Miriam Krule

Spectator Editorial Board Application, Spring 2008

The Spectator accepts columnist applications from students at any school affiliated with Columbia University, including graduate schools. Columns are published every two weeks and writers are expected to edit with a deputy opinion page editor before publication. Deadlines will be strictly enforced.

The lecture, “Dethroning the Son of Man: Daniel and the Antiquity of Christianity,” was given by Daniel Boyarin, a Columbia alum and celebrated professor of Talmud at UC Berkeley. While this was a required event for all students enrolled in CC, by the end of the lecture less than 100 people remained in the auditorium, a majority of whom were CC professors.

A picture is worth a thousand words-- or about the length of your average editorial.

When Sex and the City ended in 2004, Carrie Bradshaw enthusiasts were devastated.

Columbia students have a lot to consider when registering for classes. They have to think about everything, from which world-renowned professor is worth an early morning wake-up to which class won't kill a GPA. While in the past we relied on word of mouth or advice from advisers on these issues, nowadays we often turn to the Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability-"underground" being the operative word-for information.

How many of us really know what happened on Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi? More importantly, how many of us know what New Orleans looks like now, almost a year and a half later?

It is hard to imagine that one can still find vans flipped upside down and hanging on the roofs of houses while walking around the Ninth Ward and St.

I am usually a decisive person. But when it comes to politics, with all the negative campaigning, corruption, and overall lack of focus on issues, I find it hard to make decisions.

Last Sunday I spent most of my afternoon at the funeral of the father of a high school classmate. As I watched my classmate's sister slowly walk up to eulogize her father I could not help thinking, "What if that were me, what if my father had died?"

Running up the steps of Low Library on my way to class, I stopped to stare at someone. What caught my eye was the blue bandana this individual were wearing around his mouth, sort of the way I imagine a pirate might if he was sailing on the high seas. Being that New Yorkers are known for their interesting fashion choices, I simply assumed this was some bold fashion statement, but this student was the victim of something much deadlier than a poor fashion decision-he was being subject to secondhand smoke.