20Web

Bollinger: Kluge took wide view in his University philanthropy

NEWS BRIEF

BY LEAH GREENBAUMSpectator Senior Staff Writer

A gaping vacancy at the end of 115th Street, just before Morningside Drive, plays out one of the Upper West Side’s most commonly told stories.

This past summer, Columbia demolished a set of brownstones that were deemed by some to be historic and by others decrepit. This move came despite protests from a group of passionate pres-ervationists and local politicians.

The University has plans to pave the lot, currently strewn with red brick rubble, and cre-ate a parking lot for Columbia vehicles.

Barbara Hohol, a resident of Morningside Heights for more than 50 years, said it’s painful to see her old neighborhood go, but wonders what sense there is in holding on to it.

“If they tried to tear my build-ing down, I’d fight like hell to save it, but I know it’s not worth sav-ing. I live there, so I know how poorly it was built,” she said.

Harry Schwartz, a longtime resident who headed up the co-alition to save the brownstones,

said he disagrees. He claims that reports from the New York State Historic Preservation Office, Landmarks West, and Columbia’s own graduate Historic Preservation Program show that the buildings, erected in 1898, were in fact historic and worthy of preservation.

The three brownstones that Columbia purchased in 2002 formerly sat at 408, 410, and 412 115th St., and, for the last year, had been shrouded in scaffolding and black tarp.

Nancy Kricorian, who lives in an apartment on Morningside Drive overlooking the site, said she was disappointed that the buildings were demolished abruptly, amid protests from residents and local politicians, such as Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell.

“I think they did it because they were afraid of people orga-nizing to protest it, so they just went ahead and got rid of them [the brownstones],” she said.

According to a sign posted on the fence surrounding the site, the buildings were demolished

Vol. CXXXIV—No. 74 Friday, September 10, 2010 columbiaspectator.com

BY ALIX PIANINSpectator Senior Staff Writer

School of the Arts student Tara Riesner died Wednesday.

Riesner, was a third-year student in the writing divi-sion of the Arts MFA pro-gram. She graduated from Biola University in south-ern California and had been studying short fiction writing at Columbia. Professors in the department described her as sweet, quiet, kind, and a tal-ented up-and-coming short story writer.

Riesner took her own life. SoA alerted its students and fac-ulty of her passing Wednesday afternoon via email.

Riesner’s family is currently in town and has been meeting with faculty and administra-tors, including School of the Arts Dean Carol Becker.

“It is a great loss for our community,” Becker said. “Tara was a very talented young writ-er. It’s always a blow to the community when you lose a young person like that.”

SoA administrators held meetings Wednesday eve-ning for any students or fac-ulty members who needed group support. Becker said Columbia’s Counseling and Psychological Services office had been accommodating, in particular by extending their hours to provide more time for Riesner’s colleagues. Faculty members within the writing

department opened their doors Wednesday for students seek-ing support, according to Becker.

“We’ve been trying to cre-ate situations where people can talk if they’d like,” Becker said.

Binnie Kirshenbaum, pro-fessor of professional prac-tice and chair of the creative writing program at SoA, said Riesner was a beautiful writer and a promising member of the

program. “Tara was extremely tal-

ented, really an artist. She had a wonderful sensibility,” Kirshenbaum said. “She just had this lovely aesthetic about her.”

“It was not the least bit com-mercial,” Kirshenbaum added.

While Becker anticipates that there will be an on-cam-pus event to remember Riesner, the school hasn’t decided what form it will take and is still in discussions with the family.

[email protected]

BY KIM KIRSCHENBAUMSpectator Senior Staff Writer

In a bustling congressional of-fice in the heart of Harlem in 2002, one of Charles Rangel’s campaign directors was as-signed an ardu-ous task: to teach the then-72-year-old congressman how to use a laptop.

And so began a weekly ritual for Rangel and his young cam-paign director on Friday afternoons, with the latter ex-plaining the ins and outs of a new Dell laptop, and the former strug-gling to catch on to this Internet

phenomenon that younger genera-tions had already mastered.

“It was always a pleasant expe-rience, because it was just me and him and it wasn’t this bravado of a Congress person,” his now-former campaign director Vince Morgan told Spectator while sipping iced tea at Harlem’s Chez Lucien res-taurant. “But we’re going into a new time now. Things are mov-ing faster than ever, and it’s not as simple as just saying, ‘I’m gonna sit down and teach you the Internet.’ We need someone who’s going to be able to grasp these new things.”

And that’s why Morgan, a com-munity banking officer for TD Bank, is now fighting to unseat Rangel. He was the first to an-nounce back in October 2009 that he would run for the seat, only to be told by those close to him that

trying to take down one of the most senior and influential members of Congress was downright quixotic.

“People were just shocked that I could announce that I was run-ning against him,” Morgan said. “They said, ‘Don’t do that, you’re gonna get struck by lightning, Rangel’s the lion of the House.”

Indeed, times have changed as Rangel entered what has been widely declared the twilight of his career. He faces a growing ethics controversy and a public trial slat-ed to begin Sept. 13—the day before the New York Democratic primary on Tuesday. And as leaders within Rangel’s own party call for him to step down, Morgan says it’s his turn to assume the 15th congres-sional district seat.

Half Rangel’s age and often told he’s a dead ringer for President

Barack Obama, Morgan embodies the new guard of Harlem politics: young, invigorated, and anxious to tackle the slew of problems in Harlem that he said Rangel has failed to address in recent years. He took great pains during the in-terview to separate himself from Rangel, erring on the side of para-noia at times—especially when the song “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” started playing at the res-taurant, which just so happens to be Rangel’s campaign theme song.

“Did you plan that on purpose?” he quipped, yet still seemed to ask with an underlying seriousness.

But there are at least a couple of similarities between the two men: They both grew up poor, and both were high school dropouts.

School of the Arts grad student dies

leah greenbaum for spectator

DEMOLISHED | A tractor demolishes a nearby brownstone. The University plans to create a parking lot there for CU vehicles.

alex golec for spectator

THE FINANCIER | Vince Morgan speaks at a candidates forum at Mt. Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church in Harlem. While Morgan used to be Rep. Charles Rangel’s campaign manager, he is now a community banking officer running against the congressman.

SEE MORGAN, page 2

Columbia Queer Alliance throws its first First Friday dance of the semester.

Sept. 10, Lerner Party Space, 10:30 p.m.

Carrots, not sticks, for Darfur

To end the conflict in Darfur, Rhonda Shafei supports represen-tation and relaxed sanctions over separatism.

With two solid wins under its belt, Columbia hosts local rivals Fordham and Stony Brook this weekend with hopes to continue an early-season winning streak.

Women’s soccer aims for fourth straight win

Bring your own dish and mooch off oth-ers at the Potluck House.

Sept. 10, 606 West 114th St., 7:30 p.m.

