Ivy-Day

In an apartment full of cinnamon candles and pill organizers, dementia carves a wide gulf between a mother and her daughter. In a shoeshine shop in 1944, an army volunteer stakes his life on an empty promise. Together, they tell a story of personal and historical erasure, 75 years apart.

Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science have released offers of admission to 2,218 students, the office of undergraduate admissions announced on Tuesday, causing the acceptance rate to plummet to a record-low 3.66 percent. Admitted students come from all 50 states and 100 countries.

The School of General Studies’ 2021 Class Day ceremony will feature Elegance Bratton, GS ’14, as keynote speaker and Christopher Thompson, GS ’21, and Qimeng Shi, GS ’21, as the class of 2021′s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. Bratton, Thompson, and Shi will each address the General Studies class of 2021 virtually on Wednesday, April 28 during Class Day.

Images of Chinese takeout are ingrained in the memories of Americans. White takeout boxes have been turned into purses. Fortune cookies are craved for both their sweet vanilla flavor and foreboding messages, but one of the most prevalent images associated with Chinese takeout is plastic takeout bags that read, “Thank you” and “Have a nice day.”

During a CNN town hall last month, President Joe Biden defended his proposal to cancel only $10,000 in federal student loan debt per person as opposed to the $50,000 that many Senate Democrats are advocating for in the face of the student debt crisis. Biden supported his statement by suggesting that the government should not forgive student loans for Ivy League alumni.

Mario Van Peebles, CC ’78, and Rocco B. Commisso, SEAS ’71, Business ’75, will be speaking at the Columbia College and School of Engineering and Applied Science Class Day ceremonies, respectively.

The tuition strike began as an effort organized by the Young Democratic Socialists of America to challenge Columbia and the broader commodification of higher education. It aimed to push back on the University’s failure of its students and the local community—a failure which was aggravated by the University’s decision not to reduce tuition despite the less comprehensive nature of education during the pandemic and shorter semester during the spring. Two months have passed since then. Over 1,000 students have pledged to withhold tuition, and the efforts aligned with the University’s decision to divest from fossil fuels.

As a child, junior swimmer Clare Larsen loved to play sports. Despite her passion, however, she always thought of sports as a boys’ world, and the male-dominated culture initially discouraged her from chasing her dreams of Division I recruitment. The message from people around her, Larsen said, was that “sports are healthy for a young woman, but [they’re] not necessarily something that you pursue.”

Every year in late March, all eight Ivy League universities simultaneously release undergraduate admissions decisions to tens of thousands of eagerly waiting high school seniors. For many, Ivy Day—as it has been dubbed by the admissions community—represents the end of a long, stressful, and taxing application process. With a single click, students’ dreams of attending the Ancient Eight either come true or are shattered.