Laura Wasserman

Goood morning, everybody. I hope you all laughed and had a really, really, really good time this weekend (get it, because Macklemore lyrics.) The student wellness project and other student-led groups will try to continue the good feelings by hosting a "random acts of kindness" week. Open the door for someone. Spot a frazzled student a dollar if he, she, or they don't have cash and need some Cheetos at Morton late at night. Support your peers' journalistic abilities and read some articles: Read this: A J-School professor is launching a new platform for long-form journalism online, called Roundtable. Know this: A&E has a review of the first episode of "Mad Men" this season. Here's more: Men's tennis beat Yale and Brown this weekend as their season starts to wind down to a close.

Remember that scene in "Star Wars: Episode V" when Han puts Luke in the carcass of a dead alien-animal to keep him from freezing in the tundra of Hoth? Well the heating is out in Barnard's 600 dorm, so start looking for a Tauntaun to climb into. Here's the email from the Associate Director of Resident Life for Barnard College announcing the bad news:

Howdy folks! School is back, and the first night of Passover happens tonight, beginning a week of creative uses for crushed-up matzo as a substitute for leavened bread. Also, already this morning Columbia Music Festival released the lineups for a few more concerts this year, and here are some other headlines. Read this: Columbia's fencing team earned seventh place at the NCAA championships over the weekend, an improvement from last year, and five fencers won All-American honor. Know this: Yvonne Hsiao discusses potential rational for why East Asian parents send their children to American schools in an opinion piece. Here's more: Some charming guy was hanging around campus yesterday after attending a memorial service for a J-School alum.

It's late. You're up. No doubt you're reflecting upon how you're going to pay for items to shower your main hook-up buddy/actual-relationship-human with. Maybe you're just going to shower and buy yourself lotion. Not to worry! Your companions and peers have found this week to be an excellent opportunity to capitalize on existential loneliness or a lack thereof, and many organizations are hosting events for you to either buy sweet trinkets for your beloved, or they are providing you with opportunities to go out there and meet some people! WARNING: times are wobbly and shouldn't be trusted. Tuesday: Event: Varsity Valentine's Day—learn about the Varsity Show and presumably get candy-hearts thrown at you Time: 1-4 pm Place: Low Steps more Event: Show Your Love Bake Sale—CU UNICEF is selling cookies to help stop neonatal tetanus Time: 11 am-4pm Place: Lerner ramps   Event: Trans* 101—not explicitly related to V-day, but it sounds like there will be useful inter-personal relationship things relating to trans* concerns Time: 7 pm Place: IRC   Wednesday: Event: Gamma Grams for Valentine's Day—help a sorority, send your sweetie some sweets Time: you should buy tickets now... Place: ...so the items can be delivered on Wednesday from 8-10 pm

Did you know that on this day in history the first gold record, a signifier for how many records an artist sells, was presented to artist Glenn Miller? Read this: The candidates for the new SEAS dean have dropped down to four. Each of them will be visiting the university and meeting with students over the next two weeks. Know this: In opinion, Daniela Quintanilla critiques her current classes, the Core, and the whole perception of "the West"  while studying abroad. Here's more: The men's basketball team beat Harvard this weekend after a few disappointing defeats. Good work, team.

Last week, Judith Butler gave a presentation in 106 Jerome Green Hall, most of which I did not really catch because it started at 6:30 and I got there at 7:00. I suppose this is just what happens when you assume any lecture hall is that one big lecture hall in the SIPA building with the comfy chairs. It turns out that it is a room in the adjacent Law School building, which I would have noted in various emails and posters if I did not assume that it was instead that one big lecture hall in SIPA.