WEATHEROPINION, PAGE 4 SPORTS, PAGE 3 EVENTS

Today

74 °/ 57 °

Tomorrow

79 °/ 63 °

For Morgan, journey from Rangel’s assistant to competitor

Demolitions draw ire from some, shrugs from others

First Friday

Potluck Dinner

Tara Riesner remembered for kindness, writing talent

“Tara was extremely talented, really an artist.”

—Binnie Kirshenbaum, creative writing chair

According to University President Lee Bollinger, John Kluge, CC ’37, was an unusual donor: a philan-thropist who was eager to give back to the University as a whole, rather than picking and choosing fa-vorite schools or niches.

Kluge, one of the University’s most gen-erous benefactors and a close personal friend of Bollinger’s, died Wednesday at the age of 95. In 2007, the billion-aire businessman pledged $400 million to Columbia, the largest amount ever donated exclusively to stu-dent aid. Among the pro-grams he enabled were the Kluge Scholars Program, the Kluge Presidential S c h o l a r s p r o g r a m , and the Kluge Faculty Endowment.

Kluge, Bollinger said, felt an “enormously loy-alty” to Columbia.

“I think this was some-one who felt that the edu-cation he received, the ex-perience he received, had shaped his life,” he said.

Kluge was also com-petitive and determined to keep Columbia in the best possible shape and at the top of its field.

“He was loyal to the whole University,” Bollinger said. “That was

one of the things that marked his philanthropy. ... I think that it is unusual, something we’re trying to encourage more of.”

Bollinger and Kluge agreed to allocate Kluge’s part of the 2007 pledge—$200 million—for financial aid across various schools within the University, both graduate and undergraduate. The next installment of his donation will come out of his estate.

On a personal level, Bollinger said he typi-cally saw Kluge every few months, and the two would spend several days together.

“Over the years, we have built up quite a friendship,” he said. “I re-garded him as a very, very close friend. He loved Columbia, but he was very loyal to people and very idealistic.”

Kluge’s belief in what could be accomplished at the University was partic-ularly striking, Bollinger said, considering Kluge’s success as a businessman in “very practical affairs.”

“He was complete-ly decent through and through,” Bollinger said. “I admired him tremen-dously and miss him.”

—Alix PianinSEE DEMOLITIONS, page 2

Check out our redesigned Weekend section, inside.

chasing charlie

This is the third piece in Spectator’s series on the crowded primary race for Charles Rangel’s con-gressional seat.

PAGE 2 NEWS / SPORTS SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

Following a 1-2 performance at the St. John’s Tournament to begin the year, the Light Blue will host the Columbia Classic from Sept. 10 to Sept. 11 in Levien Gymnasium. Columbia will welcome Lafayette, Central Connecticut, and Iona for the weekend event.

Columbia has played all three teams in recent years, defeating Central Connecticut 3-0 and Iona 3-1 in 2009, and narrowly triumphing over Lafayette 3-2 in 2008.

Although the Lions won only one match last weekend, the St. John’s Tournament can still be described as promising. Columbia has showcased strong play despite recent losses as most of their sets were lost by nar-row margins. In the St. John’s match, Columbia lost 3-0, but lost the sets 25-21, 28-26, and 25-19.

The freshmen also made

their mark in the tournament. In Columbia’s 3-0 win over St. Francis, freshmen Madeline Rumer and Christina Campbell combined for 23 kills on 43 attempts with just two errors. In addition, setter Colleen Brennan has already notched her first double-double, recording 18 assists and 10 digs in the St. John’s match. Having the presence of a second set-ter in Brennan significantly reduces the burden on sophomore Kelsey Musselman, who was the Lions’ sole setter last season.

Columbia plays Lafayette at 7 p.m. on Friday, Central Connecticut at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and Iona at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

—Michael Zhong

Light Blue to host Columbia Classic

The men’s and women’s cross country teams will get a fresh start to the season in Burlington, Vt. with 33 new runners total recently brought into the program—16 to the men’s squad and 17 to the women’s.

The Light Blue men are coming off a victorious season as the 2009 Ivy League Team Champions in cross country. The squad also boasts achievements in the Indoor and Outdoor Heps, which included the six

individual and relay championships ti-tles. The squad welcomes particularly strong distance and middle distance runners to the program, which will help continue the team’s great success.

On the women’s side, there will also be plenty of high expectations as the young Columbia team came in third

in the league just last season. The pro-gram will showcase its solid distance runners as four Lions newcomers run the 3200m under 11 minutes, and two runners clock in just seconds over 11 minutes.

The Lions will race against Vermont and Lipscomb University this weekend on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt.

—Lauren Seaman

Columbia to race at UVM with 33 newcomers welcomed to program

The Light Blue will be look-ing to build on its 2-0 start to the season when it travels to West Chester, Pa. this weekend for the Vonnie Gros Classic. Columbia will face West Chester on Friday before taking on Villanova on Saturday.

West Chester (3-0), like the Lions, has yet to drop a game this season, defeating Fairfield, Sacred Heart, and Lehigh in its opening games of the season. The Golden Rams will unleash a herd of newcomers, including Molly Herlihy, who made her first ca-reer goal just three minutes into West Chester’s game against Lehigh.

Columbia has some strong

returning players of its own, in-cluding all three of Columbia’s All-Ivy League honorees—Julia Garrison, Leti Freaney, and Katie DeSandis. The Lions also welcome four new players to the squad, who will be led by Columbia tri-captains Garrison, Lauren Byrne, and Caitlin Mullins. But the freshmen aren’t the only fresh faces on the team as the program also welcomes a

new coaching staff of Marybeth Freeman—the program’s fourth head coach and former associ-ate head coach at Maryland—as well as Katie Grant and Samantha Carr, who will be joining Freeman on the coaching sidelines during the new season.

Villanova (0-2) is winless so far this season, falling to Monmouth 2-1 and Maryland 5-0. The Wildcats’ lone goal of the season came off the stick of junior back Jordan Lynn.

The Lions are scheduled to play at West Chester on Friday, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. They will then take on Villanova at West Chester on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

—Lauren Seaman

At Vonnie Gros Classic, field hockey looks to build on 2-0 start COLUMBIA CLASSIC

Levien Gymnasium, Sept. 10-11

COLUMBIA VS. VERMONT

Burlington, Vt., Sunday, 11 a.m.

COLUMBIA AT VONNIE GROS CLASSIC

West Chester, Pa., Friday, 6:30 p.m.

To get back into the swing of things after a long summer, the wom-en’s tennis team will participate in the William and Mary Invitational this weekend. Competing in the tournament will be Columbia’s top four returning players: senior Natasha Makarova and sophomores Nicole Bartnik, Chelsea Davis, and Katarina Kovacevic.

