Columbia-Secondary-School

Columbia students are organizing the largest tuition strike in U.S. history. In the past two weeks alone, over 3,000 students have joined the effort, and the number of committed strikers continues to grow rapidly. But it’s not just the sheer scale of the tuition strike that makes it so unprecedented—it’s also the nature of the demands themselves.

As racial and economic disparities both within and outside of the Columbia community continue to be exacerbated by the worsening public health crisis, the tuition strike has gained considerable traction, even capturing the attention of national news outlets. The demands being made of the University are comprehensive, such as a 10 percent reduction in the cost of attendance, more satisfactorily meeting its obligations to the West Harlem community, and more widespread recognition of student workers. These demands have found widespread support in the University with nearly 2,000 students already pledging support, myself included.

Over 2,700 students have signed a petition declaring a tuition strike until Columbia meets its demands to reallocate the University’s spending. The tuition strike petition calls for a 10 percent reduction in tuition fees, a 10 percent increase in financial aid, to defund Public Safety, and to stop the University’s expansion into West Harlem.

“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?”

McGiffert Hall, designed in 1931 by the same architects responsible for the architecture of Vassar College, Williams College, and Union Theological Seminary, is a beloved, seven-story granite and limestone apartment building adjacent to Riverside Church. These days, however, McGiffert is vulnerable and at risk of being demolished.

Despite being scattered across the globe, student videographers bridged the gap between dancers in the Columbia University Ballet Ensemble, using digital effects to stitch together a magical forest for the group’s rendition of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” CUBE presented its ballet version of Shakespeare’s play on Dec. 5, featuring befuddled lovers and mischievous fairies dancing across the screen.

New York’s streets are a walking lookbook of diverse brands and clothing pieces, which symbolize the ever-changing nature of the fashion industry. Columbia, located in one of the world’s most fashion-forward cities, gives students the first look at the styles that will soon be worn around the globe.

Across the country, counseling and recruitment have gone almost exclusively virtual, a transition that has laid bare the impact of class disparities on high school students’ access to higher education—and kept university admissions officers struggling to make up the difference.

Whether it is a Glossier pink bubble wrap pouch, a paper Sweetgreen bag, or a “V” plastered on a pair of Veja sneakers, the Columbia Marketing Club knows that branding and marketing are inescapable in students’ daily lives—and not enough people on campus are talking about it.