Get ready for a whirlwind Halloweekend in the big apple with advice from upperclassmen, from East Campus party hopping to creative costume tips. Stay warm in a coat, save on costume accessories, and reconsider those pricey frat Halloween events for a memorable and budget-friendly Halloween in New York City.

What does it mean to be a freshman in college? Is it the beginning of the “time of your life” as everyone describes? The communal shower experience offers a new approach on what college life is actually like.

Prospies, this post is for you.

Do you hear that? No, listen closer. No, even closer. It’s quiet. But it’s coming. It’s getting louder and louder. It’ll be here sooner than you think. It’s…the beautiful, violent sounds of hundreds of blue bins rolling across campus, carting the fresh IKEA bean bags and Urban Outfitters tapestries of hundreds of new students as […]

You’ve read Columbia’s official packing list, you’ve cross-referenced your own list with those of your friends and the other kids on the Columbia Class of 2019 group—now what? Bwog put together a list of a few items to bring that you may not have thought about to help with everything from party preparation to actually passing […]

We’re big fans of This American Life at Bwog—remember, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery—so we were delighted to learn that this past week’s episode, “How I Got Into College,” mentions Columbia. Specifically, how insanely difficult it is to get in here. “At Columbia University in New York City, 33,000 people applied; 31, 000 […]

PoliticalLine: Our very own Jeffrey Sachs (director of Columbia’s Earth Institute) did not approve of Obama’s State of the Union Address. Media caught up with him on a bus from Zurich to Davos. That’s usually where Bwog goes, too, to express disapproval. (WSJ) HawkLine: Apparently we’re not the only news outlet with a thing for […]

Four Loko has inspired more than a few artists in the past, but now one of Columbia’s own has paid homage the ban-inducing alcoholic energy drink. A tipster spotted this hand-crafted door decoration in John Jay. In other freshperson debauchery news, Natty Light and someone’s jeggings were left just outside Carman during a particularly exciting celebration […]

The Class of 2014 has begun to trickle in. Bwog extends a warm welcome to the COÖP fresh-people currently spending their first night at Columbia sleeping under the huge Convocation tent on South Lawn. Bwog found COÖP leaders and freshmen in a semi-circle on the lawn this evening, singing “Roar, Lion, Roar” together. One “fearless […]

Pretty soon (August 30th doth approach!) dozens upon hundreds of fresh-things will run around campus screaming and sitting outside Carman just waiting for something, anything to happen. We want to help them out. We’re reviving an old Bwog tradition and sharing stories of our first nights at college (if you did something funny or sad […]

Look at how we caught your eye with that headline! Remember that sub-plot in V116 about Dean “Double D” Denburg’s Big Bear/Little Bear initiative? The one where DD matched Barnard first-years and upperclassmen in a binding friendship contract and Jenny couldn’t sneak out and meet Yonatan at 1020? That sucked for both of them, but […]

Do you hear that, Columbia? That’s the sound of 2013 rolling their blue bins (don’t forget to donate) towards the family car, stopping along the way to embrace their floormates like it’s the last day of sleepaway camp and the buses just rolled up. Most of you should be finishing up exams right about now, […]

Besides the students and faculty, there are many other members of both the Columbia and Morningside communities who make the years here a little more enjoyable. We at Bwog feel they deserve a little time in the spotlight for all their hard work. Today: Jared Frieder feels nostalgic, and asks Charlie White of JJ’s Place […]

Bwog tipster Frederick Havemeyer informs us that in John Jay, custom is slowly becoming law:   Good luck lugging Westside bags up five flights of stairs, freshmen — you can start preparing early for that walkup that awaits you after graduation.

To give students a taste of those delightful pre-plumbing days, the forces of Columbia have decided to withhold running hot water from residents of John Jay this morning.  Daily Editor Eliza Shapiro reports that it’s been gone for at least two hours.  People are wandering around with bath towels looking forlornly for an oasis and support groups […]