Currently, a guitarist and a bald tenor are singing outside of the Lerner Piano Lounge, attracting onlookers from all around. Upon approaching the scene, the fragrant smell of free food grows and one finds uniformed Housing and Dining people sitting around trays of deliciousness. So far the troubadour has serenaded Fair Alma with "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Twice.

Happening right now, in the Lerner piano lounge, an explosion of light-blue frosted baked goods and free Columbia apparel. The event is designed to kick off a season of CC school spirit. "After everything that happened last semester, we want to remind people what they love about Columbia," explained Michelle Diamond, CCSC Preisdent.

She stood in front of a table overflowing with light blue t-shirts that appropriately advertise "i am light blue." It's meta-spirit! Because the shirt is light blue. CCSC officers frantically distributed the shirts to a line that wrapped up the Lerner ramps, nearly reaching Ferris Booth.

Newly be-shirted CCers snacked on cookies catered from Kitchenette. Next up on CCSC's flourishing cookie distribution agenda? "Frosting with Alexander Hamilton on it," said Diamond.

Until then, we wait.

Bwog made a detour to the ATM in 212, and on our way back inside Lerner the security guard manning the front desk inquired about the mob scene. "Oh what! You mean this is all about cookies? People are coming out of their dorms just to get cookies?! This is Columbia—you guys pay like 30 grand! Aren't you fed enough?"

- JNW

Another free food tip, courtesy of Student Council President Michelle Diamond:

"CCSC is kicking off our "I am light blue" campaign tonight at 10 pm in the Lerner piano lounge. We'll have delicious FREE light blue desserts from Kitchenette along with FREE t-shirts." Bwog is counting down the hours.

And speaking of gay Members of the Tribe, here's a tip that sounds like it may have been written by your Bubbe:

"Mountains of KOSHER Chinese food left over from Gayava's National Union of Jewish LGBTQ Students conference in Lerner lobby.

Bring your tupperware - eat well for days!"

A quiet, relatively reserved oasis in Lerner's weekend Dance Marathon and Egg and Peacock craziness rests on the 5th floor, adjacent to the Satow Room. The National Union of Jewish LGBTQ Students, or NUJLS.

Bwog caught up with Zach Scholl, 21, who traveled from LaGuardia College by way of D.C. to attend the group's annual meeting. It's was Scholl's first year at the conference, which has been in existence since the mid-90s and was held last year in St. Louis.

Since Friday, the group has been in Lerner in workshops—discussing everything from "religious texts to queer people in the Torah," according to Scholl—and eating Shabbat dinner (separate dinners for conservative, orthodox and reform Jews).

White poster-board hung outside the Satow Room with the sentence: "At NUJLS I discovered..." And though the conference (and learning!) isn't quite over, markers were provided for attendees to finish the phrase.

Answers included, "Sarcasm will only get you so far" and "It's cool to be a Judith Butler fanatic."

Have you been wondering why the Lerner Box Office has been boarded up for weeks? Chad Miller, Events and Outreach Manager of the Columbia Arts Initiative, has all the answers - CUArts has been working with the Office of the Provost, Columbia College, and Student Services to create an all-new Ticket and Information Center, which opens tomorrow.

According to Chad, the TIC will be selling "tickets to on-campus productions and events, discounted tickets to Broadway, Off-Broadway, first-run films and events at major cultural and arts institutions as well as information on how to connect to the arts here and around town." Tickets can be purchased with cash or credit card, and www.tic.columbia.edu promises that students will be able to use flex to pay for tickets soon. As an added bonus, anyone who buys or reserves a ticket with the TIC by March 7 gets a FREE subscription to Time Out New York. Exciting!

It had been a while since they met, so there was much to propose and resolve last night. Warning: the following post may contain graphic Lerner 6 discussion and adult off-campus flex dialogue. Reader discretion is advised.

Proposal Regarding Academic Advising Center

Problem: Lerner 6 was never finished and the Center for Student Advising has offices all over the place from Broadway to Lerner. Solution: Finish Lerner 6 and relocate Center for Student Advising in Lerner 6.

Resolution to implement payment through Columbia University Flex Accounts at Book Culture

Problem: Book Culture does not take Flex. Flex is convenient for students and sometimes part of their financial aid package. Solution: Columbia should give Book Culture money and technology to join the Flex system.

Resolution to formalize departmental advising and strengthen individual faculty and student advising

Problem: Departmental advising is important for careers. Students do not have adequate departmental advising. Solution: Each student should have a faculty advisor within their major.

-JJV

Full text of proposals and resolution after the jump.

From the throes of summer-class paper-writing, Dominique Jean-Louis reports "weird people" are kissing, dancing, and engaging in other merry-making activities on the roof of Lerner, all with thunder booming in the distance.

How romantic. Just watch out for those skylights.