Amidst older generations’ ritual grousing about the younger ones, despairing the lifestyle choices, learning habits, political commitments and foodways of the Millennial generation has reached a fever pitch. In defense of students today, historian and “recovering academic,” Jenny Bann shared findings from her research that shows students have never been academic angels. Have a look at Bann’s […]
Category: Columbia University Archives
A Ghost in Philosophy Hall
The Columbia University Archive’s spookiest (and only) documented ghost story begins on a dark and dusty evening in 1945, when Professor Jeffery related to Columbiana curator Milton Halsey Thomas a harrowing tale that he had heard nearly a decade earlier from John D. Prince, a professor of East European Languages. Thomas took notes on the […]
Lorenzo Da Ponte returns to Columbia
On October 15 and 17, the Cagliari Opera House will present the first modern rendering of the opera L’Ape Musicale (The Musical Bee) in the Rotunda of Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library, at 7:30pm. The performance is part of a symposium, Lorenzo Da Ponte and the Birth of Italian Opera in New York. Both events are free, […]
Old-school Columbia freshman fashion
“Never neglect to say ‘hello’ to a man who wears a Freshman cap, whether you know his name or not.” – Columbia Blue Book, 1917-18 Proudly worn as symbols of a freshman’s distinctive but lowly position on campus, these caps helped the new classmates forge a close allegiance amongst themselves and against their greatest detractors: the […]
Alice was here
Tomorrow, October 6th, is Mad Hatter Day! University Archivist Jocelyn Wilk shares a Columbia connection to the day, which celebrates the Hatter, a key character in Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. Did you know that Alice in Wonderland came to visit Columbia and was awarded an honorary degree? You may think us mad to suggest […]