WikiCU - User contributions [en]

Columbia University Marching Band

2007-12-30T17:19:54Z

Thads:

[[Image:CUMBpyramid.jpg|300px|thumb|CUMB 2005]]

'''Columbia University Marching Band''' (CUMB), also known as ''The Cleverest Band the World (tm)'' was formed in [[1904]] and is one of the oldest student groups on campus, and the perpetrator of one of Columbia's only traditions, [[Orgo Night]]. During games they tend to please the crowd by playing songs and cheers. They also perform at halftime when everyone is attentively engaged.

== History ==
[[Image:fascistband.jpg|300px|thumb|The CUMB of yore]]

We used to have a real "rah-rah-let's-go-team" band. That broke up sometime around the early 60s, when fascism became decidedly uncool, and now we have a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramble_band '''scramble band'''], which prides itself for what it thinks are witty scripts and definite lack of marching.

As fascism grows more popular, our developing a standard marching band appears more likely. This new band will destroy the environment and offer no-bid contracts to multinational corporations.

== Slogans ==
* G(tb)^2
* If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the band.

== Orgo Night ==

''Lisa Birnbach's College Book'' named the CUMB's Orgo Night performances as the university's most popular campus tradition. Since [[1984]] the band has performed at 11:59 p.m. on the night before each Organic Chemistry final exam. The course is notorious as one of the most challenging undergraduate subjects. In an effort to relieve pre-exam jitters, the CUMB interrupts studies at the main reading room of [[Butler Library]]. Several hundred students gather for the show, often standing on desks and bookshelves. Orgo Night performances are presented in a style similar to their halftime shows, and have sometimes included comedy banned from those shows by the university's censors.

== Controversies ==

Due to its irreverent humor, some of the band's halftime shows have caused controversy. The CUMB prides itself on evading university censorship:

*In [[1964]], the band performed a "Salute to Moral Decay," featuring a formation of "the upper part of a topless bathing suit" (all marchers left the field except for two sousaphones, while the band played "My Favorite Things") and a typically heavy-handed reference to Walter Jenkins, an aide to President Lyndon Johnson, who had been caught ''in flagrante delicto'' in a men's room. Columbia's president had to fend off angry letters from several notables, including conductor Leonard Bernstein.
*In [[1966]], the band was suspended for several games for the infamous "birth control" show where they formed a Combined oral contraceptive pill, a calendar (for the Rhythm Method), and a chastity belt.
*In [[1968]], at West Point, the band formed what it called a "burning Cambodian village" on the field. CUMB has yet to be invited back to West Point. The football team hasn't actually played any games at West Point in recent years, but the band feels it should be invited to perform at the occasional halftime show anyway.
*In [[1973]], a brawl broke out between the CUMB and the [[Harvard]] University Band over the alleged attempted theft of the giant Harvard Bass Drum.
*The band's theme for a [[1981]] halftime show at Holy Cross was "The Lions vs. The Christians". Holy Cross administrators subsequently dis-invited the band from any future games played in Worcester, much to the band's relief. Columbia's next road game against Holy Cross, in [[1983]], marked the beginning of what became an NCAA-record winless streak.
*The band's script for the [[1982]] season-opening road game against Harvard mysteriously turned out to be identical to the script the Harvard band was set to use moments later. The Columbia band subsequently denied that this astonishing and inexplicable coincidence had anything to do with the fact that two of its members had spent the previous week posing as new freshmen at Harvard's undergraduate orientation. Faculty of Columbia's statistics department refused to support the band's claim.
*In [[1990]], the band received a bomb threat over its symbolic formation of a burning American Flag accompanied by The Doors' "Light My Fire". This performance happened shortly after a controversial United States Supreme Court ruling that actual flag burnings are legal.
*In [[1992]], at the Halloween show, the band performed in costume or drag, including one member dressed as Jesus, with cross. This was also the homecoming game. Two alumni took the field and attempted to charge Jesus, but were thwarted by drummers clad in snare drums. Quoth the alumni: "Don't you know that's fucking sacrilegious?!?"
*In 1992, at the [[Yale]] Bowl the band pantomimed the consummation of a same-sex marriage on the field, while the couple was held aloft on a CAVA stretcher while the band did the hora and played Have Nagila. The occasion was Youth Day and hundreds of local children from community groups were in attendance. The first words of the halftime show: "We swear, we didn't know it was youth day."
*In [[1993]], the band drew parallels between the Holocaust and policies for management of [[New York City]]'s homeless population proposed by newly-elected mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The Anti-Defamation League demanded an apology.
*In 1993, at [[Princeton]], the band recreated the Magic Bullet Theory as put forth by the Warren Commission on the John F. Kennedy assassination, complete with band members as scattering skull fragments.
*In [[1998]], at the Yale Bowl, the band performed a show featuring a homosexual, pot-smoking Jesus Christ in a homage to the Terrence McNally play ''Corpus Christi''. Angry Yale fans demanded their money back.
*During a game against [[Fordham University]] in 2002, soon after the Catholic church was rocked by disclosures about pedophile priests, the band claimed that Fordham tuition was "going down like an altar boy" in a joke improvised minutes before the start of the pre-game show. In the ensuing media frenzy, band Poet Laureate Andy Hao was featured on MSNBC's Phil Donahue Show in a debate with Catholic League President William Donohue. The ''[[New York Times]]'' profiled the CUMB. Columbia University President [[Lee Bollinger]] ended the controversy in one of his first official acts as University President when he apologized to Fordham president, the Reverend Joseph O'Hare.

