The protests began while the attendees were still settling down in their seats.

It is no secret that Columbia’s location in New York City is part of its appeal for prospective students, especially for those with a literary bent. Not only is the city the birthplace of literary and social movements such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Beat Generation, but it is also the home of the “Big Five” book publishers—Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Hachette Book Group, and Simon & Schuster.

Anika Jade Levy, SoA ’23, is one of the most exciting new professors in Columbia’s undergraduate creative writing program. As a founding editor of Forever Magazine, an alternative literary magazine that regularly sells out its issues upon release, Levy is a staple of the downtown literary scene.

For Annemarie Jacir, SoA ’02, filmmaking is a way to give voice to the silenced—a theme present in her latest film, “Palestine ’36,” which follows an ensemble of characters during the 1936 revolt against British colonial rule. The film was released in the United States on April 3.

Olga Ravn is anything but a conventional writer. So much so that she wishes she could write “more normal” books at times. Nevertheless, it’s Ravn’s talent for the atypical that has garnered her critical acclaim.

Asian American teenager Joan Huang (Shirley Chen) wants the title of prom queen, and she’s willing to undergo an ethnic modification surgery to get it.

Amy Goodman isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions. With a career record that includes cofounding the independent news program Democracy Now!, smuggling recording equipment into Nigeria, and two arrests, Goodman has approached her life’s work with one goal in mind: reporting the stories that others won’t.

“The Secret Agent” opens with a corpse left to rot in a gas station parking lot, haphazardly covered with a sheet of flapping cardboard. Screened on Jan. 29 at the Maysles Documentary Center, a Harlem-based nonprofit organization committed to “community, education, and documentary film,” the political thriller reminds us that, although the past is easily forgotten, its consequences are undeniable.

Drift Pins isn’t your typical indie band. When band members are not practicing in the basement of the 50 Haven Athletic Center, they’re upstairs learning how to become the world’s next doctors at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Columbia’s 1920 Varsity Show was where songwriting team Lorenz Hart, CC 1918, and Richard Rodgers, CC 1923, got their start. Although the two collaborated on more than 500 songs for over twenty years, Rodgers is far better known for his partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II, CC 1916, with whom he created musicals like “Oklahoma!” and “The Sound of Music.” In comparison to the most famous duo in Broadway history, Hart has fallen to the wayside in the eyes of history.