Activities across the city put spring back in students’ steps

Columbians reluctant to see spring break end can preserve the vacation spirit with a variety of things to see and do, both in Morningside Heights and farther downtown. New York City’s best bets for springtime entertainment range from serene outdoor plazas to heavily air-conditioned museums and movie theaters.

Catch up on sun and reading material

Spring has sprung, and reading assignments are also catching up. Cure those post-spring break blues by getting a healthy dose of sunshine, whether on campus or off. Join the flocks of Columbians soaking up the sun on Low Steps. Put on sunglasses and recline with that dog-eared copy of “Don Quixote” or “The Social Contract,” and with a pen in hand for good measure. Also close to home is the courtyard by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which has sun-lit benches perfect for an afternoon of reading. Don’t forget to grab some coffee from the nearby Hungarian Pastry Shop and ogle at the bizarre Peace Fountain sculpture for a break from reading.

For students who are feeling adventurous, head down to Battery Park with a book in hand for a change of scenery. After strolling through the war memorial, relax on the benches in the sand-laden park facing the Statue of Liberty and whip out that required reading assignment. The Hudson waters are soothing, and seagulls abound. It only takes a stretch of imagination for Columbians to rewind back to spring break and envision that they are back at the beach reading a favorite novel.

—Claire Fu

Venture indoors for a feel-good film

Few students associate spring in New York with a chilly, dark movie theater. However, some recent spring film offerings continue to be full of warm weather. A few choices around the city will keep students wrapped in an air-conditioned cocoon in case of impending April showers.

The IFC Center features “Shannon Plumb’s The Park,” a series of shorts filmed in Madison Square Park, which expose New Yorkers’ complex relationships with one of the few areas of sunny greenery available.

Film Forum’s “Mid-August Lunch” follows an Italian man who seems to get stuck caring for all of his acquaintances’ elderly family members as Italy’s biggest summer holiday approaches.

As a part of Lincoln Center’s New Directors/New Films series, see a summer film set in the arctic where there is around-the-clock sunlight. The film, titled “How I Ended This Summer,” is a thriller about a research intern who gets himself into trouble on the job.

And don’t forget a spring Columbia tradition: Bacchanal’s annual film on the steps, which will be screened on April 1.

This year, even if rain prevails, spring and summer are still within reach.

—Rachel Allen

Visit a museum for a dose of edgy art

In the spirit of taking advantage of free art in the city, take the post-midterm lull to visit the museum exhibits that students have been thinking about visiting for months. The Marina Abramovíc retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art is sure to shock. To enter the exhibit, visitors must squeeze precariously between two naked people standing on either side of a doorway. If naked people aren’t some students’ cup of tea, there is always the Tim Burton exhibit to catch before it closes on April 26. Or stop over at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City to revel in the spring weather. While in the neighborhood, visit P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center for a dose of contemporary art. Both venues are free. But even if students feel like they don’t quite have time to go to art venues in the city, they can always get their art fixes by stopping by the lobby of Dodge Hall to see Jeffrey Keough's “Skullscapes” at the Neiman Center for Print Studies gallery.

—Ashton Cooper

Unwind with online television clips

Whether students were at home or in a hotel room somewhere exotic this vacation, many were probably watching Hulu. While it’s hard to keep up with shows regularly at school, Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, and Modern Family—all available on Hulu—are perfect to watch whenever. Such ease of access makes them easy to watch while school is in session.

Hulu offers multiple options for viewing, and relatively few commercials interrupt the programs. New episodes are frequently uploaded to the site the day after airing, so it is easy to remain current. ABC’s Modern Family is in its first season and has a relatively simple plot, but it’s big on laughs. For students who cannot spend a whole hour—or even 20 minutes—watching Saturday Night Live, Hulu posts clips from the episodes arranged into categories on its website under such headings as “SNL Shorts,” “Commercials,” and “News and Politics.” Hulu also provides excerpts from Family Guy, although watching an entire episode is highly recommended. These 22-minute—or less!—gems can easily help Columbians recuperate before jumping back into the ocean of schoolwork.

—Logan Hofstein

Scream for creamy Italian ice cream

In an attempt to relive the first ice cream cone of spring—the slowly melting licks taken idly on a beach or in a just-blooming park—take the time to seek out a bite of gelato this first week back from break.