“This invitational should be an exciting one,” head coach Ilene Weintraub said. “It’s a three-day

tournament that should be very good experience for the girls who are playing. It gives them a chance to see some really tough programs early in the season, like Maryland and Virginia.”

“Playing the tougher teams we’ll see this weekend is a good way to start the year,” Weintraub said.

The girls attending will face some of the same competition as last sea-son, including Maryland, which blanked Columbia 7-0 last spring, as well as Ancient Eight rivals Harvard and Penn. After defeating Penn last season in the Ivy Championships, the Lions are expected to have a solid shot at victory again during the Invitational.

The competition is scheduled for Sept. 10-12 in Williamsburg, Va.

—Lauren Seaman

Top four women’s tennis players travel to VA for William and Mary Invitational

COLUMBIA AT WILLIAM AND MARY

Williamsburg, Va., Sept. 10-12, all day

WOMEN’S TENNIS

VOLLEYBALL

This weekend marks the return to the links for Columbia’s men’s and women’s golf teams. Fresh off a team trip to the home of golf in Scotland, the Columbia men’s golf team will begin the fall season at the Rutgers Invitational tournament this weekend. The team is led by senior and three-time all-Ivy first-team selection Clark Granum, who missed out on the individual title last season, falling to Penn’s Scotty Williams in a playoff.

Staying on top is never easy, but coach Rich Mueller explains that the team’s recent success stems from an attitude that “focuses not on winning tournaments, but think-ing about making good swings.” Mueller adds that this helps the team “do all the little things that allow success by focusing on the process, rather than the result.” Expectations are high for this tal-ented squad, and they look to start strong this weekend at Rutgers.

Meanwhile, the women’s team will head to Ann Arbor, Mich., to open its season in the 18-team Wolverine Invitational. Coach Kari Williams called the event “a

great opportunity for the team to send a message to the rest of the Ivy League with a strong finish,” as the Wolverine Invitational typically at-tracts some of the strongest teams in the country. This will prove to be a difficult test, however, as every team in the field is ranked higher than the Light Blue.

Although this team is young, coach Williams believes that it “is much improved, has brought in a great recruiting class, and expects to be highly competitive in the Ivy League.” Columbia returns juniors Lynda Kwon, an all-Ivy selection in 2009 and a player of the year candi-date, and the consistent Robin Lee. A lot is expected of the pair of fresh-men joining the lineup, Michelle Piyapattra, the No. 24 recruit in the country, and Jane Dong.

—Kamal Yechoor

Lions begin fall season at Rutgers Invitational

COLUMBIA AT RUTGERS

Piscataway, N.J., Sept. 10-11, 8 a.m.

GOLF

CROSS COUNTRY

FIELD HOCKEY

COLUMBIA AT WOLVERINE INVITATIONAL

Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept. 11-12, 8 a.m.

COLUMBIA AT VONNIE GROS CLASSIC

West Chester, Pa., Sunday, 2 p.m.

over the summer because of safety concerns.

“After a thorough examina-tion of properties at 408, 410 and 412 W. 115th Street acquired by the University in 2002, it was determined that due to the de-teriorated conditions of the buildings, the University would need to have the buildings de-molished,” according to a state-ment from Facilities spokesper-son Daniel Held.

The quiet block is mainly oc-cupied by seniors and law school students, many of whom do not share their neighbors’ commit-ment to the buildings.

“They were sort of an eye-sore,” said a third-year at Columbia Law School, who re-quested anonymity to avoid the ire of his neighbors.

“They weren’t really contrib-uting to housing for people on campus or for people anywhere else. I think we’re sort of happy to see them go if it one day means better housing and development for the area,” he said.

The student added that af-ter a bulletin was posted in his building—of mostly graduate students—urging residents to protest the demolition, five or six people scribbled phrases such as “Who cares?” on the sign. One friend even typed and posted his own satirical response.

Held said that the University does not currently have a long-term development plan for the site and Facilities has not yet set a start date for construction of the parking lot.

Even though the brown-stones are gone, Kricorian said

she and other neighbors would like a say in what will one day replace them.

“We think it’d be inappropri-ate in the long-term to have an enormous parking lot on this block that would increase the traffic and be a detriment to the residential parts of this block,” she said, adding that the block is already over-trafficked because of the loading dock used by St. Luke’s Hospital.

Hohol said she supports the University’s growth but would like to see more retail spaces for local businesses in the area.

“I hate to see the old neigh-borhood go, but on the other hand there are just some things that aren’t worth the time and ef-fort to save,” Hohol said.

[email protected]

No new Barnard dean yet, but search to conclude this semester

NEWS BRIEF

The search for Barnard’s new dean is in full swing, according to administrators, though no names have publicly emerged as frontrunners.

Dean Dorothy Denburg an-nounced over the summer that, at Barnard President Debora Spar’s request, she would step down as dean and assume in-stead the position of vice presi-dent for college relations. In an email to the student body, she referred to the move as “simply changing hats.”

Since then, a steering com-mittee has been assembled to select a new dean. Its members met regularly over the sum-mer. According to Barnard spokesperson Sun Min, the committee has since narrowed the number of candidates be-ing considered.

The steering committee is composed of faculty, stu-dents, and alumnae. Student Government Association President Lara Avsar, BC ’11, and Jorie Dugan, BC ’11, both sit on the panel, as do professor Flora Davidson, chemistry professor Dina Merrer, Diana Center donor

Diana Vagelos, BC ’55, Alumnae Affairs Director Erin Fredrick, BC ’01, and provost Elizabeth Boylan. Chief Operating Officer Gregory Brown serves as com-mittee chair.

The student members, Brown said, are crucial to the commit-tee. “A strong connection is nec-essary between the dean and our student body,” he wrote in an email.

Barnard has also hired an outside agency to help with the search.

“Building on Dean Denburg’s legacy, the new dean must re-late well to students,” Brown wrote. “We are looking for a leader who will serve as an ad-vocate for students and student life. The new dean will also be a competent and experienced manager as well as an excellent communicator.”

He added, “Another key char-acteristic is someone who has a respect for tradition and a will-ingness to innovate.”

The committee plans to wrap up the search process sometime this semester.

—Alix Pianin

“Shortly after I dropped out, I went to a friend’s house one day and her mother looked through the window and said, ‘You’re no lon-ger welcomed here—my daughter doesn’t hang out with high school dropouts,’” Morgan said. “That was a wake-up call for me.”

But that woman soon became an ally. With her help and the aid of some close friends, Morgan enrolled in a two-year college in Chicago and later matricu-lated into the four-year Howard University —one of his congres-sional opponents, Joyce Johnson, attended school there as well.

After college, he worked for a telecommunications company but lost his job when the dot-com bubble burst—a loss that would lead to one of his greatest career gains. Morgan was interested in economic development, so he became an in-tern for Rangel, who had authored legislation for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, an economic development organization.