== External links ==
*[http://www.cumb.org The Columbia University Marching Band]
*[http://www.tvfan.net/prime/shows/howard/sternepi.shtml An index listing the band's 1991 appearance on the show], ''The Howard Stern Show''
*[http://209.35.163.234/special/sports99/features3.htm Highlights of ribald halftime shows] ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', December 17, 1999
*[http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/09/25/3d916a53b3fb5 The Fordham University incident]. ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', September 25, 2002.
*[http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/57767.htm Story about the Fordham incident] ''The New York Post'', 2002.
*[http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1741746 ''Editor and Publisher''] criticizes censored ''New York Times'' and ''Associated Press'' coverage of the Fordham halftime show. 2002
*[http://cumb.org/news/092902.html New York Times CUMB profile] '' Sunday Styles section, [[The New York Times]]'', 2002.
*[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/uscc/archives/news/spectator022504a.htm Student Coalition Calls for Systematic Changes to Address Issues of Racism, Discrimination; Fed, CCCC, CUMB Offer Apologies], ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', February 25, 2004
*[http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=9197 The Color Of Caring] - Description of an anti-racism protest in 2004 in part due to a CUMB show, ''The Jewish Week'', 2004-03-19.
*[http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v?TARGET=printable&article_id=3d9808282ae17 Defenses] of the band's unapologetic humor.

== Bibliography ==

''Lisa Birnbach's New and Improved College Book'', by Lisa Birnbach (1992) ISBN 0-671-79289-X

[[Category:Performance clubs]]

Ying Koon Laundry

2007-12-28T23:26:03Z

Thads: Joe Far Laundry moved to Ying Koon Laundry: Name of the business has changed

[[Category:Laundromats in Morningside Heights]]

Joe Far Laundry

2007-12-28T23:26:03Z

Thads: Joe Far Laundry moved to Ying Koon Laundry: Name of the business has changed

#REDIRECT [[Ying Koon Laundry]]

Laundry

2007-12-28T23:25:12Z

Thads:

'''Laundry''' is perhaps the toughest part of a student's life at Columbia.

== Residence hall laundry rooms ==

Every [[residence hall]] has one or more laundry rooms. These are either located in the basement or one on each floor.

* Check the status of washers and dryers using [http://www.laundryview.com/lvs.php LaundryView]. This website can only be viewed on campus.
* File a [http://www.macgray.com/laundry/cs-laundry.cgi?password=lions&Action=Pass laundry maintenance request].

== On-campus laundry services ==

There are also two on-campus laundry services -- Lion Laundry and Dormaid. The low-end prices are comparable, however Lion Laundry becomes considerably cheaper as the allotted poundage per week increases and supposedly Lion Laundry provides much larger bags. Both services professionally wash, dry, and fold the clothes off campus and then drop your laundry back off at your door. The two services can be found online at www.LionLaundry.com and www.Dormaid.com

== Off-campus ==

* [[Ying Koon Laundry]] @ 601 West 112th Street

[[Category:Housing]]
[[Category:Laundry]]
[[Category:Laundromats]]

Morningside Heights campus gates

2007-12-27T23:56:35Z

Thads:

The '''Morningside Heights campus gates''' protect the [[Morningside Heights campus]] from the outside world. Gates are found at the following locations and are open 24-hours, unless otherwise noted:

{|
|-
|'''Gate name'''
|'''Location'''
|'''Hours'''
|-
|Lerner gate
|Broadway, between [[Lerner Hall]] and [[Furnald]]
|
|-
|John Jay gate
|114th St, between [[John Jay Hall]] and [[Butler Library]]
|
|-
|Carman gate
|114th St, between [[Carman Hall]] and [[Butler Library]]
|
|-
|Main gate, east
|[[Amsterdam Avenue]] at 116th St
|Always open
|-
|Main gate, west
|[[Broadway]] at 116th St
|Always open
|-
|Wein gate
|116th St, between [[Jerome Greene Hall]] and [[Wein Hall]]
|
|-
|Chapel gate
|[[Amsterdam Avenue]] at what would be 117th St
|Limited hours
|-
|Earl Hall gate
|[[Broadway]] at what would be 117th St
|Limited hours
|-
|The Grove gate
|120th St
|Limited hours
|}

The university sometimes closes select gates during inclement weather, though the 116th Street gates are virtually always open (except during [[Commencement]] and citywide emergencies such as September 11th).

