TikTok’s meteoric rise to supremacy as a social media colossus is owed in part to its continuous content stream and the never-ending supply of videos. For those of us disenchanted with the world of mega-platforms, the app’s striking popularity with teens and young adults—with approximately 1 billion users in the first quarter of 2022—appears to be a foreboding sign of a future of procrastination tactics and shortened attention spans.

To members of the class of 2022, the return of Senior Scramble is a sign that nature is healing.

Course registration, in all its frantic glory, is upon us once again. For Barnard students, crafting a schedule that both makes progress on your course requirements and includes classes pertinent to your major or prospective major can be a tricky balancing act. Students have to keep Barnard’s Foundations curriculum in mind, which, aside from the required First Year Experience classes, is made up of Distributional Requirements and Modes of Thinking.

For the students who lived and came of age within the most restrictive months of the COVID-19 pandemic, bars and restaurants have come to represent some shred of normalcy in a city that still feels the lasting effects of COVID-19. Nevertheless, Columbia has never had a strong reputation for an electrifying social scene or dizzyingly exciting late-night recreation. But for the student who has begrudgingly spent most of their hours in class or in a stifling-hot Butler study room, the bars around Columbia’s campus become one of the few solutions for those too worn out to venture downtown, but who still want to de-stress with a drink (or two).

Happy Women’s History Month! Even though we are nearing the end of March, it’s not too late to celebrate all the accomplishments that women have achieved. For one way to celebrate, consider watching a movie with a strong female lead. In the past decade alone, women have made huge strides in the film industry, and Women’s History Month is the perfect time to appreciate their work and art. Not sure where to begin? Check out this list of films set in New York that pass the Bechdel test. Created by Alison Bechdel in 1985, the test highlights gender inequality in cinema. The test has three criteria: At least two women are featured and named, these women in the film talk to one another, and they talk about something besides a male character. Even though the test was created nearly forty years ago, it remains relevant as many popular films today continue to fail it.

Nothing says, “I love you” more than a Columbia-themed Valentine’s Day greeting! Spectrum is here with exactly what you should say to your special someone this year.

For decades, Black students across Columbia have created safe spaces on campus which provide support for identity exploration, affirmation, activism, and empowerment. If you’re looking to get involved in identity-based student groups around campus, check out these student organizations across the community which support and celebrate Black voices in everything from engineering to activism.

That the culture and values of our generation of college students can be examined through social media is no novel idea. With the 2020-21 school year taking place virtually, current Columbia and Barnard undergraduates learned a great deal about building community online. Last year, Instagram became the primary method to meet new friends and classmates across different continents and time zones. An online presence became more than just a point of connection; it also served as a means of expression. A study of the Columbia community’s virtual presence beyond that of personal profiles includes anonymous and unofficial Columbia Instagram accounts best coined as “Columbia-adjacent.”

The holiday season is an opportunity for all kinds of celebrations. Thanksgiving break is on the way, generating excitement and providing a chance to reflect on the things we’re thankful for. Choosing to celebrate Friendsgiving is another way to express how thankful you are for the friends you’ve made at college—and for those who cannot make it home, it can be a way to experience connection and quell homesickness.

With the temperature dropping significantly these past couple of weeks, you’ve probably already started worrying about the upcoming cold, hard winter. However, the effect of winter is not purely a physical one as it’s easy to be influenced by the early sunsets and colder temperatures too.