The Fed

Speak Out
Dear Honest-To-Goodness Reader:

So, maybe you’re a little disenchanted and the Fed totally lives with you.  Maybe you’re completely satisfied with your Columbia experience and you think the whole bunch of us are just whiners.  Maybe you have gills and you live under water.  But, no matter what, you’re out there in the community and things are going on in you life.

The Federalist has about things that bother us, things that we see and we think aren’t right.  We write about what’s going on in our lives in the hope that by speaking out and making noise other people will hear our message.  But the Fed was never intended to be a one way street.  We know we don’t have a monopoly on indignation and frustration and we want to allow everyone the opportunity to fight back.  That’s why we’re opening up a new section for you in the Fed called "Speak Out."

It’s hard to believe, but we’re not omniscient.  We need you to tell us what’s happening to you out there in the wild world.  "Speak Out" is your chance to open OUR eyes and to get your own message out.  Write about something you notice or something that’s bothering you, cry out for help or flex your caustic whit.  We want your side and your opinion and your voice in the wilderness.  Speak your piece (in around 200-300 words)  to [email protected].

Tom Bellin
Managing Editor

hey Fed.
    I am totally homeless right now because this year URH isn’t letting anyone move in early.  What is the deal?  Apparently Admissions under estimated how many of the people they accepted would decide to come to Columbia (I suspect it has something to do with Felicity).  So the housing people were scrambling to find places to put them all up until the Friday before they moved in.  And they were too busy to let little old me move into my nice EC room.  My lease ran out and I’m living in the car!  I am not kidding.  Right now its parked on 114th street, but tomorrow is street cleaning and then I won’t even have a parking spot!  I am so sick of waking up at 5 am in the back seat of a Honda to find Columbia secruity guards peering in at me.  And last night it was like 100 degrees, and I don’t want to roll down the windows because some creepy guy will slither in while I’m unconscious.  For God’s sake.  So yeah, I’ll Speak Out: This Sucks!!!
    I don’t have any animosity toward the extra large freshman class that caused me this woe: after all, its not their fault that Columbia screwed up.  But, since this is your orientation issue, I thought I’d say: hey freshman, watch out.  There’s more of you than ever before, and that means that the Admin. is gonna have to work extra hard to get rid of the overflow.
Merry Christmas folks!
- Beth Wilson
SEAS ’01

    Before I begin, a disclaimer: I love Columbia.  I love leaing the subway and entering the 116th street gates which lead into College Walk.  As much as I complain, and those of you who know me know how much that is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
    However, that doesn’t mean the place doesn’t have issues, because believe me, it does.  As far as I can tell, the main issue is that the administration doesn’t care about the students.  Now, I don’t know if university administrations are supposed to care about their students, but after spending three years here, it seems that it would be a much nicer place if they did.  If they did care about us, they would listen when we tell them that our classes are too crowded.  Instead, they tell us that’s our fault, because we crowd into two or three popular majors.
    Note to the administration: If it is true that classes are overcrowed because we all want to be econ and history majors, then why are all of my classes overcrowed in the music department?
    If the administration cared about the students, it would not have removed seating from the already-slightly-crowed Butler reading rooms for aesthetic reasons.  Now, of course, tour guides can proudly walk prospectives through the newly renovated and beautiful Butler Library and impress them with our very own coffee bar!  Good luck finding a seat during finals, though.
    If the administration cared about the students, they wouldn’t admit more students before building more housing.  I can’t believe that they are completely stupid, so I have to attribute this move to pure evil.  As it is, I am a senior living in a building which currently has no elevator because rain floods the upper floors and makes the elevator a death trap (maybe River is an appropriate name for this building for more than one reason)  and I feel lucky.  At least I’m not a junior stuck in a Wien room samller than the Wien room I had sophomore year!  (yes, that happened to someone this year.)
    So what does the administration actually care about?  You new first years will soon learn the answer first-hand: MONEY and PRESTIGE.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with money; I’m partial to it myself.  However, there comes a point when the love of money turns into something repulsive: greed.  This, I believe, is where the Columbia administration is today.  As mcuh as I love this place, I almost hope that prospective students will begin to realize that it is going downhill fast and stop applying, causing Columbia to lose all its precious prestige and drying up its donations.
    After I get a job using my degree from an Ivy League institution, of course.
--  Laura Weber
August 30, 1999