Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present. In this episode, Claire Burke and Claire Schnatterbeck investigate what makes a rural student. How do Columbia and Barnard define “rural”? Does the quintessential “rural student” actually exist? Schnatterbeck and Burke use their own rural backgrounds as a starting point and begin to explore what it means to be a rural student at an elite institution.

When I first met Michael Gerrard, I was sitting in the back of his environmental law lecture, terrified that I might be cold-called while masquerading as a law student as I stared at projected slides of caribou and the frozen landscape of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Underneath an orange awning between West 111th and 112th streets, a lit-up sign reads in nostalgic ’90s neon, “OFFICE & ART SUPPLIES.” Looking further into the window case reveals an eclectic display: Wi-Fi routers, journals, prints, and a hammer situated next to children’s pottery sets and high-quality easels. At the entrance, community members advertise their own art: a poetry reading last weekend, a comedy show tomorrow. The comedy show’s flier flutters next to local deals: a free 1960s piano, $10 off your first manicure. The door opens with a jingle into a crammed, colorful labyrinth, carefully curated to meet the artistic needs of the Columbia and Morningside Heights community.