[[Category:Landmarks on the Morningside Heights campus]]

Improve Columbia

2007-12-27T23:52:15Z

Thads:

This page is a comprehensive plan to '''improve Columbia''' for its students. It is currently based on an article published in the ''[[Columbia Spectator]]'' on April 30, [[2007]].<ref>[http://media.www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2007/04/30/Opinion/Staff.Editorial.The.Little.Things-2887893.shtml Columbia Daily Spectator: Editorial: The Little Things]</ref>

== Campus and buildings ==

=== Campus and outdoor spaces ===
* <del>Replace aging bricks on [[College Walk]]</del> - old bricks have been replaced by asphalt pavers
* <del>Improve the drainage on campus, especially College Walk</del> - drainage was improved during brick replacement
* Keep one field on [[South Lawn]] open at all times for recreation
* Improve campus wheelchair accessibility
* Provide dedicated distribution racks for all campus publications
* Keep 117th Street gates (at Broadway and Amsterdam) open until 9 pm

=== Buildings ===
* Provide more electrical outlets in all libraries and classrooms
* Design future buildings without grossly violating the campus aesthetic
* Extend hours of classroom buildings with study space

=== Bathrooms ===
* Install motion-sensitive sinks in all public bathrooms
* Install paper-towel dispensers in all campus bathrooms

=== [[Lerner Hall]] ===
* Bring the comfortable chairs and computers back to Lerner's lobby
* Extend Lerner's hours
* Provide USPS services in Lerner
* Make Lerner 6 available for student use

=== All libraries ===
* Allow students to bring water into all libraries

=== [[Butler Library]] ===
* Move ashtrays away from the Butler doors to the Butler steps
* Allow outside food and drinks in Butler, especially after [[Blue Java]] closes
* Open the sixth floor of Butler, and the third floor reference and card catalog rooms 24/7
* Open Butler stacks 24/7
* Put [[vending machines]] in Butler
* Remove unattended belongings in Butler at specified times

== Technology ==

=== General IT ===
* Provide consistent wireless coverage across campus, especially in dorms
* Include Barnard on the University-wide e-mail listserv

=== Network storage space ===
* Implement mappable SMB file shares so users can save and access their work anywhere on the network, instead of having to carry memory sticks, or obsessively emailing files to themselves

=== Printing ===
* Replace aging printers in computer labs around campus
* Allow print quotas to roll over from week to week (like cell phone minutes)
* Install color printers around campus
* Regularly replace toner in printers

=== CUIDs ===
* Allow complete swipe access between [[Barnard]] and Columbia
* <del>Remove Social Security Numbers from [[CUID]]s</del> - project underway
* Add a second card-swiper in [[EC]], especially on weekends

=== ROLM phones ===
* Provide free local calls and inter-school calls on [[ROLM]] phones

== Academics ==

=== Departments ===
* Expand the human rights and ethnic studies majors
* Revive the African Institute
* Improve inter-departmental communication

=== Bookstore ===
* Stock course books in the bookstore according to the number of students registered

=== Course registration and technology ===
* Combine the [[Course Bulletin]] and [[Directory of Classes]]
* Update all department and campus Web sites regularly and implement a common content management system, such as [[w:Drupal|Drupal]]
* Update online listings for [[Major Cultures]] and the science requirement based on available courses
* Allow students to see professors' names when registering for [[Core Curriculum]] classes
* Release course evaluation data
* Create more sections of [[Art Humanities|Art]] and [[Music Humanities]] and set some aside specifically for sophomores and first-years
* Make course [[syllabus|syllabi]] available online for all students

=== Seminars ===
* Standardize seminar registration processes across schools and implement online registration
* Allot seminar times before registration

=== Advising ===
* Standardize departmental advising

===Study abroad===
* Better facilitate the transfer of credits from institutions abroad to Columbia majors and transcript in general

== Housing and dining ==

=== Housing ===
* Provide cheaper interim housing between the spring and summer sessions

=== Residence halls ===
* Regularly clean laundry rooms and install change machines
* Provide air conditioning in all dorms, and turn it on before May 15
* Install thermostats in dorms
* Renovate aging dorms
* Install bigger kitchen sinks and more counter space in all dorm kitchens

=== [[Dining Dollars]] and [[Flex]] ===
* Allow all first-year [[John Jay Dining Hall|John Jay]] meals to roll over into sophomore year
* Do not require [[meal plan]] for non first-year Barnard students living on the quad
* Implement off-campus Flex, especially at [[Labyrinth]] and [[Village Copier]]
* Accept Flex dollars at all campus eateries

