you can reach your friends through under-the-desk snap chats. But I met one of my best friends when she started talking to me in class, so there ya go. Human interaction wins.

2. New York-wise: This can be a really hard city to live in, but it’s an extraordinary place where extraordinary people and events and interactions occur.  ALSO HOLY SHIT THERE’S SO MUCH TO DO. Sometimes just stepping outside will make these accessible to you (festivals, movie shoots, outdoor concerts, Beyonce music videos). Plus being a student here does mean a lot of other things are free/ cheap/ more accessible- like museums, or the gypsy production of Hamlet where wine bottles and loaves of bread are passed around the audience which is holding candles and sitting in a circle around the actors. What a weird and wonderful city.

3. Life-wise: It’s been important for me to learn to be aware of how everything I do has a direct positive or negative effect, whether it’s on another person or just myself. And that it’s the basic connections we make that can bring the most joy, like when you actually make eye contact and or conversation with a stranger. Then again that might just be me; you do you best.

Bonus Wisdom: if you serenade the Italian ice guy you might just get free Italian ice (that’s both a metaphor for life and just practical advice).

Back in my day… We had some meh-ish things (Campo/ Il Cibreo, Cardomat, Kevsho). Now we have some pretty awesome ones (Insomnia Cookies, the Morningsiders, print@cu). In some ways it felt like a different school entirely, but that’s probably (definitely) a result of my changing perception/ experience. The community is so much defined by the people in it and every year seems like a total transformation.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer:  I arrived here modern orthodox/ sociology major/ Floridian struggling with the patriarchy; I’m leaving an ex-vegetarian/ pseudo scientist/ bartender/ New Yorker still sometimes struggling with the patriarchy EXISTENCE JUSTIFIED.

Write a CU Admirers post to anyone or anything at Columbia: CU Admirer posts tend to have a stalkerish element to them, so in that vein, the guy in the American flag tank top sitting next to me in the computer lab last week was pretty cute. Heyo.

The real love goes to my professors- shoutout for casually changing my entire life with a single reading/ lecture/ turn of phrase. And CU Arts- YOU’RE THE BEST. You’ve defined a large part of my college experience and given me more access to the city than I could have done on my own, so really, thank you so much.

My friends are pretty cool too, thanks y’all for the good times.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? The former would make the world a sadder/ more stressed place, while the latter would mean FeelGood would have to change its business model (to using the former?). But I’ve just been made aware that cheese production is pretty wasteful, so for the sake of pretending to be sustainable, sorry FeelGood (or you’re welcome FeelGood for a great business idea! You can even keep the name)

One thing to do before graduating: By one thing do we mean many things? Yes? Ok good:

• If you are able to, definitely try to spend a summer here. It’s hard to make time during the semester for “taking advantage of the city” like your mom told you you should, and the city moves slower in the summer.
• Dance Marathon. You’ll never again get a chance to dance your ass off/ make a fool of yourself for 18 hours so DO IT.
• Believe you have gained enough wisdom to give wisdom. Also keep notes on that wisdom you’ve gained so when you are asked to share it via BWOG you’ll have a coherent answer.

Any regrets? Of course!

I wish I could have contributed more to the conversation about Barnard’s role in the Columbia community. It’s really easy to tell freshpersons that we’re four undergraduate schools under one umbrella, or four petals of the same flower or whatever, but as much as the student body attempts to create one community there continue to be administrative policies that widen the gap. I should have gone to a fireplace chat/ dean office hour to talk about these feelings. I also regret not being able to do a full semester of FemSex, and not reaching out to the people who I have friend-crushes on, i.e. CU Admiring in real life.

Also I never got to have a cronut (not sure if that’s a regret or not). Or had a meaningful and spontaneous life moment highlighted by HONY. Maybe next time around.

See you around you dysfunctional, fabulous community!