Nike Techs vs Quarter-Zips By Julian Rodriguez Illustration by Justin Chen Hanging in every Columbia student’s closet is their class sweatshirt, gifted to them by the Student Council. In recent memory, these have always been simple crew necks. However, in a March CCSC meeting, the Class of ’29 representatives announced that they would wear a new garment: the quarter-zip. This decision was made because a survey of the then-freshmen class revealed that an overwhelming majority

Michael Onwutalu — Houston, TX Illustration by Ines Alto I had been listening to a lot of Kelsey Lu in anticipation of their newest album, So Help Me God. Specifically, I had been hooked on the singer’s debut album, Blood, the music capturing a pre-Covid naïveté that I’ve grown fond of. “Due West,” the album’s 2018 lead single, is so 2019, and what was I doing then? I was completing the transition to high school, binging Game of Thrones, tuning in weekly to Euphoria, and prac

It’s a great summer to be in the city of New York. Specifically, it is a great summer for sports. Lifelong fans and recent converts alike held their breath (bit their nails, clenched their rectums) as they watched the Knicks take the lead in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Championship, bringing the national title to NYC for the first time in over half a century. And while the blue-and-orange ticker tape was being swept from the streets, the city turned its attention

By Althea Downing-Sherer After Adrienne Rich I Chest burning Ascension from the riverbed The rain all at once Water makes curtains over the hips of scaffolding shielded by translucent sheets hinting at modesty The rain all at once the biblical comparison the voice saying that’s what I’ve been waiting for the sky to look like II They would test the tornado sirens mid-week until reality exceeded anticipation Tree limbs collapsed all at once Nature was more

Illustration by Vanessa Zhou April 27, 2026 Dear Snails of the Hudson Valley, I have two of your brethren living in a small pot in my small room, about 100 miles from their home. I would feel compelled to return them to your railroad siding, but they are enjoying a higher quality of life in my spider plant. Why, might you ask, did I kidnap your compatriots? It is a long, treacherous story of heartbreak, exhaustion, and human perseverance. Last fall, my dorm was bare; the drab

On taking yourself down the road. By Duda Kovarky Rotta Illustration by Iris Pope As it turns out, we need to take care of ourselves. We each have our ways to get by: journaling, a good-enough lover, a $28 salad, Korean skincare, confession, an IV-drip of self-pity, some lemon-ginger-hot-water-morning shot to wash down the Valium. Actually, no lemon in the water anymore—last week’s experts said it made you thin but now, turns out, it makes you shallow. Everybody needs a litt

A summer social where you can play yourself. By Selma White-Pascual Illustration by Ines Alto I had first seen the signs after I walked up the steps by Low Library. There, right by Maison Française, was a vertical banner with the letters MSM printed in blue, and below, a small QR code. I found the banner again, pinned up on the bulletin boards of Hamilton Hall. I was surprised at first—I thought public health outreach was getting very direct in its search for Men who have Sex

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