So this article has been making the rounds for about a month, but even un-breaking news is sometimes worth a read. Writing in the American Scholar, William Deresiewicz argues that this “elite” education we’re getting actually kind of sucks. Roughly, he posits: the Ivies a) make it impossible for you to talk to people who […]

As I was without an Internet connection for the past week, I ended up watching a lot of television news. And while hearing about Barack Obama’s every move and every analyst’s baseless prediction of the day is fun for… well, really not all that long, here are some movies about the news are much more […]

(Hi Gawker!) Little known fact: Barack Obama attended Columbia University, the very same one that you do! While he was here, he wrote a thesis entitled Soviet Nuclear Disarmament, which is not actually a “thesis” (but more on that later). Anyway, the journalists have been trying to get their hands on the Lost Thesis but […]

Meet Nick Sprayregen — that’s him over there on the right, alongside anti-Columbia propaganda. For three years, he’s upheld a solemn vow to rally against the University’s expected use of eminent domain by holding onto his Manhattanville storage company, Tuck-It-Away Storage. He’s also the subject of an Observer profile from earlier this week (and one […]

Bwog’s suburban diarist Madeline L. is spending the summer away from the city — and she’s enjoying it. Here, our diarist disects the nature of the suburban summer, and why it beats Morningside anyday. Summer in the suburbs is built on a founding myth; an event within a circle of friends that becomes retold in […]

Bwog’s preferred Nantucket-based locally owned weekly newspaper The Nantucket Independent is reporting that religion professor Mark Lilla and adjunct associate professor of visual arts Diana Cooper are engaged to be married. Diana Cooper went to Harvard undergrad and got a masters in art from Hunter College. Mark Lilla went to the University of Michigan and […]

Two happenings we brought to our attention today involving Columbia students past and present on the internet. First up, by way of tipster “um… anonymous”, Torah Bontrager, GS ’07, has told the Four Hour Workweek blog the story of her escape from the Amish.  In the Q&A, Bontrager spells out some “common misconceptions” about the […]

Oh boy, the “New Facebook” that you’ve been hearing nothing about is here. What’s different about New Facebook? Well, for one thing, it’s certainly wider! And your wall posts are outlined in gray. But apparently there are other differences, and the madman behind this creation has explained them all in his Facebook blog: The Publisher […]

Columbia’s undergraduate monthly (and Bwog’s benevolent guardian and namesake) The Blue and White is currently accepting applications for senior editorships. The application and information about the position are after the jump. And remember, both the magazine and Bwog are always looking for new writers, graphic designers, artists, editors, those with financial and technological know-how and […]

This past Monday, francophiles and French citizens celebrated Bastille Day. And since gossiping about President Sarkozy and his wife is no way to celebrate the holiday — and Film Forum is no longer featuring its wonderful series on Godard — here are a few suggestions for some French films worth renting. The Rules of the […]

So yesterday the Empire State Development Corp. voted to approve Columbia’s $6.28 billion expansion expansion into Manhattanville.  In doing so, the state designated the area as blighted, which is necessary in order to invoke eminent domain.  The decision came as a result of a blight study by AKRF Inc., which found that Manhattanville consisted of […]

It’s on to MIT for outgoing Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo, where he will serve as the Dean for Student Life. How excited is Colombo about the new position? He’ll tell you how excited: “It is with very mixed emotions that I share with you that I have accepted the position of Dean for […]

Good morning, Columbia, hope you’re all set for some more Madonna Constantine updates. Oh good, let’s get started. First, according to last night’s AP report, Constantine has decided to appeal her termination, claiming that she was fired because of the noose incident and that the plagiarism charges are “baseless.”  And speaking of nooses, it’s finally […]

Tickets.com is showing that two titans of music will be sharing Miller Theatre next March 27th. We were excited until classical scholars pointed out that Shostakovich (the Harry Potter-ish fellow on the left) is probably unavailable, since he’s been dead since 1975. Perturbed by the mystery, and determined to prevent any music-related heart attacks, we […]

Apparently overjoyed with his previous New York sojourn, our overseas pal Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (we even remember how to spell that from the last go-around!) is returning to our fair city to attend the U.N.’s General Assembly in September. According to Mahmoud himself, he’s coming around to “defend Iran’s rights” and remedy the “unjust” Western way […]