In deciding to move Columbia’s undergraduate spring concert to an off-campus venue, the Bacchanal committee cited the need to reserve funds for hiring the headlining artists. In response, students voiced concerns over the decision’s threat to Bacchanal’s culture as Columbia’s only community-wide undergraduate event.

The Strand, a historic East Village bookstore, is set to open its second storefront location, this one on the Upper West Side, according to a statement by owners released on Wednesday.

For years, Bacchanal has drawn thousands of students to the center of campus, filling the lawns and College Walk with a rare, lively energy. The annual spring concert has become a hallmark of community on a campus that often struggles to cultivate it.

Most students may only think of Bacchanal when reminiscing on Columbia’s biggest outdoor party each spring. This year, the Bacchanal Committee is making plans to change that.

“Take On Me” by a-ha and “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande do not sound like the songs typically played by classically trained musicians. For Popsicles, however, it’s all fair game.

“CUSH is for the kids!” chanted Columbia University Society of Hip-Hop cypher host Payton Johnson, CC ’21, as he led participants in a freestyle rap game. Passing the mic around the room, participants were encouraged to ad-lib any sound, word, or phrase on the beat.

An enraptured crowd sits on the floor of CU Records, mere inches away from the musical world building before them. Vocals mix with chord progressions as the sounds of singer Jackie Marchal, CC ’22, and singer-pianist Sarah Kinsley Du, CC ’22, flow into the audience, pulling the room into their grasp. This will be a night to remember.

The Leslie Marmon Silko Reading and Open Mic began with an acknowledgment of the stolen Lenape land on which Columbia’s campus resides. This moment of bittersweet resilience, brought forth by the tragedy of Indigenous land occupation and the triumph of reclaiming a lost voice, imbued the room with life. From that complex mix of emotions poetry, music, and art arose.