The weekly ESC meeting never fails to provide all sorts of drama. Bwog's Drama Junkie Sean Zimmermann was on hand last night to lap it up.

Good Samaritan policies, smoking rules, wifi in class rooms, and dining services changes were among the major topics discussed at this evening’s ESC meeting, the last of which triggering one of the more heated discussions in ESC this year.

Administrators are discussing a new idea to make the entire campus within the gates completely smoke-free, with six designated smoking areas around the campus perimeter. As of now, smoking is prohibited in all buildings and within 50 feet of the entrances, though the policy is generally not enforced unless someone complains.

Image via gather.com

No longer do you have to walk all the way to MoWi for your microwavable lasagna. Cafe 212 will buy it, microwave it, and serve it to you, all for the low, low price of $6.95.

Mathematical wizards behind the scenes note that this is 43% more expensive than a grocery store if you consider raw ingredients alone, but around 90% cheaper if you include the cost of buying a microwave.

If that's too expensive for your recession-drained budget, consider the following free food options. CQA and Club Zamana are hosting a live Oscar viewing party in Roone tonight at 8:00 PM and there will be snacks abound.

If, after an hour of watching what seems like an endless loop of applause and bad music, you tire, consider Community Impact's "Blue Bash Study Break" in Carman tonight at 9:00 PM. Its "blue snacks" are for freshmen only, but you're clever enough to sneak in. Show your CI spirit and win stuff. We presume wearing your favorite CSI tshirt and covering up the "S" will suffice.

For freshmen who may be well on their way to the freshman 15, Bwog Culinary Charter Jon Hill has created helpful charts on why to avoid Cafe 212.

You're welcome.

With the new year comes new dining policies, and none may be more threatening to freshman waistlines than the institution of "Order-by-Phone" pickup system at JJ's. According to Dining Services, "you can order any food item from the menu in advance by calling 212-851-5801 and can pick it up approximately 15 minutes after the phone call."

The service (which is also available for the Kosher Deli during the day) is available Sunday - Thursday from 6 pm to 1 am. JJ's also now offers a catering service for student group events, ensuring that a steady supply of chicken fingers will make its way into our free food announcements.

But while the actual JJ's menu will remain unchanged, several other campus eateries have introduced new options for the semester, including new salads at Ferris, and Bento Boxes from Mill Korean at Uris. See the full list of new ways to spend your Dining Dollars after the jump.

It's a phenomenon almost as annoying as having to re-enter your SSOL password when you leave it alone for more than 3 minutes: rising prices at campus eateries.

So far, Bwog tipsters and staff have seen price hikes at many campus eateries. Offenders include Ferris Booth, which, in addition to replacing the popular stir fry station with a taco bar, has raised prices at several of their other stations.

At $7, Ferris and 212 sushi, for example, will now set you back more than many supermarkets in the area (M2M sells it for about $4). Cafe 212 has also raised its prices on sandwiches, and they've also stopped selling sunflower seeds, which Bwog considers a travesty.

Finally, Butler's Blue Java has, as our tipster put it, "coffee now priced at Starbucks levels, pastries even higher." If you've heard of other places, on-campus or off-campus, raising (or lowering!) their prices, let us know at bwgossip@columbia.edu or in the comments.

For careful listeners, the best soundtrack on campus is the rotation of Vampire Weekend, Radiohead and other indie darlings at Cafe 212. Bwog cultural correspondent Merrell Hambleton sits down with the man behind the mix.

I find Café 212 manager Robert Bell working to hang up two small bulletin boards. "I'm actually doing something with the music," he says. "The music" he's referring to is precisely the reason for our meeting—Bell, tall with longish brown hair, dark framed glasses, and a neatly trimmed chinstrap, has earned a reputation in his year at Columbia for playing some non-traditional Muzak. In fact, its not Muzak at all, it's actually, well, good. If you're haunted by memories of 212's old soundtrack, you'll likely be pleased to hear the likes of Radiohead, Cat Power or the of-late-ubiquitous Vampire Weekend while you wait in the sandwich line.

In light of yesterday's startling revelation about the $1.59 price tag on a Hershey's bar, Bwog decided to do a little comparative shopping.

The same Hershey bar can be purchased for just 75 cents at the kiosk on 116th and Broadway. In fact, while candy prices at 212 skyrocket upwards of $2 for Reese's candy hearts, prices are stable at the kiosk, where all candy is just 75 cents. Gum also retails for $1.25 at the kiosk and $1.49 at 212.

On the ethnic food front, a California Roll at 212 is $5.99 and a Spicy Shrimp Roll will set you back an unbelievable $6.79. The same rolls at m2m go for $3.50 and $4.50, respectively. 212's bubble teas are also roughly the same prices as Swish's.

Orange juice proves the most egregiously over-priced 212 item. A 15 fl. oz. bottle of OJ is $2.25, while at Morton Williams it's just $1.59. In fact, a 64 fl. oz. bottle of Tropicana OJ at MoWi is only $3.99—that's 6.2 cents an ounce. At 212 you're paying 15 cents/an ounce.

UPDATE 1:39 PM: Brownies, (the Avery basement cafe), has reportedly raised most of their sandwich prices by a dollar, a tipster reports.

This sign was spotted atop the muffin display case in Cafe 212.

Coming soon: a crumpled piece of notebook paper tacked up next to the sandwich menu, reading, "Do u like me? Check box yes or no. Luv, Turkey."

Bwog heard through the grapevine that some of the employees at 212 have asked familiar faces for a most unusual favor: to write Dining Services an e-mail requesting that the Chef's-Hat-Required policy be nixed.

We think this a worthy cause, and if you do too, shoot the Dining mandarins an e-mail at eats@columbia.edu. It'll take just a second and will do wonders for your karma.