Last night, Culture Editor Tony Gong went to CCSC's massive multicultural event "Passport to Columbia," and returned a little more appreciative of diverse foods, arts, and Columbia, the nation. His account of the night follows.

Some people (naysayers and cynics, mainly) don't think you need a passport to go to Columbia. "Columbia is a university, not a country," they may argue. Well, last night, the CCSC Campus Life Committee finally showed us that Columbia is actually a country with over twenty smaller countries inside of it. Correspondingly, we've got a pretty kickass flag (see picture to the right). And yes, you do need a passport to enroll, naysayers. More proof and pictures after the jump.

For those of you who shied away from the fireworks and the humidity, here's Bwogger Lydia DePillis' dispatch from Washington DC's 4th of July.

Washington DC on the fourth of July is the hothouse of American patriotism (in more ways than one). Having avoided it last year, this time around I thought I'd try immersing myself -- kind of like seeing how long you can hold your breath underwater.

I didn't actually end up doing the whole shebang. I only saw a section of the parade, and I skipped out on the Capitol Lawn extravaganza (complete with Taylor Hicks!). Perhaps that was why the whole thing never actually felt repellent: I hadn't stuck around long enough for it to really sink in.

The parade, however, had a different twist than I was expecting. Sure, it had the blaring brass bands, the self-declared country western stars, West Virginia dairy princesses (okay, there was only one of those). But a good chunk was actually composed of immigrant groups asserting their love of America.

We're patriotic folks here at Bwog. So much so that we thought we'd write about our experiences trying to commune with the motherland. Because there's not a red America and a blue America... it's a rainbow! Forthwith, our dispatches.

UPDATE, 12:04 PM EST: We woefully skipped the Midwest on our first go-round. Bwog reader Cyrus Moussavi wrote in to remedy the situation. His dispatch is appended.

Valencia, CA

After spending most of my days with a Hungarian girl, a woman from England, and a boy from Scotland feeding apes from Southeast Asia at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Valencia, CA, I found myself really looking forward to a truly American holiday. To reconnect with my American roots, I decided to than hang out with a golden retriever and some old people on a bridge to see just how good sparkly, colorful lights in the sky could look when designed by Americans.

The bridge is the central gathering point of my neighborhood for fireworks-watching. Every year, people from all around the Santa Clarita Valley gather here to have a decent view of not one, not even two, but THREE fireworks shows throughout the city. First, Stevenson Ranch set off their show. It was lame. Luckily, the action on the bridge centered around my golden retriever friend barking at a kid on a scooter and some closer, illegal fireworks before the next show started.

The second show began at the mall, my place of employment, where I really get to see the diversity of my middle class suburban Disney town at least four days a week. So this show would naturally most make me feel a connection to my community and, ultimately, America. Unfortunately, the majority of the mall's fireworks looked the same as the others, just a little closer.

Summer Columbians who are hungry, broke and puzzling over how best to commemorate the sacrifices of our men and women in unifor m are apparently welcome at the Beta house tomorrow.

CORRECTION, 11:33 PM EST: Former University Senatorial candidate Dan Free wrote in to let us know that "Um...thats NOT true. I'm hosting it and its for invitees only. CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY!" And, in a second e-mail: "Also, make sure to CORRECT the error on Bwog. Thanks." Duly noted.

And speaking of sacrifices...regular Columbians puzzling over how best to worship the dread lord Cthulhu can seek out the Science Fiction society as soon as school begins next fall. Bwog apologizes for being a month or so late on this, but we're nevertheless curious as to how the Coed* Naked** Blood*** Wrestling**** went down. Survivors are invited to share their eyewitness accounts of the event--provided they've gotten over the trauma.