The 2006-07 school year has contained multitudes. In fact, it may just be the most eventful year Columbia's had since... well, the year before. Remember Matthew Fox? The Chung-Diamond "scandal"? "Don't Be a Pussy"? "Epilogue to Our Crime & Punishment: A Petition"? Bwog certainly does, so step into the Wayback machine - you're about to relive nine months of Columbia in a single post.

August

First-years move in. Orientation yields a legendary (to Bwog's mind, at least) week-long burst of posting. Addison Anderson went to a bunch of bars in the name of "journalism." Most literary post: "And now for some disorientation," which reads like early Bret Easton Ellis, if he knew about Koronet's. Orientation week was the best.

September

Facebook went literally insane. Then calmed down somewhat. Harvard abandoned ED; Columbia did not. Columbia Football had as-yet uncrushed high hopes, later crushed. Seth Flaxman declared victory. Best villains: Zuckerberg! Murphy! Ahmadinejad! You know, one of those.

October

Everything was coming up roses for Mark Modesitt. 1968 spirit was invoked by Jim Gilchrist. The fallout was immense - shady disciplinary letters, "news" coverage of all sorts (Jon Stewart, Fox News). Even Bwog had an opinion. But October wasn't all about relevant television coverage of Columbia issues with high production values - we also had "The Gates"!
Best correspondence to Bwog: "Subject: terrorists. your worse then the mooselums who flew the planes into the buildings"

Outgoing Dean Zvi Galil sent out this bundle of love just a few hours ago. Bwog hopes you're gutsy enough to step up to his challenge:

Facebook f you

Bwog received several tips regarding the glorious Facebook Flyer displayed at right, which we are sure brought smiles to procrastinators throughout campus (and, perhaps, panic to a certain scarf thief). We wish the flyer's anonymous poster good luck bundling up, although (s)he probably needs to cool off a little anyway.

Come now, Chris

Okay, Dean Colombo, we'll take your enrolled student survey for the chance to win a $60 gift certificate to the bookstore (after all, we need some souvenirs to remember this place by beyond drunken photos and loan repayment reminders). But did it have to come from a generic template hosted on the MIT server? Bwog wonders what other schools might be soliciting this information from their students... (hint: one question mentions "secret societies" and "eating clubs")

Seth Strikes Again

For those too lazy to read all of CCSC President Seth Flaxman's latest, greatest email, a FastFlax (by way of highlights):

• On Glass House Rocks: "really, it's actually fun and people go"
• On Subliminal Advertising: "Books on Campus lets you buy and sell textbooks online. GLASS HOUSE ROCKS. You can log in using your Facebook account and buy or sell books..."
• On the Art of Peer Adivising: "help students make or not make the same mistakes you did"
• On Ulterior Motives "There is free food inside the attachment."
• On English Majors: "please keep all grammatical corrections to yourself"

The best parts, however, Bwog will leave for those with the patience to scroll...

-CJS

Few busy Columbia College students have the time to fully peruse their class presidents' frequent and information-packed emails. Bwog is here to help. We've compiled and graded the best of your class and college presidents' comments from their most recent appearances in our inbox, just in time for midterms. From the '10s to the '07s to Seth Flaxman, the grand-poobah of CCSC emails himself, here are selections from the bright young minds representing you:

Class of '10
President: Mark Modesitt

Features: Appointment of about 18,000 Coordinators, plus a Historian

Choice quotes:
"Just to forewarn you, a lot of the blurbs I was given to add to this e-mail were quite lengthy, so I went ahead and summarized them."

"Have you ever been locked out of your room in just a towel or underwear?"

Comments: Ah, the innocence of freshman year. Remember that social awkwardness that caused you to precede everything with caveats, or your surprise at seeing half-clad bodies wandering the halls? Mark, you take us back. A

Check out the rest after the jump...

CCSC President Seth Flaxman C'07 said when he got the "heads-up" on Monday from CU's financial aid Powers that Be about the new financial aid policy, he joked with Dean Colombo: "This is the quickest editorial turn-around ever!" (The editorial he co-wrote with Presidents emeritus demanding financial aid reform came out in Spec just this past Friday).

While Seth admits the new initiative came right from the top, he says FAiR's big push last year for financial aid reform made a difference. "I do believe [the administration] wanted to do the right thing," he says, "Students needed to push them on a faster time table, which is what happened last year."

So Open Columbia kept its biggest promise -- no matter how much Clinton-esque luck came in handy for them. Now what?

"After we make sure this is the policy that we want, I would totally go to bat with the administration to help fund it [by appealing to alumni]," Flaxman says.

Meanwhile, Harvard's endowment came out. It's nearly $30 billion. Up from $18 billion in 2003 when Open Columbia were entering first-years -- compare that to Columbia's estimated endowment, $6 billion, and $4.5 billion in 2003.

How do you feel about that financial aid reform now?

Bwog found an article on a college Democrats blog written by Seth Flaxman.

Big deal, you say? Well, we're not talking about that Seth Flaxman.

CC's perky president has a doppelgänger, Seth Flaxman, Harvard '08, involved in Harvard's college Dems. We made an inquiry into the matter. Seth's reply:

Yeah, we've known about each other for years, friends on the facebook, etc, he's destroying me in google hits on our name right now. And we even made sure we met when he came to visit once and almost worked together on a dems project last year.

Conversation went like this outside butler sophomore year:
"So, it's good to finally meet"
Silence.
We both take out digital cameras.
"Right, so, we both know why we're here"

Bwog found an article on a college Democrats blog written by Seth Flaxman.

Big deal, you say? Well, we're not talking about that Seth Flaxman.

CC's perky president has a doppelgänger, Seth Flaxman, Harvard '08, involved in Harvard's college Dems. We made an inquiry into the matter. Seth's reply:

Yeah, we've known about each other for years, friends on the facebook, etc, he's destroying me in google hits on our name right now. And we even made sure we met when he came to visit once and almost worked together on a dems project last year.

Conversation went like this outside butler sophomore year:
"So, it's good to finally meet"
Silence.
We both take out digital cameras.
"Right, so, we both know why we're here"

Just a few hours after learning that he had triumphed by 14 points over Nishant Dixit's Evolution party, Bwog tracked down CCSC President-elect Seth Flaxman at his Claremont suite, which reeked of celebration.

BW: So how has this campaign been for you?
SF: Campaigns are hell. It's the most competitive sport and only the competitive people do it.

How does it feel to be part of what is often seen as the lamest organization on campus?
I'm hoping that at the end of the year, people will think differently.

What about being an openly gay CCSC president?
Everything I say will be too corny for the Bwog. Me being gay had nothing to do with the campaign...it just wasn't news. That's what's remarkable. Even five years ago, it would have been different.

How will relations be with your erstwhile opponents?
It's up to them. I think it will be okay.

When are you going to start planning for next year?
I'm going to go to sleep first.

If your campaign had a theme song, what would it be?
Probably something by James Taylor, because that's the bullshit I listen to.