Barnard-Phi-Beta-Kappa

Spectrum’s back with its newest batch of monthly playlists. Discover new songs and artists or rediscover old favorites you might have forgotten!

Columbia College announced its 22 Junior Phi Beta Kappa recipients. The remaining eight percent of Phi Beta Kappa recipients from the class of 2021 will be announced in the spring.

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

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Access Barnard’s email list inviting me to the initiative’s virtual Friendsgiving events. Each of the three virtual meals was for a specific group of students that Access Barnard supports: first-generation low-income students, Barnard Opportunity Program students, and international students. This was one of the many concentrated efforts the Barnard administration has made this semester to foster the sense of community and belonging that we otherwise would (allegedly) have had if we were all on campus this fall. Since we are nearing the end of the semester, and almost everyone is completely tired of Zoom and school, Barnard needed some way to draw students to the event. Access Barnard’s grand idea? Raffling off a $50 grocery gift card for students who attended.

Barnard President Sian Beilock announced the cancellation of the college’s nationwide search for a new executive director of Public Safety in an updated safety plan released on Dec. 3. Instead, Barnard will restructure the role of Public Safety to focus on community safety under an umbrella organizational unit titled Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services, according to Beilock’s email.

Registering for classes is always a daunting process, and next semester seems particularly stressful. With the delayed registration process and many departments still finalizing next semester’s courses, it seems harder than ever to find classes that are interesting, relevant, and new.

Student life at Columbia was hard enough to navigate even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but with people scattered across the globe, finding a community within the student body has become even more difficult. With our monthly Spotify playlists, Spectrum hopes to engage the University community and reminisce about the activities and memories that we share. We hope you enjoy our first installment!