He quickly rose through the ranks at Rangel’s office, landing a full-time job as special assis-tant of constituent services with-in six months. Before becoming

campaign director, he worked with constituents to address the griev-ances they brought to Rangel’s door—literally.

“I opened that door at 9 a.m. and was responding to whatever was on the other side of that door—hundreds coming in unexpected, unannounced,” Morgan said. “A senior citizen would come in who didn’t get her Social Security check because it was stolen from her mailbox, and that check was often the difference between them eating or getting their medication.”

He said it’s his experiences from that post, along with his cur-rent job as a community banker, that allows him to identify the most pressing issues facing the neigh-borhood—and will enable him to, he hopes, fix them. At the top of his agenda is addressing affordable housing, or the lack thereof—an is-sue that has become a lightning rod for controversy as gentrification makes its way through Harlem.

“I work on a lot of deals with developers that come to us, and they try to build affordable hous-ing, and those deals are much more complex than the cookie-cutter deals for market-rate housing,” Morgan said. “So I know how to get affordable housing done, what

the parameters are, what the fund-ing sources are, how these deals are constructed.”

And to some local residents, the idea of having a financier in office is an attractive one.

“I like Vince,” supporter Shawna Werner said at an NY-15 candidates forum on Wednesday night. “I think he’s a straight-up guy, and I like the stuff he’s done with finance. I think he can help us with any money problems we have.”

But the issue Morgan is most passionate about—and the first topic he launches into—is edu-cation, thanks in large part to his own education difficulties, which he says make him all the more de-termined to help struggling ado-lescents like he once was. Many schools in Harlem need serious restructuring, he said. They remain bogged down by lack of funding, low teacher retention and limited classroom resources, leading to a high drop-out rate in Harlem high schools: nearly 100,000 Harlem residents over the age of 25 do not have a high school diploma.

“We need to go take stock of ev-ery school here,” he said. “A start would be to create some sort of financial incentive for teachers.”

But financial incentives and in-creased school funding in general are hardly novel ideas for a politician to put forth, and to receive money for such proposals often requires nego-tiations between experienced, senior politicians—something Morgan is not. To step into the House as a freshman congressman and con-vince a cash-strapped Congress—already sparring over spending and earmarks—to allocate more money to his district would be a challenge. And this would be compounded by the fact that local residents were once used to federal monies flow-ing into their district from the senior representative Rangel.

Morgan is not concerned, though, and even suggested that he would try to have his former boss show him the ropes if he were elected.

“Remember that whoever goes into Congress goes in at the bottom of the seniority level, and you’re at the bottom of the rung and you’ll be at the bottom for a while,” he said. “But this office is as much about personal experience as it is about the aptitude and capacity to lead and be the physical embodiment of what this district represents.”

[email protected]

christina phan for spectatorPARKING | What used to be a brownstone is now a lot by 115th St. and Morningside Drive.

Brownstones to become parking lot

Morgan embodies young guard in Harlem politics

DEMOLITION from front page

MORGAN from front page

BY MRINAL MOHANKAColumbia Daily Spectator

In a bid to lift the Mayor’s Cup XXXV, Columbia will face instate ri-vals Hartwick and Syracuse this week-end. The Lions will attempt to avenge last weekend’s pair of defeats to Sacred Heart (2-1) and Boston University (2-0), despite the absence of Light Blue freshman defender David Westlake, who fractured his tibia and fibula in a clash with Lions goalkeeper Alexander Aurrichio.

On a positive note, the Light Blue cre-ated a whole host of chances, and will be looking to convert its chances into goals this weekend.

“The score-line was not in our favor, but it was a solid performance in both games,” head coach Kevin Anderson said. “We out shot our opponents and created plenty of chances. We limited the number of chances they created, which was good as well. But there is plenty of growth still to come from this team.”

Freshmen Henning Sauerbier and David Najem have started their Columbia careers brightly, and will be hoping to improve as they play with the more experienced members of the squad moving forward.

“They’ve come in when needed and

done what’s been asked of them, which is what I expect from everyone on this team,” Anderson said. “They’re both good players, and are going to improve over the course of the season.”

Upperclassmen Francois Anderson, Nick Scott, Nick Ayers, and Bayo Adafin have looked menacing going forward, and will be looking to provide the clini-cal touch that the Lions have lacked. The backline last weekend looked solid for the most part, with senior Hayden Johns, juniors Jesse Vella and Ronnie Shaban, and sophomore Brendan O’Hearn protecting Aurrichio. Junior co-captain Mike Mazzullo pulled the strings in midfield and will be looking to build on a strong showing. The game against Sacred Heart was the first time these four composed the defense in a competitive situation, and their under-standing of each other’s positioning is certainly going to improve as the sea-son progresses.

“Better execution of our game plan is going to be vital. And we’re going to take it one game at a time starting with Hartwick,” Anderson said.

The older generation of Columbia

fans will have fond memories of the Columbia-Hartwick clash where the Lions downed the Hawks 2-1 in 1983 and beat them in the national Round of 16, when Columbia was ranked No. 4 in the nation. The teams last met in 2005 when the Hawks emerged victo-rious by a 2-0 score line. Hartwick’s campaign has opened with back-to-back defeats as it was beaten 5-1 by Iona College before going down 3-2 to Cornell thanks to a dramatic three-goal comeback by the Big Red in a span of just under four minutes.

Syracuse’s season has gotten off to a bad start as well. It is also hoping to bounce back from consecutive defeats in its opening pair of games. It was on the receiving end of a resounding 5-1 thrashing by Siena, but produced a spir-ited display against reigning Atlantic Conference champions Adelphi before eventually going down 1-0 in the second period of overtime. Columbia has not met Syracuse in recent seasons.

The Lions’ game against Hartwick is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m., and they take on Syracuse on Sunday, Sept. 12 at noon.

JASPER L. CLYATT / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

OUTRUNNING THE OPPOSITION | No. 24 Francois Anderson darts past his opponent during a game against Penn.

Light Blue soccer to compete in Mayor’s Cup XXXV

The way I see it, I was

groomed for a foot-ball program like Columbia’s.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a Red Sox fan. And I’m not the type of Red Sox fan that sees a game every few years. I’m the type of fan that semi-jokingly threatens to burn her roommate’s brand new Yankees cap, just because she brought it into the room. I grew up outside of Boston, and for us Massholes, sports loyalties are serious business.

Now, anyone who knows anything worth knowing is well aware that be-fore 2004, it was tough to be a Red Sox fan. The Yankees were kicking ass and taking names, and chants of “Nineteen-eighteen” taunted Bostonians whenever the Bronx Bombers came to town. The Curse of the Bambino hung heavy at times, but somehow, come game time, Fenway Park was always packed with the forever faithful.

