Bernard Wang

Just 11 days after ushering in the new year, Columbia students have returned to campus for the spring semester. Whether you don’t want to give up on your hastily-scribbled New Year’s resolutions or you’re an athlete twiddling your thumbs as you anticipate your return to the field, there are many reasons you may want to start working out now.

It’s a couple of months into the start of a new school year, and sections of New York City are starting to turn bright red and orange. Looking around Van Cortlandt Park, fall has arrived, painting the park in a stream of colorful hues. Trees and grass aside, the park is eerily empty. On a weekend when visitors would typically see flying disks streaking through the sky, college teams from around the tri-state area dotting the fields, and a steady stream of high school cross country runners grinding through their 5K races, you can only spot one woman taking her dog out on a morning stroll.