Andy Bean, CC ’01, is one of the gentlemen of the Two-Man-Gentlemen-Band. Together with Fuller Condon (CC ’00) they perform ‘Up-Tempo, Original, Old-Time, Two-Man Music at a reasonable volume.’ Bwog Staffer Brendan Ballou asked Mr. Bean a lot about kazoos. So what’s the Two-man-Gentlemen-Band? The two is an Americana band. We play country and Dixieland […]

Nothing like a volatile region pushed to the brink of nuclear conflict to make onstage riots seem like academic minutiae.  For perspective on the Korean peninsula’s unfolding crisis, Bwog’s Nicholas Frisch turned to Joseph Hong, SEAS’07, a Korean-American student, and a human rights activist.  On a personal level, how has this affected you in terms […]

After Avi makes his TV appearance on the Factor at 8:00 pm, stay tuned for sophomore Eva Fortes, the creator of the Protest the Minutemen Facebook Group, on Hannity and Colmes at 9:00 pm. We gave you Kulawik, we gave you Khan, and now we give you Karina, one of the main protest organizers (Bwog’s […]

Last week Bwog staffer Brendan Ballou interviewed Tamar Dougherty, rare books archivist at Columbia and his former boss. Dougherty is curator of the Herbert Lehman Papers (next to the Lehman library). She talked about her rare book collection, the stigma of being a librarian, and the East Coast – West Coast divide. How’s work at […]

If you’re involved with NSOP in any way, you’ve seen Personnel Coordinator Alicia Berenyi, C ’09, marshaling her force of 250 orientation leaders and crew chiefs to orient five times as many first-years. Bwog caught up with Alicia doing her laundry in McBain to chat about hating Lerner, despairing over Excel, and awkwardness. Bwog: So, […]

Much lore surrounds the Columbia Tunnels, but also much fact, and a tunneling SEAS ’01 student–operating under the nom de guerre Benoit–has made his e-mail address availible for those curious about Columbia’s subterranean avenues. Bwog staffer Brendan Ballou contacted Benoit nine months ago for his article on another tunneler (and all-around badass) Ken Hechtman, and […]

With all the coverage and virulent commentary on SHOCC, Bwog decided to talk with SHOCC member Anthony Walker to find out what the organization really stands for. B&W: Your web site defines a hate crime as, “any and all forms of speech, writing, literature, or expression that stereotypes, marginalizes, denigrates, and isolates an individual or […]

Bwog correspondent Adam Stern recently sat down in John Jay Dining Hall to speak with Brad Sullivan over a plate of eggs and hash-browns. Brad Who-ivan? Well, the answer to that question lies in another. It is a question that we have all asked ourselves at some point while sitting in the first-year dining hall: […]

One of the most popular and political papers in academia right now is “Rich state, poor state, red state, blue state: What’s the Matter with Connecticut?”, co-authored by Columbia School of Social Work Prof. Andrew Gelman. Gelman used statistical models that break down many of the prevailing ideas about political polarization and income in the […]

Just a few hours after learning that he had triumphed by 14 points over Nishant Dixit’s Evolution party, Bwog tracked down CCSC President-elect Seth Flaxman at his Claremont suite, which reeked of celebration. BW: So how has this campaign been for you? SF: Campaigns are hell. It’s the most competitive sport and only the competitive […]

For the past five years, Bill Wetzel has been perusing the streets of NYC wearing a bold-print sign that reads, “TALK TO ME.” Thousands of people from every borough have talked to him. Now he talks to B&W staffer Sarah Eberle. How did you originally get involved with “Talk-to-Me”-ing? I attended NYU for a year […]

This weekend the Bwog’s John Shekitka interviewed Peter Capainolo, a curator of ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History and a licensed falconer. That’s right, he’s a licensed falconer! How did you first become interested in falconry? I grew up in eastern Long Island, which at the time had all oak forests and farms. […]

The Housing Lottery already has a mystical quality to it. But when you’re number comes up as 666 or 1984, you really start wondering. In our ongoing series about crazy ass lottery numbers, the Bwog’s Julia Butareva interviews Samit Sarkar, C SEAS ’08, who got lucky lottery number 1984. Bwog: Do you think you’re being […]

He’s the most envied and hated man on campus—yes, Steven Rubel, who snagged housing lottery number 21. So what’s going on in that lucky head of his? Via e-mail, he responds to Bwog’s queries: How does it feel to be the shit? What’s your secret? It’s just further proof that God likes me a lot […]

Exploding syringes of nitric acid. Animal testing. And a band called ‘Vector Sum.’ B&W staffer Anna Corke talked with chem grad student Paul Vadola to discover the secret life of chem students. Why did you decide to go into chemistry? I was a premed bio major. Organic chemistry is part of the premed package and […]