Chloe Smith

Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French minister of state responsible for European affairs and one of the presiding authorities over the European Union, called for a strengthened partnership between the United States and Europe on Monday evening. With France midway through its six-month leadership of the European Union, the address at the School of International and Public Affairs was an analysis of Europe’s international role by a man who, in the words of Alliance Program Director Vanessa Scherrer, is “basically the president of the EU.”

Language is sexist. This is a fairly self-evident fact given that language, as the way we express ourselves, is the repository of our cultural mores. It reflects our understanding, our value system, and our stereotypes.

Whether staring at the blank first page of an unwritten term paper, or trying to make that particularly cogent point in section, or trying to explain to a roommate why you don’t want to live with her next year, we have all had the experience of trying to put what we want to say into words but being unable to express exactly what we mean.

After coming through the gauntlet of midterms and spending much of spring break in a state of acute relief and recovery, it occurred to me that, as challenging as being a full-time Columbia student is, the task would be much more difficult were I not a fluent English speaker. While a lot has been said about Columbia’s position as an international university reaching out to the wider world, what about those students from the wider world who come here, to Columbia?

One of my friends is spending the semester in Uganda, and in one of the long e-mails I got from her describing her life there, she mentioned that in the culture of her host family, talking about any kind of bodily function is completely taboo.

Professor Bruce Robbins of the Department of English and Comparative Literature, who teaches classes in literary theory, makes it a habit of giving his students an unusual, although unofficial, assignment: going home and explaining what they’ve learned to their parents.

One of my professors friended me on Facebook over winter break.

The term conversation implies the collaboration of two voices and the sharing and development of ideas, as two individuals respond to and build off of each other.

Columbia has had a strong year in the Fulbright Scholarship competition, with at least eight student—six from Columbia College and two from Barnard—declared award recipients for the coming academic year.

Maxine Botesazan, BC '09, was named as one of 20 Goldman Sachs Global Leaders for 2007.

Swarup Swaminathan, CC '09, has been awarded a Goldman Sachs Global Leaders scholarship, along with 20 other students from across the United States and Canada.

Rachel Leskowitz, BC '08, was working in a Barnard biology lab when Jean Poindexter, whom she had worked with closely last semester, and a group of other biology department faculty surprised her with a cake congratulating her on winning the Goldwater Scholarship.

Providing a satisfying dose of situation comedy, Francis Veber's latest film, The Valet, neither overwhelms nor disappoints.

Apparently, as a Columbia student, you own a fake I.D., are ridiculously liberal, and are lacking a campus social life. Or so it would seem upon perusing the guides to Columbia that are aimed at antsy prospective students and their antsier parents.

Columbia has contracted with a medical and security assistance company in order to better protect students and faculty traveling internationally.

When a satire seems too close to the reality it mocks, it can often be a signal that it is unimaginative in its critique and lacks bite.

Although he won't be graduating for another year, Ron Towns, CC '08, has a plan for the future. As of last Monday, he also has an endowment for life after college, as the first Columbia undergraduate since 2003 to win a Truman scholarship.

John Haskell, CC '07, was awarded a 2007-2008 Fulbright scholarship on March 21 to pursue sociocultural research in the Yunnan Province in China.

Although W.H. Auden would have turned 100 years old last month, his poetry still speaks with a youthful, anxious voice, expressing emotions both timeless and contemporary.

For Barnard students looking beyond the finance track, the college's online job listings have some unusual offerings.

Barnard's Office of Career Development offers a one-stop-shopping version of the career advising services scattered across campus for Columbia students.

One year after Columbia hired him, Michael Pippenger, associate dean of fellowship programs, has earned praise for revitalizing Columbia's fellowship applications process, including assisting Columbia's first Marshall fellow since 2001.

The Center for Career Education is launching a new program called the Columbia Experience Overseas, aimed to give undergraduates the opportunity to spend the summer abroad interning with one of a wide range of companies and organizations.

The program is in part a response to frequent complaints that internships available through CCE are mostly in the finance world.

Horace Mann Hall at Teachers College was transformed into a venue for poets and musicians Friday night to benefit victims of AIDS both in New York City and in Africa.

The very first party at which Andrew Ness, CC '08, ever tended bar was at the house of economics professor and now Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps.

"I was taking Principles of Economics that semester," Ness, a member of the Columbia Bartending Agency and a graduate of the Columbia School of Mixology, said.

As finals approach, students vying for the sweet study spots in Butler Library are becoming cutthroat.

While many Columbia College students frequently complain about the Core Curriculum, a number of students enrolled in the University's undergraduate colleges say that not having a Core background can make taking upper-level classes at Columbia difficult.

Columbia, Barnard, and the city of New York are all taking steps to make flu vaccinations readily available this fall.

While most Columbia students would simply argue that having class the day before Thanksgiving provides precious little time to get home to family and turkey, Sean Colenso-Semple, CC '07, has come up with a novel and carefully crafted argument against this day of classes.

Paul Sonne, CC '07, was awarded the Marshall Scholarship Sunday night, marking the first time since 2001 that a Columbia student has received the honor.

This fall-as in past years-many Columbia College undergraduates have voiced concerns about the training, academic background, and commitment of some of the University's teaching assistants. At the same time, several departments have encountered difficulties in finding TAs with the appropriate expertise for specialized course offerings.

An interview with GSSC President Susanna Karlsson.

Being able to offer spacious and affordable housing in Manhattan is one of Columbia University's biggest selling points to prospective faculty members.

The Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College is in the midst of organizing its archives and making them accessible through an online database, but the transition period has left some University students struggling with local research.

The library has developed new software and launched a major effort to scan the Teachers College's entire historical collection as well as all current work being done at the college.

Distressed residents of Manhattan Valley voiced their complaints about housing conditions and neighborhood gentrification to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and a panel of elected officials at a town hall meeting last night.

Unionized workers at Labyrinth are considering a possible strike following a contract issue with the store's ownership. The impasse has left them without health coverage since Sept. 11, 2006.

This summer Columbia assumed the directorship of the Kyoto Consortium, a newly restructured program that allows students from American universities to study in Japan for a year, and revamped the Japanese language program to accommodate an almost 25 percent increase in enrollment.