American-Astronomical-Society

On July 10, University President Lee Bollinger announced the opening of the Columbia Climate School. He based the decision on Columbia’s commitment to public life, writing: “We are not free to ignore the issues of our age and pursue whatever we want. We are ultimately responsible to our societies and the world. To that end, we must answer the call to serve.”

Twelve Barnard seniors were inducted as Junior Phi Beta Kappa, the college announced on Friday.

“Look at all those people,” a young woman, played by Lindsey Belisle, BC ’23, says, watching the bustle of a New York street from a park bench. “Who are they? Where are they from? And where are they going?”

In 2020, America’s foreign policy legacy is under historic scrutiny. It has become common to hear America’s foreign policy record cynically painted as one defined by coups against democratically-elected governments, corporate profiteering, and “forever wars” fought without a legitimate purpose. At Columbia in particular, prevailing opinion holds that U.S. foreign policy is nothing more than imperialism in 21st-century garb. As this narrative has taken hold across the country, many Americans have grown more skeptical of the United States playing a significant role in international affairs. Indeed, isolationism—not a foreign policy, but rather a lack thereof—has found itself back in vogue. Instead of embracing this discredited approach, we must come to terms with America’s foreign policy record and look toward the future, to one where America eagerly accepts her mantle as the decisive player in the international arena.

The highly ornate facade of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is a stunning backdrop for Jamie Wellerstein as he dances on its steps, singing about his writing dreams and his newfound love, Cathy Hiatt. The actor playing Jamie must perform in front of a camera in lieu of a live audience; this is the reality of virtual theater that Columbia’s student theater groups are facing.

She imagines her mind like a hallway. Boxes line the floor, filled with all of the poetry and artwork she has ever studied. James Baldwin and W.B. Yeats are there, talking to her in David Hammons' blue light.

With the art market forced to exist in a virtual world, art curators, galleries, and museums have had to reimagine themselves within the confines of a screen. The Columbia Art Market Society aims to navigate these challenges through community-led conversations that discuss the future of art.

While the curtains remain closed, stage lights off, and plush seats empty, Columbia’s theater groups will not stay silent this fall. Through an array of festivals, cabaret performances, mainstage productions, and even a radio show, performance groups are coming together virtually to bring theater to the Columbia community from across the world.

“Uncertainty is a motif of my life,” Columbia College first-year Derek Ng tells me, one evening over Zoom. 

It was a decade of many firsts for the Columbia women’s tennis program. Led by head coach and former Lion Ilene Weintraub, CC ’02, the Light Blue notched its first-ever winning Ivy League season, claimed its first Ancient Eight title, won ECACs four times, and earned its highest ranking in program history.