SGA Starts Fire to Bring Students Together

A small group of students gathered Thursday night to mingle around an open fire pit at Barnard College in anticipation of the upcoming holidays. While there were no chestnuts available for roasting, students enjoyed a wide array of sweet treats, hot drinks, and festive music.

The event, organized as part of the Student Government Association’s ongoing community-building efforts during Nexus construction, encouraged socialization and discussion of the University’s Day Out Against Hate.

“There has been so much concern with the Nexus and students migrating over to Columbia,” SGA President Laura Stoffel, BC ’08, said. “But we can still have a community here at Barnard, even with Macintosh down.”

Although the attendees consisted mostly of Barnard students, students from all schools at the University were encouraged to attend.

“I think this is great,” Ken Hill, GS ’08, said. “Especially in a modern urban environment and a college campus, it’s nice that there can be this encompassing fire to encourage community.”

“We wanted people to come here to talk about topics surrounding the Day Out Against Hate,” said SGA Community Affairs Representative Nushien Fateh, BC ’08 and the event’s organizer. “We thought that the fire pit would show people that there is action on the other side of the street.”

With final exams on the horizon, many students in attendance viewed the event as an opportunity to socialize and take a break from studying.

“I was just walking from class on my way to the library. ... I saw the flames and decided to take a break and ran into friends that I haven’t seen for months and years,” Tamar Green, BC ’08, said. “I’m really glad I came.”

Still, others were disappointed by the event’s turnout.

“This seems like a nice seasonable thing, but I wish there were more people,” Madeline Landry, BC ’11, said.

According to Stoffel, the fire pit has been in the works for over a year, but it took SGA “a full year to get approval on all sides.” Stoffel said that SGA plans to make the fire pit a “creative annual tradition” at Barnard.

“Friends, hot cocoa, cookies, cider, and fire... What more could you ask for?” Deborah Li, BC ’09, said after the event.

The reporters of this article can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.