This past year, student filmmakers at Columbia have tried to pursue their craft remotely, struggling to shoot footage and find a platform on which to showcase their films. The Athena Film Festival’s “Discovery: Student Shorts Program” celebrates the works of student and first-time female filmmakers who have directed or shown their films during the pandemic. The films touch on themes of gender-based wage discrimination, racial tensions, sexism in film, and following one’s passions in the face of adversity. Director Amit Lerner’s “Pam,” for example, showcases her creativity and identity as an Israeli-American student filmmaker with a broader audience.

The last year has been a journey of ups and downs for restaurants in New York. After transitioning to takeout and delivery only, building outdoor setups, and preparing for indoor dining to have it taken away and reinstated, restaurants have done their best to adapt and keep their doors open. With the reopening of indoor dining at 35 percent capacity, many restaurants in the neighborhood polished their glasses, printed out new menus, and decorated their interiors in preparation for the return to a more normal dining scene.

Welcome back to The Ear, Spectator’s podcast dedicated to documenting, excavating, and investigating Columbia’s past and present.

Le Lycée Razi, Tehran, 1968. A group of Iranian Girl Scouts embark on their annual public service week to prepare for the historic visit of French President Georges Pompidou, accompanied by the Shah of Iran. Assigned mundane tasks, one of the girls finds an opportunity to do something unique to benefit her own community, as well as please Pompidou.

The black-and-white checkerboard floors, exposed brick walls, red leather booths, and shining red lights displaying “MEL’S.” The dartboard, wooden chairs, and the cramped and dark interior of 1020. The long bar counter, antique light fixtures, and abstract paintings of Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor. These are the staple campus bars for many Columbia students today—places to de-stress, mingle, and enjoy drinks and classic bar food.

Learn about the mission and story of board game cafe Hex & Co. as it moves into its new and much larger space where the historic West End Bar once stood.

Since 1894, The Varsity Show has brought laughs to Columbia students, faculty, alumni, parents, and Morningside Heights residents by satirizing life at Columbia. With tickets sold out each night at Roone Arledge Auditorium, the shows featured hilarious plots complemented by coordinated choreography and staging, intense lighting, elaborate set design, and a live pit orchestra. This year’s show, however, will be much different.

On Dec. 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that indoor dining will be suspended in New York City restaurants starting Monday, dealing a major setback to the city’s already struggling restaurant industry. The decision comes as the city faces rising hospitalization rates; as of Dec. 11, 1,668 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York City, which is on a trajectory to hit 90 percent of its hospital capacity.