Welcome to Columbia—let the self-recrimination begin! Seriously, if we can posit one common thread throughout a student body that is diverse in just about every conceivable dimension, it is that we all overthink things. Debates between eating dinner at Deluxe or the Heights will take half an hour; whether to major in History or Poli […]

In which Bwog contributor Addison Anderson cracks open the glossy pre-yearbook destined for dust collection on shelves everywhere. For this article to succeed, people to actually open up the 2010 Facebook handed out to every freshman.  So, upperclassmen: steal a copy, and start browsing for hot-from-the-neck-up first-years.  I found twenty-six, although my number might be […]

You’ve got to hand it to the Orientation Leaders, who finished a long day of hauling first-years’ junk in the rain with an even longer-feeling and relentlessly peppy assembly tonight. Shouting NSOP…RED HOT ad nauseam after telling a group of freshmen everything there is to know about everything takes more fortitude than Bwog can muster. […]

It’s your first day at Columbia.  Mom and Dad just drove back to New Jersey, and you are ready to celebrate your newfound freedom.  But wait.  Shit!  You’ve heard that Columbia is an awful party school.  They say the only fun thing to do here is cocaine, but you don’t want to put anything in […]

In which Bwog allows you to feel like you were there without actually having to sit through it. Chris Colombo, Dean of Student Affairs: lived up to his Sopranos-worthy name by welcoming all ’10-ers to the family. Cindy Horowitz, head of NSOP: do we even have a pre-law major?  Sweet, but why is there a […]

    Move in day at John Jay…      

You made it! You’re finally away from your parents, living in New York, and going to a really good school. Unfortunately, you probably didn’t get into Columbia based on your social skills. Your 100+ Facebook friends notwithstanding, Bwog thinks you could use a few pointers on socializing for your freshman year. Here, then, is some […]

First years know this, but you upperclassmen might as well come along for the ride: Bed Bath and Beyond is offering a 10% discount for all Columbia students today (Monday) with I.D. from 9 AM to 10 PM. They’re even shepherding you to the store with a free shuttle!  Looks like it’s time to get […]

So have you finished those first six books yet? No? Bwog’s resident epic poetess Anna Corke gives you the quick and dirty version. Now don’t say we never gave you anything. Book I: In Which Our Hero Loses His Woman, Cries to Mommy, Rages. Book II: In Which Zeus Lies; Agamemnon Tries to Chicken Out […]

In which Bwog staff member Katie Reedy cogitates about alternative ice breakers to the traditional “two truths and a lie,” and “the name game” for Orientation Leaders and RAs, who will be faced with a group of (most likely wet), frightened, and homesick first-years tomorrow afternoon. – Get postmodern: Bring a chisel, a block of […]

Well, we were around all summer, but many of our tipsters were vacationing in exotic places while we jealously fumed at our office cubicles, idly surfing Gawker. Today marks the launch of Orientation Bwog – a surge of special Bwog coverage, compressed into ten days of “advice” you won’t hear from NSOP, CULPA, your OL, […]

International and West Coast first-years have arrived! They are soggy, worn-out, and a bit irritable, but not nearly as irritable as they could be. The rain has slowed to an intermittent drizzle, Housing and Dining has soundtracked the event with weather appropriate songs like “Singing in the Rain,” the lines for the elevators at John […]

Along with freshmen, in September Columbia will welcome its newest flight of replacement administrators, stepping into posts vacated at Teachers College, the Medical Center, and JTS. Most recently, Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo announced that the University had lured Dr. Ajay Nair from Penn to head up the Office of Multicultural Affairs, one of […]

This is an old bulletin board in East Campus. If this note is to be believed, the policy is still in effect. (“WTF happened to no parties? If you give us a hard time this year, we will have your legs broken.”)

Columbia’s enthusiasm quotient rose measurably yesterday as 224 orientation leaders arrived on campus to commence preparations for welcoming their charges on Sunday and Monday. As part of their training, the OLs did a run through of BlaZe, a mixer on speed that will replace NSOP’s traditional and widely-reviled “diversity event” CUnity. (Yes, we BlaZed in […]