I have spent countless summer nights at ballgames, celebrated my bat mitzvah in the bleachers, and ushered in my 20th birthday from the stands on the first base side. Wherever I am, hear-ing “Sweet Caroline” makes my heart ache for bleacher seats. I wear my Red Sox cap with pride—even in Yankee Stadium—and have accumulated sev-eral official game balls, including one Jonathan Papelbon tossed to me per-sonally last summer and, as far as I’m concerned, this means he’ll be calling me up any day now for our first date.

All of this to say that I’m a Sox fan through and through, and part of what makes Boston so special is that I was just as much of an addict all the way back in 2001, when my favorite boys barely finished over .500 with an appall-ing 82-79 record, as I was after they won the World Series.

For those who actually frequent Baker, it’s apparent that the Columbia Lions are pretty similar to the pre-2004 Red Sox. I consider it a quite well known fact, though I know “well known” is an exaggeration, that our football team hasn’t won the league since 1961—and even then, we tied for first. Although the Lions don’t often grace the top of the Ancient Eight

standings, swarms of students still show up each Saturday to cheer for the Light Blue. The Columbia community may not fill the seats at Baker quite like Bostonians do at Fenway, but we do have shirtless undergraduates covered in chest paint more often than you’d think.

Too much of our student body would find it impossible to believe, but our athletic teams do, in fact, have dedi-cated followings. I’ve been to at least one swim meet at Uris Pool where it was tough to find a seat. If you showed up too late to the championship base-ball games in the spring, it was stand-ing room only because the stands at Robertson Field were packed. Even our football team can draw an enthusias-tic crowd, for the Homecoming game at the very least. Like these students, I always love being in the stands, even if history predicts that we’ll probably lose the game.

Despite the sense of semi-justified athletic apathy often felt around cam-pus, I’m going to go to every football game this season. If I hadn’t trekked up to Baker a few times last year, I wouldn’t have gotten to see freshman, now sophomore, Sean Brackett scrambling around in the pocket during his first game. If I hadn’t gone, I would have missed seeing senior Austin Knowlin break the school’s career receiving re-cord. Just because the Lions don’t win most games doesn’t mean that I stop going or stop rooting for them.

Sure, it’d be nice to see coach Norries Wilson smile at a post-game press conference, but I’m not going to hold my breath for that no matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the game.

So the moral of the story is: I was born for a football program like ours, and I know I’m not the only one. Over the last two years, there have been plen-ty of students beside me in the stands. We’ve been intently focused on football, basketball, and baseball games when we probably should have been studying. And I’ve been a part of more than my fair share of sold-out crowds at Fenway. My teams might not win as often as I would like, but there’s just something that keeps me coming back for more. I love that dirty water, and I think our boys look damn good in baby blue.

Victoria Jones is a Barnard College junior majoring in French.

[email protected]

A heart for the underdog from Boston Red to Columbia Blue

AJIT PILLAI / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

TO THE BACK OF THE NET | Junior Ashlin Yahr and the rest of the Lions will look to extend their win streak this weekend in their games against local competition Fordham and Stony Brook.

BY SARAH SOMMERSpectator Senior Staff Writer

After quickly building a two-game winning streak, the Columbia women’s soccer team will look to achieve its third and fourth consecutive victories this weekend. The Lions will host Fordham on Friday and Stony Brook on Sunday.

Columbia (2-1-0) opened its season with a 2-1 loss to Central Connecticut State but rebounded from that de-feat in its next two games. The Lions scored three goals against Hartford and one against Iona, shutting out both opponents.

Senior captain Kelly Hostetler scored in the 10th minute of the Lions’ win over Iona. She also converted a penalty kick in the 81st against Central

Connecticut State. Hostetler’s two goals this season match the total number she had scored entering the year.

The Lions have generated numerous scoring opportunities, taking 15 shots (10 on goal) against Hartford and 19 shots (nine on goal) against Iona. But for all of their chances, they scored only four times in that stretch.

“It’s not always a just game,” head coach Kevin McCarthy said of soccer. “Posts and crossbars and referees and many different things can be obstacles in finishing.”

Freshmen Beverly Leon and Chelsea Ryan have each taken five shots this year.

Ryan took four of hers—two on goal—against Iona. If she and Leon continue to be aggressive on the attack, they could find the back of the net this weekend.

Even without scoring, Leon and Ryan have contributed to Columbia’s success.

“They’re producing in many ways on the pitch in terms of winning balls, con-necting passes, making sure that we’re retaining possession,” McCarthy said. “The goals and assists will come.”

Fordham (3-2-0) enters the week-end having lost its last two games. The Rams dropped a 1-0 decision to St. John’s and a 4-1 decision to Hofstra. But senior

forward Michelle Ancelj, who has al-ready scored three goals this season, could be a threat.

Columbia has not faced Fordham since 2006, when the Lions suffered a 2-1 loss.

Stony Brook (0-5-0) will travel to Sacred Heart for a Friday matchup be-fore facing Columbia. The Seawolves most recently endured a 2-0 defeat by Maryland.

Stony Brook was shut out in four of its five losses this year, scoring only in a 4-2 loss to Siena. Senior defend-er Debbie Aller and junior midfielder Rachel Silverman made the Seawolves’ goals in that match.

The Lions last took on Stony Brook in 2008, with Columbia rolling to a 4-0 victory. Senior forward Keri Nobil and

junior forward Ashlin Yahr, who have each scored a goal this year, tallied one goal apiece in that win.

This season, Columbia has shown it can do some damage in the final third. Now, the Lions will try to perform at a higher level than they did in their last two victories.

“We need to carry the momen-tum we have but also build on that,” Hostetler said. “We have two big New York rivals coming up this weekend, and we’ve got to come out hard, to play our game, play our soccer, to dominate them, and show who’s the best team in New York.”

Columbia is scheduled to host Fordham on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. and Stony Brook on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. at the Columbia Soccer Stadium.

Women’s soccer to host local rivals during weekend competition

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010 SPORTS PAGE 3

Batting a Thousand

VICTORIAJONES

COLUMBIA AT HARTWICK

Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, 7:30 p.m.

COLUMBIA VS. FORDHAM

Baker Field, Friday, 7 p.m.

COLUMBIA VS. STONY BROOK

Baker Field, Sunday, 1 p.m.

COLUMBIA AT SYRACUSE

Oneonta, N.Y., Sunday, 12 p.m.

Casual Friday: Forever YoungCollege can be stressful, and there are moments when

we wish we were back in kindergarten. Which is why we would like to thank Columbia Dining Services, which, by offering reusable take-out containers this se-mester, now make us feel that way every time we head to the dining hall.

For those who do not have a meal plan (congratu-lations), allow us to explain the origin of the take-out container. Many moons ago, the EcoReps on the Dining Advisory Committee suggested reusable containers. After much product searching and testing, a suitable vessel was found.

