On-Loop

The small black box is swaddled in thin drapes, streaked with watercolor branches. The fabric winds its way toward the ceiling, where it hangs like acoustic panels for an orchestra or a Milky Way made out of linen.

“The play was about breath before we all started losing ours.”

With COVID-19 positivity rates hovering between 4 and 5 percent statewide, Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided to reopen indoor dining at 25 percent capacity beginning on Feb. 12. This news, paired with increased vaccine rollout, gave restaurants in Morningside Heights a sliver of hope, especially since more than 1,000 restaurants in New York City have closed since March.

“You say you like to tan because it’s fun / But half the time you burn yourself; how is that fun?” Grace Victoria D’Haiti, BC ’21, asks in her song “Black Looks Better on Me.” The song is simultaneously a Black cultural anthem and a commentary on the phenomenon of “blackfishing,” which is when non-Black people pretend to be Black or alter their appearances to look ethnically Black.

Columbia has officially ended its 14-year policy of divestment and non-investment in companies operating in Sudan. The board of trustees voted to lift the policy on Jan. 20 after a recommendation issued by the University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing.

Until quite recently, I had never really been anywhere. New York is a cluttered place where everything I could ever need is in the palm of my hand.

Just as first-years and sophomores were preparing to move to campus last summer, Columbia abruptly announced the cancellation of all semester-long housing contracts. Students and their families were forced to cancel plane tickets and hotel reservations and reconsider their plans for the semester ahead.

Thousands of Columbia and Barnard students are returning to New York after Columbia partially reopened on-campus housing this semester. For the majority of these students, it has been almost a year since they’ve lived at Columbia, and for some, it will be their first time stepping foot on campus. While students are eager to return to a “normal” college experience, some Morningside Heights and West Harlem residents worry that Columbia’s reopening plan may put Morningside Heights residents at higher risk for COVID-19.

Columbia College sophomore Vivian Jackson shares a one-bedroom apartment in Hell’s Kitchen with her family. When Columbia went remote last spring, she struggled to attend Literature Humanities while her mother, a ballet teacher, taught plies and how to stand en pointe a few feet away from her laptop. While the commute would have been easy, the opportunity to have her own room, reliable Wi-Fi, and an on-campus job compelled her to live in the dorms this fall. As one of many students who requested on-campus housing this fall, Jackson identifies as a first-generation, low-income college student. On August 14, Columbia reversed its initial decision to bring up to 60 percent of undergraduates back to campus and instead opted for a semester entirely online. Only students who needed on-campus housing to “pursue their academic programs successfully” were provided dorm rooms; Jackson was one of them.

Finding and creating lasting memories with your roommate(s) is one of the most exciting parts of college. During a pandemic, it is especially important to be cautious about whom you decide to cohabit with. Roommates can make or break your experience. Murky boundaries can lead to unpleasant exchanges. Based on our own highs and lows, here are tips for choosing a roommate or getting along better with current ones, and a sample roommate contract for you both to talk through!