Dear readers,

I had just finished packing my bags and was ready to board a plane to New York City. It was mid-August, and I was scrolling through my social media feed, filled with fresh faces that I had followed from the class of 2024 Instagram page. I remember telling myself, “Some of these people might even become your closest friends,” which made me feel excited and nauseated at the same time. Overall, however, I was looking forward to being able to meet these people on campus—in real life—even if it was going to be socially-distanced...

The “new normal” I had heard about for months was in front of me. I was eating lunch in an outdoor tent in mid-January, talking with classmates I had previously only seen in Zoom squares. I was grateful to experience a taste of campus life. I’d been home since March, but the comfortable warmth I felt seeing the lit trees along College Walk for the first time and building a snowman in front of Butler Library was the most at home I’d felt in months...

Content Warning: This episode discusses Columbia’s history with eugenics, sterilization, and the Nazi Party.