=== All dining locations ===
* Provide more vegetarian and vegan options at all campus eateries
* Provide a spinach option at the [[Cafe 212|212]] salad bar
* Extend [[Ferris Booth Commons|Ferris Booth]]'s breakfast options to later in the morning
* Keep [[JJ's Place|JJ's]] open on weekends 24/7 and extend weekday hours

=== Dining halls ===
* Provide more-varied and better-quality fruit in John Jay
* <del>Install a soy milk dispenser in John Jay</del> - dispenser added in summer 2007
* Extend the hours of John Jay and [[Hewitt]] dining halls
* <del>Install a deli bar in John Jay</del> - added in summer 2007

== Student life ==

=== General student life ===
* Hold monthly fireside chats with administrators other than [[PrezBo]]
* Emulate the [[Barnard Babysitting]] program at Columbia

=== Student government and clubs ===
* Allow students to vote online in [[CCSC]] elections
* Increase funding for [[student clubs]]
* Allow students to determine, at least in part, which groups get the funds from their student activity fees

=== Events ===
* Sell [[Miller Theater]] and discounted New York theater tickets at Lerner's box office
* Devise better programming for campus events such as [[Bacchanal]]
* Allow students to drink more than one beer per hour at campus events

=== Student jobs ===
* Provide more on-campus [[jobs]] for students who don't have work study

== Student facilities ==

=== CCE ===
* Expand [[CCE]]'s alumni networking
* Increase CCE's resources and improve its offerings, particularly outside finance

=== CPS ===
* Move [[Counseling and Psychological Services]] to a more accessible location
* Allow students to make CPS appointments online

=== Gyms ===
* Allow students to sign up for [[Dodge Gym]]'s aerobics machines online
* Put satellite gyms in more dorms
* Reinstate equipment rentals in Dodge

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Student life]]

Mathematics Hall

2007-12-27T22:55:38Z

Thads:

[[Image:Mathematics.jpg|thumb|300px|Mathematics Hall]]

[[Image:68math.jpg|thumb|300px|Mathematics Hall was dubbed "Liberated Zone No. 5" by students who occupied it during the [[1968 protests]]]]

Home of the [[Mathematics Department]]. Formerly housed the [[SEAS|School of Engineering]], which decamped for more spacious quarters when [[Mudd]] was built in [[1959]]. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to give the millions of dollars necessary to rename it.

On the [[Broadway (avenue)|Broadway]] side, a plaque on the building commemorates the Revolutionary War [[Battle of Harlem Heights]], which was fought in the area.

People have believed that the giant tree out front is on the verge of death for a long time. They have all been wrong. The tree endures! Rumor has it that General Washington commanded his troops while standing under the tree.

[[Category:Buildings on the Morningside Heights campus]]
[[Category:Unnamed buildings]]

Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability

2007-12-27T22:53:13Z

Thads:

The '''Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability''' (CULPA) is a professor ratings site, where students go to praise [[professors]] they like and slag off those they do not. There lies nary a review in between. CULPA is not officially affiliated with the university.

== History ==
CULPA was founded in [[1997]] by [[Alex Feerst]], CC '98. After Feerst graduated, the site continued to be operated by Jonathan McCarter, CC '98. However, at some point between 1998 and 2000, CULPA suffered an untimely demise. The site would have disappeared completely, except for the fact that the [[Columbia University Marching Band]] inexplicably decided to keep a copy of CULPA backed up on their servers. In [[2000]], Ashran Jen, CC '00, and Ben Wheeler, SEAS '00, resurrected the site from its (figurative) ashes on the Columbia University Marching Band servers. Morris Doueck (CC '03) and Nat Lin (CC '04), took over from Ashran and Ben. Ben Falik (CC '04) and Pam Terry (BC '06) joined the team in 2002. When Nat and Ben graduated, Jonathan Wegener (CC '07) and Carly Baratt (CC '06) filled their shoes. And after Pam and Carly graduated, Michael Decker (CC '09) and Seth Berliner (CC '09) joined. Unfortunately, Michael and Seth have been extremely slow in posting new reviews. Since early in 2007, CULPA has more or less ground to a halt as a source of new information.

== Purpose ==
It allows students to anonymously post their own reviews of their professors. It is regarded as one of the most useful tools for students looking to enroll in a class, boasting over 10,000 reviews. Because of the candid nature of the submissions, the site has occasionally been accused of harboring biased reviews and misrepresenting professors. Still, it is the main source of professor review currently available to the Columbia student body.

== "Rivals" ==
Some students have been trying to get the administration to set up an official professor review site.

== External links ==
* [http://www.culpa.info/ CULPA website]

[[Category:Websites]]