We’re all for environmental friendliness. And, in all sincerity, there are some real benefits to this plan. A lot of work obviously went into it, and we believe the powers that be in Dining are sincere in their desire for positive change. So we’re willing to overlook the fact that students will have to carry their containers through the hallowed halls of wherever their classes are, hearkening back to the days before their mothers trusted them with lunch money (or, alternatively, to the days when they were chased through middle school for continuing to carry a lunch box).

We are not, though, going to pretend that the logistics of this plan are any more practical than those we devised for our schemes back in preschool. All first-years and regis-tered upperclassmen should have received a token in their mailboxes—“should” being the operative word. Those who do not bring a token cannot redeem it for a reusable box, and thus must pay 50 cents to use an option that is technically part of their meal plan. Those who manage to get a box (which is no meager feat—perhaps Dining

thought it would be fun to make finding these tokens as exciting as finding one of Willy Wonka’s famed Golden Tickets) must return it the next time they come to John Jay and exchange it for another (clean) box.

Perhaps the best part—yes, better than taking dirty boxes to Lit Hum, better than not receiving the token you were supposed to, and better than not being able to deco-rate your box with stickers of the Disney princess of your choice because you need to return it—is the way Dining left it to us, your intrepid correspondents, to figure all this out. Apparently, there was hope for “buzz marketing” and EcoRep promotion—but EcoReps don’t make posters be-cause they’re bad for the earth. Which means that this was all a bit of a surprise. Like a Christmas present! Or a new puppy! Or any of the other things we asked for inces-santly as children!

Let it not be said that Dining does not care about its students. On the contrary, Dining cares immensely for its students. It thinks its students are five years old, true. But it cares nonetheless.

* * *The Editorial Board would be remiss if it did not ac-

knowledge the recent passing of John Kluge, Columbia alumnus and benefactor. Kluge, who had previously do-nated $100 million for a scholars program to be created in his name, pledged $400 million to be given to Columbia after his death. To say that this was generous does not begin to express the kindness and consideration of the gesture. But Kluge was more than what he bequeathed to Columbia. We will remember him not only for the pro-grams developed with his donations and in his name, but for his lifelong dedication to his school and ours.

It’s difficult to go to Columbia and not sym-

pathize with minorities.With a liberal arts

bent that promotes a holistic analysis of all issues scientific and liter-ary, Columbia graduates students who critically evaluate norms. While the Core Curriculum may seem West-oriented, it’s seemingly impossible to avoid the discussion of Orientalism or racism in any Core class. It may be this academic cognizance of per-secuted peoples that sparks sympathy. But perhaps more simply, Columbia’s liberal en-vironment and physical situation in the midst of Harlem encourage an acknowledgement of social injustice. We are trained to sympathize with the outnumbered, the disenfranchised, and the slighted.

We are inclined to side with minorities across the world who seek to voice their nationalism. In resource-rich southern Sudan, a nationalist movement is emerg-ing in anticipation of a referendum seeking the independence of the region from Sudan proper. Our liberal education prompts us to support the southerners’ call for secession in January 2011. A familiarity on campus with non-governmental organizations critical of the northern government, such as Amnesty International or Save Darfur, and popular antipathy toward Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir also make us side with the south. But a closer analysis of this politicized region reveals why we should check our gut feeling and support Sudanese reconciliation.

The predominantly non-Arab, Animist, and Christian southern region of Sudan has fallen victim to persecution, resource shrinking, and disenfranchisement at the hands of al-Bashir’s predominantly Arab Muslim government.

Southern Sudan is co-governed by Khartoum and the secessionist Sudan People’s Liberation Movement as a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement reached in 2005, which end-ed a 22-year civil war between Sudan’s north-ern and southern regions. To placate southern calls for independence, the CPA granted the south autonomy until 2011, divided oil income in half between the north and south, and removed the mandatory implementation of Sharia law in the south.

Despite these terms, SPLM, led by Salva Kiir, has staunchly opposed reconciliation with the north. Kiir hails from the Dinka tribe of southern Sudan, the majority ethnic group in the region. Besides the Dinka, southern Sudan is rife with diverse tribes of varying political interests. Herein lies the first complication of secession. Southern Sudan has already seen in-ternal feuds among its tribes. In 2005, the Ngok Dinka clashed with the Misseriya over resourc-es in the southern city of Abyei. If the south secedes, a Dinka, Kiir, will become president of the newly independent state, infuriating other tribes seeking their own autonomy. Secession will open the door to the nationalist aspirations of all of the south’s tribes.

A second consideration is the reality of political agency in Sudan. The human rights problems Arab nations such as Sudan face are largely due to the leaders who rule these countries, not geographical makeup. It is explicitly clear, even without formal indict-ment by the International Criminal Court, that al-Bashir is despotic and undemocratic. That being said, there is no indication that the situation of the southern Sudanese would im-prove under Kiir’s rule. Numerous allegations have been made against Kiir for stifling and silencing opposition parties in the south.

Southern Sudan is already causing a noticeable rift between the Obama adminis-tration and the U.S. State Department. The State Department’s position on the matter reiterates that the January referendum is

a top priority to the U.S., and that the U.S. must take a harder stance against al-Bashir. However, President Obama’s envoy to the nation, Scott Gration, has openly favored using incentives with Khartoum to improve the dismal conditions in the country and the mistreatment of southerners.

A strictly oil-centric reading of this issue would conclude that the U.S. should support southern secession because the south is oil-rich. However, estimates show that the oil in Sudan is, in fact, drying up, and production is expected to drop drastically within the next decade. A strictly geopolitical reading would support secession because China has cozied up to the northern government. However, a closer reading would also show that the China National Petroleum Corporation holds over 40 percent stake in multiple oil consortiums in the south, disproving the argument that the region is still up for grabs.

In order to avoid further strife in the south, the U.S. should promote the con-solidation of Sudan over its separation and begin stressing the importance of giving every Sudanese citizen the right to vote and achieve representation. Sticks—à la Bush-era sanctions and harsh rhetoric—have failed to get al-Bashir to budge. It is time to take out the carrots, as per Gration’s recommenda-tions, and use incentives such as relaxed sanctions to achieve greater democracy.

At face value, secession is the simplest and most just solution to heal southern Sudanese woes, but it should be the very last resort. Before physically restructuring a nation, every attempt should be made to save it.

Rhonda Shafei is a Columbia College junior majoring in history. She is an executive board

member of the Columbia International Relations Council and Association and the

secretary general of the 2011 Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition. The Politics of Hummus runs on alternate Fridays.

A separated Sudan or a new consolidation plan?

BY ALICIA ALLEN-MARQUET

September 6-11 is International Suicide Prevention Week.

