Noah Kulick

As the school year began, I looked over Spectator’s year in review of campus headlines, hoping to re-familiarize myself with campus life and the current debates. I quickly found myself drawn back into the conflict over how to respond to Columbia University College Republicans’ controversial speakers like Mike Cernovich and Tommy Robinson—both known for peddling blatant lies and hate against minorities represented on campus. Once more, I felt the desire to stand for the principles of free speech and the desire to stand with the protesters. Yet, my pain turned to frustration over the poor quality of conversation between activist groups and supporters of free speech, who seemed to talk at each other and not with each other.

Victoria Hou is a sophomore in Columbia College attempting to study political science and economics (like every other student at this school). Her claim to fame includes a few posts that reached over 1,000 likes on columbia buy sell memes and her being the reason why the class of 2021 got T-shirts at the New Student Orientation Program. To all sophomores: You’re welcome. H Mart keeps her sane, but trips down to Koreatown and Chinatown keep her happy. You can find her pretending to study in Ref, likely on Facebook and ranting about Asian American issues. You can also send questions, secret admirer notes, and hate mail at vh2279@columbia.edu. Chop Suey runs alternate Mondays.