We’ve all been feeling a bit blue lately—whether it’s the cold weather or the work piling up as the end of the semester looms. While money can’t necessarily buy happiness, we have found some affordable things that can help ease these blues.

Thanksgiving is a time of friendship, community, and, most importantly, food. There is nothing better than getting together with friends over an abundant meal to celebrate one another. However, in our small dorm rooms, having a meal together can be hard. With the power of TikTok and our brains, we have created a list of creative and easy recipes!

By the time fall break comes around, the entire campus is practically sleepwalking. We have been put through countless midterms and essays, grinded during multiple nights, and worked to the bone. Yet, when fall break finally comes, it’s over before any of us can really enjoy our time off. Can one even call this a “break,” given how short it is? Here are some things that are, perhaps surprisingly, longer than Columbia’s fall break.

We’ve all been through the struggle of trying to “spice up” a resume to make yourself sound more impressive and experienced. You want to convince employers that you are not just a college student but rather someone of high intellect with great professional capabilities. It’s only fair that your resume reflects that. To make yourself stand out, it is important not to fill it with too much “fluff” but also not to over-simplify. So how do you find the balance? Instead of just giving a general description of the various work experiences you’ve had over the years, add some color to jobs that might typically be seen as mundane.

It’s no secret that the new semester presents a unique challenge for students who just transferred to Barnard or Columbia. While many transfers have fully-justified grievances with Columbia’s policies for transfer students—such as lack of guaranteed housing—here are some tips and tricks that can help ease the transition.

Long library sessions are bad enough without a dry mouth and chapped lips. When you're focusing on studying, the last thing you want to do is spend your time searching for a water fountain. Luckily, Columbia has a pretty good selection of refill stations in their buildings around campus. If you find yourself searching for one, Spectrum has mapped out and reviewed the water bottle refill stations in four of the most popular libraries on campus for your next library visit.