In my freshman year, I distinctly remem-ber overhearing a group of students joking about the high suicide rate among college students across the country. Cornell has to put up fences at the edge of gorges, and NYU dormitories must lock all doors that have roof access. Although these students were only joking and commenting on their decision to attend Columbia, I hope that if they had stopped to think about the gravity of depression, an illness that takes nearly a million lives a year, it wouldn’t have been something for them to laugh about. Suicide rates at U.S. colleges and throughout the world have been on the rise. This is the end of International Suicide Prevention Week, and perhaps it is time to ask ourselves why, when one person every 18 minutes commits suicide, depression remains a taboo subject in our society.

We often feel guilty and ashamed if we are depressed. After all, there are starving children in war-torn nations all around the world who have “real” problems. What do we have to complain about? However, this feeling of guilt that surrounds mental ill-ness only feeds the depression and prevents people from getting the help they need to get better. Depression can affect anyone. Depression crosses all socioeconomic, gender, and cultural borders that other-wise divide us. It has touched and taken the lives of Marilyn Monroe, Sylvia Plath, Mark Rothko, and Vincent van Gogh, and, for many of us, it has taken our loved ones. No one is out of depression’s reach.

Though we often picture depression as being a lifelong struggle that only af-fects those who have experienced severe trauma, it can take a matter of weeks for a person who is healthy and happy to become seriously depressed. It is no surprise that Plath’s autobiographical novel “The Bell Jar” is widely read: Many people can re-late to her account of coming to grips with depression, which she describes as being stuck in a “bell jar” in which “the world itself is the bad dream.”

Depression sets in once sadness takes over someone’s life and prevents him or her from functioning normally. The National Institute of Mental Health lists the fol-lowing as the main symptoms of depres-sion: persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood; feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness; and loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed. These symptoms can lead to an inability to make plans for the future, because living another day feels impossible. Plans for the future can mean anything from packing for next week’s spring break trip, to doing laundry in order to have clean clothes, to applying for summer jobs and internships.

It is important to encourage those who are depressed to seek psychological coun-seling, but also to remember that people who are depressed need their friends and family to support them throughout their illness.

A gesture as simple as picking up the phone and calling your friends or loved one, or bringing them dinner and eating a meal together, can go a long way toward letting them know they are loved. The most important things you can do are to ask the person how they are and make sure that they acknowledge the problem. This week is International Suicide Prevention Week. Take a moment and consider your family’s and friends’ mental health. Help keep your-self and those you love out of the bell jar.

The author is a Barnard College junior ma-joring in East Asian Languages and Cultures.

International Suicide Prevention Week

STAFF EDITORIAL

The Politics of Hummus

RHONDASHAFEI

PAGE 4 EDITORIAL&OPINION SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

The 134th year of publicationIndependent since 1962

MANAGING BOARD

THURSDAY NIGHT STAFF:CopyKrystal Martinez

EMBRY OWEN Photo Editor

COLIN SULLIVANAlumni Director

BEN COTTONEditor in Chief

YIPENG HUANGStaff Director

AKHIL MEHTAPublisher

THOMAS RHIELManaging Editor

EMILY TAMKINEditorial Page Editor

ALIX PIANINCampus News Editor

SAM LEVINCity News Editor

MICHELE CLEARYSports Editor

HANNAH D’APICEDesign Editor

CHRISTINE JORDANArts & Entertainment Editor

MAGGIE ASTORHead Copy Editor

NILKANTH PATELOnline Content Editor

ANDREW HITTISales Director

DEPUTY BOARD:

ASSOCIATE BOARD:

CORPORATE BOARD

ADDRESS & EMAILColumbia Spectator2875 Broadway, 3rd FloorNew York, NY [email protected]

PHONE & FAXDaily Spectator (212) 854-9555 Editorial Fax (212) 854-9611Business (212) 854-9550 Business Fax (212) 854-9553

EDITORIAL POLICYFor more information about the Columbia Daily Spectator and editorial policies, visit http://www.columbiaspecta-tor.com/about.

CORRECTIONSThe Spectator is committed to fair and accurate report-ing. If you know of an error, please inform us at [email protected].

COMMENTS & QUESTIONSFor general comments or questions about the newspaper, please write to the editor in chief and managing editor at [email protected].

News EditorsSarah Darville, Leah Greenbaum, Kim Kirschenbaum, Madina Toure, Amber TunnellLa Página EditorCarolina MartesArts & Entertainment EditorsJoe Daly, Maddy Kloss Editorial Page EditorCaitlin BrownCopy EditorRaquel VillagraDesign EditorsCarolyn Lucey, Emily ShartrandPhoto EditorsJasper Clyatt, Rose Donlon, Shelby Layne, Jack ZietmanSports EditorsKunal Gupta, Jacob LevenfeldInfrastructure EditorsDaniel Lasry, Yufei LiuMultimedia EditorKristina BudelisOnline BusinessZachary SimsSalesMabel McLean, James TsayFinanceSam Rhee, Shengyu TangAlumniBoyoon Choi, Anika Mehta, Andrea CollazoStaff Training EditorsJulia Halperin, Mira John, Scott Levi, Betsy Morais

Arts & Entertainment EditorsRachel Allen, Ashton Cooper, Claire Fu, Allison Malecha, Melissa von MayrhauserEditorial Page EditorsSarah Ahmed, Jennifer Fearon, Paula Gergen, Vickie Kassapidis, Rebekah Mays, Gabriella PorrinoEditorial Board MembersJosefina Aguila, Shira Borzak, Phill Crone, Andrea Garcia-Vargas, Samuel Roth, Vignesh Subramanyan Copy EditorsMaggie Alden, Marissa Barbaro, Alex Collazo, Zuzanna Fuchs, Emily Handsman, Aarti Iyer, Sierra Kuzava, Katrin Nusshold, Laura Oseland, Samantha Saly, Lucy Wang, Maddie WolbergPage Design EditorsPeggy Bermel, Jeremy Bleeke, Ann Chou, Matt Getz, Yishu Huang, Khalil Romain, Katherine TaketomoGraphic Design EditorsCindy Pan, Joanna WangPhoto EditorsZara Castany, Shivina Harjani, Talia Kori, Phoebe Lytle, Andra MihaliSports EditorsZach Glubiak, Victoria Jones, Nina Lukina, Lauren Seaman, Michael ZhongSalesKate HuetherFinanceBrendan Barry, Oliver Chan, Tida Choomchaiyo, Gabriela Hempfling, Michelle LacksStaff IllustratorMatteo MalinvernoMultimedia Training EditorAaron Kohn

RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMANEditorial Page Editor

ADITYA MUKERJEEFinance Director

BYCHRISTIAMERCER

Plato famously wrote in “Apology”: “An unexamined life is not worth living”.