Grom, at Broadway between 76th and 77th streets, offers surprisingly fresh flavors for gelato-philes and dessert-starved college students alike. Get scoops of pistachio and mandarino, enjoying the interplay of nutty Syrian pistachios and delicately sweet Sicilian mandarin oranges. The flavor of the month, té verde and cioccolato bianco, combines green tea with white chocolate chips, a refreshing taste that distills March’s grassy vibrancy into a frozen treat.

For a longer excursion, travel down to Il Laboratorio del Gelato, at 95 Orchard St. on the Lower East Side, a gelateria whose ever-changing selection of 20 flavors lives up to the hype. From avocado to chestnut honey to rose petal, each variety offers a creamy, well-balanced bite. Seasonality and creativity characterize Laboratorio’s inventive spring offerings.

Although a taste of gelato fails to actually transport students to warmly placid seashores, at Grom and Il Laboratorio del Gelato, the ordinary ice cream cone provides a truly satisfying fantasy.

—Jason Bell

Dance away the homework blues

Students can shake up their routines by waltzing down to one of the Upper West Side’s several dance studios for beginner lessons on Saturdays.

Add some zest to the post-spring break lifestyle by discovering the sizzling dance moves of Salsa and Mambo. Bridge for Dance, located at 2726 Broadway, holds a beginner Salsa/Mambo class on Saturdays from 3 to 4 p.m., allowing dancers to fuse two Cuban dance forms for $15 per class. If the rhythms of Salsa prove to be too spicy for students’ tastes, try flamenco, a traditional Spanish dance form, from 1 to 2 p.m.

Jazz up the dull class schedule by learning a flashy new routine at Steps on Broadway’s 11 a.m. Saturday morning jazz class. Located at 2121 Broadway, the company charges $16.50 for a single class. Dancers can add some drama with Steps of Broadway’s beginner theater jazz class, which runs on Saturdays as well.

Or, learn about a dance that originated in 1970s New York City: hip-hop. Manhattan Motion on West 76th Street offers basic contemporary hip-hop classes every Saturday from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. for $17 per class. Become a part of a dance culture that remains locally relevant today.

Whether students wish to practice their moves before a trip to a downtown dance club or are just looking for a diversion from end-of-the-year stress, trying a new dance form is an inexpensive way to remain active.

—Melissa von Mayrhauser

Discover local birds of a feather

The great thing about spring break is that students don’t need an excuse to do nothing. Once time starts ticking on the fourth quarter, though, doing nothing needs at least a disguise. Doing psychology research on friends’ Facebook pages sounds plausible. Connecting to Buddha with an extended moment of silence might also be passable. Or—to get creative—bird-watching has its benefits as well. First, it serves to get students, pale from lack of sun exposure, out into the sun. Secondly, it requires no talent except perhaps an intense stare to ward off any potential bird-watching skeptics. Novice bird-watchers can find one of the most vibrant and identifiable species only a block away—the peacock.

On any relatively pleasant afternoon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, this national bird of India can be found strolling the south lawns in modest numbers. One may appear prestigiously preening its creamy feathers atop a pile of leftover dead winter leaves. Although the cathedral is best known for these white peacocks, there are also one or two regular old “pavo muticus” around. One such beauty strutted its stuff up a set of stone steps and posed at the top for a picture. The prized peacock-watching moment, though, is catching one in flight. Hoisting a mass of feathers like a wedding dress train into the air is no small task. Everyone has awkward moments.

—Allison Malecha

Shake it at outdoor roller disco

Believe it or not, carefree people do exist after spring break. Many of them can be found in Central Park every weekend—decked out in head-to-toe stretchy outfits, terrycloth headbands, and roller skates—grooving and shaking to disco music. The Central Park Dance Skaters Association puts on public roller skating parties at a rink near the 72nd Street transverse that promises an incredible people-watching opportunity and a relaxing vibe.

Unofficial roller revelry has already begun on sunny days, but starting in early April the CPDSA will be blasting tunes from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday and on major holidays. Watching is as fun as skating, and spectators can picnic and enjoy the sun on nearby lawns and rocks.

This weird, only-in-New-York phenomenon is just right for fending off impending final exam anxiety.

—Angela Ruggiero-Corliss