The University Senate recently passed a resolution designating Juneteenth as an official University Holiday. After two years observing the day, Juneteenth has now been added to the University holiday calendar for this year and moving forward. The University calendar is always changing and evolving, but some holidays have a longer history than others. […]
Tag: Columbia University
Now Available | Columbia Bicentennial Anniversary Records
In 1954, Columbia marked its first 200 years with a year-long celebration. There were conferences, convocations, a weekly radio show, a commemorative US postage stamp, and a very special reception dedicated to the long-term Morningside Heights neighborhood businesses. From Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, attending the Charter Day Dinner to John Courtsounis, the peanut vendor […]
Transatlantic’s Varian Fry
The Netflix limited series Transatlantic tells the story behind a rescue operation to help artists, intellectuals, writers and other blacklisted individuals escape from Nazi-occupied Europe. This fictionalized account, inspired by the historical novel The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer, focuses on the work by the real Emergency Rescue Committee and its agent in Marseilles (also […]
What’s Cooking at Columbia: A Recipe Book
In 1942, the Columbia University Committee for War Relief published a recipe book containing the favorite dishes of Columbia’s faculty, entitled What’s Cooking at Columbia. The book sold for one dollar at the campus bookstore and according to the student newspaper, The Daily Spectator, all proceeds from the book went “to help cook Hitler’s goose.” […]
Jack Kerouac: #DormLife in 1940
In the semi-autobiographical novel Vanity of Duluoz, Jack Kerouac talks about his days as a student and football player at Columbia in 1940. It was in his dorm room in Livingston Hall (now Wallach) that Kerouac had the quintessential collegiate moment. […]