You might be done with your finals (as previously stated, just crawl into your big blue bin and roll down Broadway, lucky person), but your room is still a monumental mess jam-packed with memorabilia and nonsense documenting your past year at Columbia. What treasures will you find as you comb through your notes and throw […]

Remember NSOP? Wasn’t that a simpler, jollier time? Didn’t you find it so much easier to meet new people and form connections? Those days are long gone – now, many of us have retreated into our own small groups, setting aside congeniality for comfort. We explore this phenomenon through the voice of a frustrated first-year student […]

Sure, NSOP is supposed to be a fun time for all first-years, but admit it – you didn’t really do it right. Whether you were too clean or too sloppy, you probably missed out on some stuff you really hoped for. Did you screw up, or did you achieve the elusive Perfect NSOP?

NSOP is approaching, which means most first years are frantically trying to fit as much stuff as they can into the trunks of their parents’ cars. No fear, though, if you still haven’t touched your suitcases (especially if you’re an upperclassman who doesn’t have to move in until the fifth)–here’s an hour-long playlist that will […]

Earlier this evening, we received an anonymous tip of a poster from the new Sexual Violence Response consent campaign. The poster says “CONSENT IS BAE #BeforeAnythingElse.” The slogan will be featured in the presentations on sexual respect that all first-years are required to attend during NSOP. In the words of the tipster, some students on campus believe […]

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 forgot NSOP was actually a thing, but the schedule for NSOP 2015 was released on Guidebook and we’re feeling all nostalgic for some reason. This year’s orientation is themed “You Are Here,” and includes many of our favorite NSOP programs such as Community Forum, Open Mic Night, and the Gender-Based Misconduct lectures! To access the official […]

“Come, [NSOP bracelet], you too must die. Why moan about it so? / Even Patroclus died, a far, far better man than you.” – Homer, The Iliad If we had done our Iliad reading when we were actually supposed to, maybe we could have found comfort in the wise words of Homer. Instead, we found this […]

For our young NSOP-ers, the academic year has already begun. Intrepid Iliad-er and  Feisty Freshperson Garrett Donnelly gives us his report of the first Lit Hum lecture. So we all walk into Roone Arledge Auditorium, each with our slightly dusty copies of The Iliad (thank God for the three-day weekend), to inaugurate our class’ entrance […]

NSOP is basically over except for the optional neighborhood tours (we’d recommend the dessert tour of NYC), but the fun will never stop. In case you’ve been living under a rock, or in Furnald—and check out this Furnald Tumblr, by the way—here’s what’s been going on. Send info or your desire to write about your experiences to tips@bwog.com. […]

It’s Friday, Friday, gotta wake up on Friday…Congrats freshpeople! You’ve survived most of NSOP so far and have only a few days left before those dreaded classes. But you’re probably excited for them to start anyway. As you prepare for NSOP weekend, remember to stock up on food, condoms and anything else you think you’ll […]

It’s that time of year again…you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Send ’em to tips@bwog.com. Dear Bwog,  I am a first year wondering if it is allowed to ship a mini-fridge to school. Also, is there only one fridge allowed in a dorm room? Thank you! – Hungry in Hamilton Dear Hungry, The answer to […]

Here’s an old favorite from NSOP 2006. Send your own first night stories to tips@bwog.com to inspire the freshlings. 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. […]

Welcome, frosh! Today saw the slightly chaotic move-in of Barnard first-years as well as students not from New Jersey CC/SEAS international students and the farthest away domestic students. OLs greeted each car that pulled up to Carman with school-spirit-crazed cheers, Columbia didn’t card anybody for food bags and trays of hot dogs, and all was well. Freshmen: […]

Drumroll, please. Class of 2018, your newly-announced NSOP theme is “Reaching New Heights Together.” Today, Columbia issued the NSOP schedule for CC and SEAS, and here are Barnard’s and General Studies‘ if you missed them. Highlights: The collective Thursday night outing is the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, which is on the USS Intrepid, “a decommissioned aircraft carrier on […]