organizations

Being rejected by student clubs can be hard, as they are an important part of the college experience. While it’s OK to mourn that, there are also other ways to participate in the community. It’s important to realize that club rejection isn’t personal, and that there are many factors that go into a decision beyond an applicant’s control. With that being said, if you’re in a situation where you are faced with rejection, you might find these tips helpful.

The first few weeks of a new school term are always stressful, especially if you partake in the tedious process of sifting through the countless clubs and teams on campus just to find the select few that interest you. Whether you have just started your club hunting journey or are already taking a break from the hubbub of it all, here is a list of clubs and organizations that might interest you. This list includes those that are still recruiting in the third week of classes as well as ones that are open to new members all year round.

Columbia and Barnard are both known for being politically active campuses. With the primaries in full swing and the presidential election right around the corner, you might be looking for how to get involved with political organizations on campus. Let Spectrum’s list guide you!

On a Sunday night in October, air crisp from an afternoon of rain, the 19 current members of Notes and Keys ventured up to the Broadway Sky Lounge (even the place they rehearse sounds swanky!) for rehearsal.

I’m from Inwood, which is a 20 minute commute from campus on the 1 train. When I decided to come to Barnard, commuting seemed to make the most sense. If I’m from New York City and live relatively close, why would I dorm? However, I didn’t realize how foreign commuting would seem to my peers and what it would mean to a commute to a mainly residential school.

Screaming crows, the personification of death, and ’70s experimental rock music may at first seem like an unconventional combination when juxtaposed with neoclassical ballet. Yet all serve as the foundational backdrop for a new work choreographed by Sarah Marazzi-Sassoon, BC ’22, for the Columbia Ballet Collaborative this semester.

Want to continue pursuing your childhood dream of becoming the next Yo-Yo Ma? Or perhaps thinking of picking up an instrument for the first time? Whether you’re already an accomplished musician or just looking to begin, there’s an option for everyone. Check out this guide to classical music programs and groups at Barnard and Columbia to help you get started as soon as you arrive on campus this fall.

“A lot of the time, when people first come to Lerner … they don’t know where they’re going.” This sentence, pulled from a Spectator article published 10 years ago, speaks to my own first impression of Lerner. A few meeting rooms and some steel ramps spiraling toward ever-higher floors didn't indicate any concrete function the building was supposed to serve. I initially thought of Lerner as the home of Ferris Booth Commons and some administrative offices; later I saw it as a multifunctional space with some auditoriums and club meeting rooms. Yet through all this, Lerner never left me the impression of being a student center: a space where students freely meet and socialize; the epicenter of student activity on campus.

Collectively, Columbia and Barnard have upwards of 500 clubs and organizations—everything from a cappella groups and comedy groups to the Arab Music Ensemble and the Philolexian Society—with each group bringing something unique to the campus community. In recent years, a number of clubs pertaining to sexual health have emerged in response to the growing campus dialogue around the issues of sexual violence, assault, harassment, and consent. Highlighting these issues has become something undeniably crucial on all college campuses, with Columbia being no exception—lest we forget Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight) by Emma Sulkowicz, CC ’15, or the recent departure of professors Thomas Roma and Dr. William V. Harris due to allegations of sexual harassment made by former students. It’s become clear that these problems are not far-flung or irrelevant; sexual assault is on our campus—not only among the student body but, distressingly enough, the faculty.

Students at Columbia and Barnard are responsible for maintaining countless relationships— with roommates, friends, parents, siblings, bosses, colleagues, significant others, etc. We are in a perpetual state of contact with others—calling our worried moms, texting friends we promised to grab coffee with, messaging random classmates for the notes from last lecture—and it can grow exhausting. Our lives seem consumed by the dozens of relationships we form; and in the continuous sustaining of these bonds, it can be easy to lose sight of the relationship we have with ourselves.