Africa

On Nov. 28, 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the “temporary or permanent restitution” of objects of African cultural heritage that reside in French museums during a speech at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.

Going abroad has always been a goal for me. The summer before attending college, I went to Germany for two weeks, and I loved my time there so much that I vowed to return. I knew that at Columbia, I would have the chance to live abroad for an entire semester. I wanted to reconnect with my German host family, explore other parts of Germany, and a get a fuller sense of life outside of America. What I did not realize at the time was that during college, I would go through a process of deliberation that would lead me to change my priorities for my study abroad experience.

As my flight from South Africa landed in New York, I thought about the advice offered by several American friends: Do not make eye contact with anyone on the subway. In a city where 8 million people are eking out an existence, avoiding eye contact helps keep your struggles private. As a student, this struggle can be incredibly hard—many of us rely on scholarships, loans, and two or three jobs to live. Although many New Yorkers can barely afford their daily living expenses, the cost of higher education is a burden that seems particularly unjust.

The sound of voices travels across campus, carried by chilly April gusts that rattle the chains on the doors of Hamilton Hall. It is day five of the blockade, which has taken over the steps of the building. Blankets, newspapers, and books litter the ground, and overhead a makeshift tarp rustles in the wind, partially obscuring the large banner reading "MANDELA HALL." Next door, in Hartley Hall, protesters take refuge under warm blankets, while leading members of the blockade continue their hunger strike, already more than two weeks in.

Last month, the Barnard Columbia Solidarity Network (BCSN) released a list of six demands. Its fourth demand stipulated that the University "reallocate physical and financial resources" to a variety of institutes dedicated to subjects pertinent to marginalized students.

From the 1968 protests and interrupted commencement speeches to the Minuteman protest, Columbia's history has been undeniably impacted by student activism.

The Ebola outbreak has dominated the front pages and cover stories of Western media for the past few weeks. "Living With the Terror of Ebola" was published in the New York Times in early October, an article which discussed the fear of an outbreak here in America. The BBC organized a program on the roundup of the Ebola outbreak in mid-October with statistics about the virus and its effects. Popular sites like BuzzFeed have been posting articles such as "Ebola: Everything You Need to Know in 94 Seconds" and "WHO Says Ebola is the Worst Modern Health Emergency" to try to raise awareness.

An orange dot with the Arabic letter 'ayn in it lights up on Columbia Arabic professor Rym Bettaieb's smartphone. She's introducing 3abber to her 10-person Third Year Arabic I class.

Amon Simutowe is not only the first grandmaster of the World Chess Federation from sub-Saharan Africa, but the third black chess grandmaster in history. He began playing at the age of 10, winning his first tournament at the age of 12. What's more, he has a Master of Science in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford, and is now studying international finance and developmental economics at the School of International and Public Affairs. Liv Lansdale met with Simutowe to discuss his career, his upbringing, and lessons he's learned from chess.