Columbia Spectator 04/10/08

It’s All In the Family Bumping to the Beat at St. Paul’s

Although New York City is expensive and Columbia University is stressful, the Music at St. Paul's Tuesday concerts are neither.

Lions Senior Quarterback Hormann Takes a Shot at Joining NFL

Senior quarterback Craig Hormann won’t be waiting for an NFL draft call on April 27, but he might be waiting on one shortly after.

Yu Family Granted Visas

With the approval of their travel visas, the parents of Minghui Yu, the 24-year-old graduate student killed tragically Friday evening, are now set to fly from China to New York this weekend as Columbia students and administrators begin to plan their son’s memorial service. “This case broke all of our hearts and brought the Columbia University community and the city together,” Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a press release.

Fun With Taxes

As stress mounts for students filing individual tax returns by the April 15 deadline, the lack of financial guidance available to University undergraduates is painfully evident. The complexity of the income-tax system, coupled with such dangers as identity theft, warrants a program to prepare students for the financial hurdles of the real world.

Degrassi Spring Break Comes Up Short on Depth and is—Alas!—More Cliche Than Usual

The made-for-TV movie: a very specific subgenre marked by an obscenely long playtime and a certain amount of over-the-top drama.

Broadway’s Forceful Mama Takes on Gypsy and Comes Out Smelling Like a Rose

Soccer mom’s got nothing on Mama Rose.

Leather Heads in the Right Direction

Before I bought my ticket, I promised myself that I'd look into football culture in the 1920s and the beginnings of the NFL in order to have something more interesting to say about George Clooney's latest than my sparse knowledge of sports history would have otherwise provided.

Neighborhood Schools Criticize Money Rewards

Although 6,000 New York City students can now bring home some extra cash along with their report cards, most Upper West Side schools are rejecting the idea that money is the best way to improve classroom performance. Open to every city public school serving fourth or seventh grade students, the two-year pilot program launched by the New York City Department of Education—known as Spark—rewards test scores with up to hundreds of dollars.

We Do It For the People

In my experience, identification with larger communities has been a great source of strength, but has also rendered me vulnerable to having my individuality compromised and confined.

A Little Bit Brilliant, If Slightly Miss Guided

On the first episode of ABC’s new sitcom Miss Guided, a high school principal stands outside the homecoming dance muttering over and over again, “No girlfriend, no grinding.” If only teachers said such witty lines in real life.

Postpone The Election

With each passing week, the atmosphere of the General Studies Student Council has grown more paranoid and acrimonious, while accomplishing nothing. No single person is to blame for the failures of this council, but no one who has served this year, including myself, is blameless.

Stringer Proposes Construction Watch Program

Despite some cries of opposition from community activists, Columbia’s plans for Manhattanville are moving toward the first phase of development. But after a rash of tragic construction accidents in Manhattan—most recently the collapse of a high-rise crane on East 51st Street—Borough President Scott Stringer has set his sights on enhancing safety precautions around building sites.

Panel Explores Conflicting Meanings of Swastika

It is hard for many to see the swastika as a symbol of well-being. And yet, more than 75 undergraduates, graduate students, Morningside Heights residents, and religious leaders gathered Wednesday night at the Kraft Center to discuss two very different perspectives of a powerful symbol that was blackened by its connection with Nazi Germany.

Candidates Vie for Senior Class Presidency

With fewer audience members than speakers, the candidates for the Columbia College Student Council’s senior class council talked programming and environmentalism in Wien lounge Wednesday night. “The senior class council is an entirely different breed than the whole council,” Drummond said. Instead of policy changes, “we’re mostly dealing with programming.”

Radio Host Goodman Criticizes ‘Corporate Media’

In front of a crowd of over 100 at the Columbia School of Journalism, radio host, investigative journalist, and political activist Amy Goodman called on the mainstream media to do what she feels it’s not—showing the public what she says it needs to see.

State Passes Budget Boosting Funding for City Schools

Engineered and promoted by brand-new Governor David Paterson, CC ’77, and passed by the New York State Assembly on Wednesday, the 2008-2009 state budget includes a windfall $1.75 billion increase in state education funding. New York City schools will now receive $534 million, a fact which has prompted education campaigners to press ahead and call on Mayor Bloomberg and city schools Chancellor Joel Klein—this year’s class day speaker—to change their budget proposal as well.

Housing Numbers Bring Joy, Disappointment

Room selection, that annual tradition, kicks off today and along with it a week of number crunching and friendship drama in John Jay Lounge. One thing is certain: within the fortnight, every non-senior Columbian will have selected accommodations for next year.

40's on 40

On a fenced-in and carefully watched section of Low Steps, seniors mark the 40th-to-last day of college with a tradition most continue to call “40s on 40,” despite administrative attempts to impose supervision and rechristen it “40 Days.”