(Excerpt from her upcoming collection HOLLOWED BY HELP, releasing April 2027 with Write Bloody Publishing) Especially hospitals are a scam, according to daddy, ‘cause dying here is cheaper than asking for help, but his blood pressure might lower if i apply to med school. he doesn’t believe in daughters either. his faith is haiti’s, a constitution, no person is worthy of being a Haitian who is not a good father, a good son, a good husband, and especially a good soldie

By Duda Kovarsky Rotta and Nnema Épée-Bounya Illustration by Ines Alto Affirmative I am not ashamed to admit that I came into this World Cup not knowing much about the sport. I could maybe pick Messi and Ronaldo out of a lineup on the third try, but other than that, I was in completely unknown territory. Terms like ‘offsides,’ ‘handball’ (isn’t that a different sport?) and ‘high press’ were tirelessly explained to me by my worldly friends who generously let me accompany them

On imperial feminism, transnational solidarity, and inter-generational inheritance. By Elika Khosravani Illustration by Iris Pope I was sitting cross-legged on the Persian rug in my grandparents' guest bedroom in Toronto—a city affectionately nicknamed “Tehranto” for its large Iranian community—when I met with Manijeh Moradian over Zoom. The soft wool brushed against my bare ankles as I absentmindedly recalled childhood memories; tracing the rug’s woven hunters down the woodl

How to be naked among other people in the sauna. By Selma White-Pascual Illustration by Jacqueline Subkhanberdina Red curtains swing open, and I see a long wooden bench, lit by soft yellow lights. A dense fog smothers the stage and unfurls toward the audience. A breath: Ahhhhhhhh. Then, a recorded chorus of grunts, gasps, and groans begins. Two women enter from either side of the stage, wearing only towels and nude shorts. Their feet drag along the floor, their movements stic

Reflecting on Raising Cane’s first-year-anniversary in Morningside Heights. By Jack Bradner Illustration by Iris Pope Last September, Raising Cane’s stationed their fifth New York City location at 2850 Broadway, only a handful of blocks from the University. Like the roughly 1,000 other Raising Cane’s locations scattered across the globe, Columbia’s Cane’s is a place where disco balls always glitter, and your order’s called practically before you pay. Despite the restaurant’s

The Truth of the X-Files Fan Edit. By Magda Lena Griffel Illustration by Isabelle Oh Tessa LaFlamme was 14 when she made her first X-Files fan edit. If you beg her, she’ll show it to you. “It's violently bad,” she’ll preface. “I had a hip hop class where we learned a combination from the Backstreet Boys, and I thought, ‘this song’s great, how can I edit to it?’” The video is 30 seconds long, in 1:1 ratio, chaotic, and bouncy. There are way too many special effects, and the mu

Ethics in Columbia’s AI Minor By Isabelle Oh Illustration by Isabelle Oh Many of my classes have been transitioning away from essays, projects, and take-home tests, opting instead for the infamous blue-book final-exam format, handwritten notes in black pen, all in an effort to curb the use of artificial intelligence in class. But I see the technology used, regardless of our professors’ wishes, all over campus. In addition to the online shopping or spectacular fails at spee

Kevin O’Connor, Despair Fest, and the Columbia of years past By Neda Ravandi Illustration by Iris Pope In the darkest recesses of the Columbia University Digital Archives, beyond famed fine art collections and architectural vignettes illustrating a newly constructed Butler Library, there lies something even more Columbian: “Kevin M. O’Connor Student Life Collection, 1988-2022 [Bulk 1988-1992].” The lengthy name does little to inform what fills up pages and pages of “fliers, p

Lessons in Repair from the Comechingones Mountains. By Sepp Zammuto Illustration by Nini Vilac Every time the hostel’s wheelbarrow gets used, it looks worse. It must be a century old. The bed’s surface is a crusty desert interspersed with tiny oases of blue paint that once, in its glory days, covered everything in a shiny ocean. The rear frame is so warped that the left handle rests an arm’s length below the right. The flat tire, along with the corrosion of the axle bracket,

On Tony Foster and the beauty of crooked lines By Lilah Chen Illustration by Lilah Chen I discovered The Foster Museum in seventh grade. Tucked in an alleyway on the outskirts of Palo Alto, the tiny museum exclusively displays watercolor paintings by British plein air artist Tony Foster. My favorite way to envision Foster is in full scuba-diving garb; face-to-face with a thriving coral reef, sketching the underwater ecosystem with his special colored pencils on waterproof pap

Barnard College introduces the first undergraduate American Sign Language class at Columbia. By Willow Bradford Illustration by Ines Alto Class began the moment my professor’s hands raised. She greeted us with a touch of her palm to her chin and then a pat of her hand to the air, her other hand folded beneath—good afternoon in American Sign Language. Ten pairs of hands rose unevenly to mimic her, palms finding chins at slightly the wrong angle. She picked up the pad of paper

Media we think you would enjoy — but likely not as much as The Blue and White Magazine Natalie Buttner, Editor-in-Chief: Milo J, La Vida Era Más Corta. Paul Simon, Graceland. Joan Silber, “Evolution.” Tomato and Tuna Salad. Duda Kovarsky Rotta, Managing Editor: Eliza Griswold, “Tigers.” Ney Matogrosso, “Homem com H.” Johnny Cash, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Janna Levin, “Whales Don't Want to Go to Mars.” Nnema Épée-Bounya, Deputy Editor: Abraham Verghese, The Covenant of

BOARD NATALIE BUTTNER, BC ’27, Editor-in-Chief DUDA KOVARSKY ROTTA, CC ’28, Managing Editor NNEMA ÉPÉE-BOUNYA, BC ’28, Deputy Editor LUCY SPENCER MASON, CC ’27, Publisher INES ALTO, CC ’28, Illustrations Editor IRIS POPE, CC ’28, Illustrations Editor JEREMIAH BARRON, CC ’28, Layout Editor AUDREY WANG, CC ’29, Web Editor ELIKA KHOSRAVANI, BC ’27, Literary Editor LUCIA DEC-PRAT, CC ’27, Crossword Editor HANNAH LUI, CC ’28, Crossword Editor Senior Editors JACK BRADNER, CC