If Plato is right, then Lit Hum encourages students and instructors alike to live a worthwhile life. Yeah, that’s right, a worthwhile life. The official name of Lit Hum is Literature Humanities: Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy. Unsurprisingly, Lit Hum readings pose sig-nificant philosophical questions. What shapes a worthwhile life? How do suffering and loss play a role? What temptations lead us astray? How does the agency of human beings differ? How and why are some people (e.g., women, servants, slaves) denied agency? How do family, friends, or divine being(s) limit life’s options? What role do family, friends, or even art and story telling play in a worthwhile life? In the end, what is a worthwhile life good for? The texts of Lit Hum offer radically different responses to these questions. The answers of the “Iliad” are not like those of Augustine’s “Confessions” or Montaigne’s “Essays,” much less those of Virginia Woolf’s “To the Lighthouse.” There is an intellectual challenge at the heart of Lit Hum. Why should we care about the bratty guys disagreeing with one another at the outset of the “Iliad,” and why should we engage with a culture that treats women like these brats treat Briseis? The challenge is to push through such offensive features to discover the sophisticated fiction-alized world beneath. Once we acknowledge the complexity of the poem’s moral universe, we are able to recognize its subtlety and beauty. In the poem’s sixth book, we journey with Hector out of the war zone into the com-forts of Troy, and then join him in conversa-tion with his wife, Andromache. Not only has Andromache lost her parents and siblings to an earlier war, but she sees clearly what will

happen if Troy is defeated. In portraying her moral insight as she asks her husband to at-tend to the needs of his family and city rather than seek a warrior’s glory, Homer offers a stark picture of what will happen if Troy falls. When Hector admits that he cannot “shrink aside from fighting,” we join Andromache in mourning the future devastation of this mar-velous city and the certainty of her enslave-ment. As offensive as aspects of the story are to us, the losses, loyalties, and loves of this col-lapsing world are compellingly familiar. In the end, the poem does become a story about us.

This tension between the unfamiliar and the familiar is the challenge of Lit Hum. The trick is to take seriously the remoteness of the values of our texts while recognizing ourselves within them. We have to walk a fine line. If we make our readings too much about us, we lose what they are; if we only examine them as ar-cheological objects, their relevance for us today is diminished. But how exactly does all of this Lit Hum speak to Plato’s point about the unex-amined life? By asking us to explore a series of fictionalized moral universes, Lit Hum asks us to examine each carefully. We learn about dif-ferent ways of being in the world, about differ-ent ways of living a human life. Not only do we compare these diverse universes, we eventually reflect on our own. The comparison between their values and ours elicits an analysis of our own lives. Before we know it, we are examining our moral universe and our place in it. If Plato is right and an unexamined life is not worth living, then Lit Hum does encourage us to live a worthwhile life.

To help with our examination of Lit Hum texts, as well as our own self-examination in relation to them in the 21st century informa-tion age, we have created a Lit Hum website. The Fall Semester’s materials will be launched this Sunday, Sept. 12. The site has three main

goals—to offer background materials related to the assigned readings, to include centuries of responses to Lit Hum works, and to build better connections between Lit Hum and other parts of the Core Curriculum. There are resources drawn from theater, music, opera, dance, visual arts, and much more. Many of these are taken from the materials of Art and Music Humanities. For example, Bernini’s “Rape of Persephone” is a striking marble ren-dition of the first lines of “Hymn to Demeter” while Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” offers an important operatic treatment of the fourth book of “The Aeneid”. One of the most exciting parts of the website is that it includes performances of plays (e.g., Peter Hall’s production of Aeschylus’ “Agamemnon” and Mark Cullingham’s version of Euripides’ “Medea”), musical responses to our texts (e.g., Luigi Cherubini’s opera, “Médée”, and Simon Indelicate’s “The Book of Job: The Musical!”), and edgy pop-cultural rendi-tions. Be sure you check out Hedwig (from John Cameron Mitchell’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”) singing Aristophanes’ speech in the “Symposium,” Tom Lehrer’s song about Oedipus Rex, and Led Zeppelin’s “Achilles’ Last Stand.”

Lit Hum can impact our lives in profound ways. Our website increases the chances for self-examination by asking us to confront the unfamiliar and familiar and compare our re-sponses to generations of readers. If we let it, Lit Hum will change our lives. If we let it, our snazzy new Lit Hum website will encourage us all to think differently about our texts and to examine ourselves in relation to them life. Journey. Explore. Enjoy. Examine.

The author is Gustave M. Berne Professor of Philosophy and the Chair of Literature Humanities.

Lit Hum and the examined life

AfterOfficeHours

Each Friday, a professor will share scholastic wisdom readers won’t find in lectures. Suggestions regarding which professors to feature are welcome.

JODY’S DRAWINGS!

JODY ZELLMAN

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010 CLASSIFIEDS PAGE 5

TUTORING AND COACHING Do you need a tutor to focus your concepts and speed up your work, now and tomorrow? There is no difference between C students and A students, except in the compression and focus and coaching. A good tutor, if he has a PhD, can really clarify, focus, direct you... Phone (212) 865-1026 or email [email protected]. We special-ize in History, English, Philosophy, Languages, more...

ALOPECIA MOTIVATIONAL Newly diagnosed or long-timer having alopecia areata totalis or universalis? Join other alopecians for a motivational get-together on coping and living with this disorder. Call (646) 241-1633.

GREEN MOUNTAIN ENERGY seeks P/ T Sales Agents with a sincere de-sire to change the way power is made and help protect the environment. We are seeking local candidates with a stable work history and a great attitude! For immediate consideration, submit your resume to [email protected] with job code: CDS011007.SALES AND MARKETING Assistant wanted for illustrated book publisher. Must be motivated and have basic computer skills (Excel, Word). Week-days. Flexible hours. Casual office - 5th Ave & 18th Street. Reply to jbrancati @antiquecc.comSMOKE JAZZ AND SUPPER CLUB is hiring an experienced server avail-able to work P/T. Drop resume off at 2751 B’way (betw 105 & 106 Sts).

$$SPERM DONORS WANTED$$Earn up to $1200/mo and give the gift of family through California Cryobank’s donor program. Convenient Midtown lo-cation. Apply online at: SPERMBANK.com

MANHATTAN REAL ESTATEBuying, selling or renting an apart-ment? Work with a top-rated NYC real estate agent and Columbia alum (CC & SIPA). www.joshnathanson.com; jrn @corcoran.com. (212) 875-2970.

PROFESSIONAL EDITING by Colum-bia Ph.D. Dissertation and academic style expert (APA, Turabian, MLA, etc.). Typing services available. (877) 922-9422.

HEALTHY WOMEN 19-29:

NYC egg donors needed. Help some-one create a family and be well com-pensated! Confidential. Apply at www. MyDonor.net

CLASSIFIED AD RATES:$8/00 per first 20 words.

25¢ each additional word.Ad in all boldface $4.00 extra.

All ads must be pre-paid.2 business day deadline.

Call 854-9550 for information;or fax ad to 854-9553.

PAGE 6 ADVERTISEMENT SEPTEMBER 10, 2010