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Dec 6, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | Ria Dalal |Sophia Li |Sally Weitzner
As the semester winds down and the calendar year comes to an end, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by deadlines, final exams, and the pressure to end the year strong. But finishing the year on a high note doesn’t have to mean doing everything perfectly. What truly matters is reflecting on the past, being intentional about the year ahead, and making decisions that lead to growth, leaving you feeling accomplished and refreshed.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | Ria Dalal |suhani arora
As college students, we learn to make do with what we can get—especially when it comes to food. This might mean late-night Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, ramen packets, or all the other typical overdone college-student meals that you have probably eaten. But at some point in every student’s journey, they discover a ray of sunshine in a world of otherwise fairly mediocre meals: Trader Joe’s.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | Ria Dalal |suhani arora
With midterm madness finally past us, it is time to celebrate by going all out this Homecoming weekend and making it the best you will ever remember—or not remember. The routinely lackluster school spirit and the comfy sweatpants and hoodie combo will be replaced with Columbia merch, foam fingers, and, more often than not, a red solo cup.
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Oct 16, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | Ria Dalal
’Tis the season of internship applications, and that means dreadingly making your way to the platform that promises you a field of opportunities—for networking and self-esteem issues alike. That’s right, it’s time to join LinkedIn, the beloved website that’s sure to replace your unhealthy Instagram doom scrolling with another unhealthy doom scroll. The first step is setting up your profile.
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Oct 2, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | Sophia Li |Ria Dalal
Thinking about getting involved politically, but not sure where to begin? Looking for a place to build your knowledge of political issues and connect with like-minded students? Thankfully, Columbia and Barnard students are never short on student-led organizations that match many various political interests and offer involvement at different levels.
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Sep 13, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | academicsBy Anuthmi Waas |Ria Dalal |Anuthmi Waas |Ruth Weaver
Principles of Economics is a common course for economics majors, but many students will tell you to take the Barnard equivalent, “Introduction to Economic Reasoning,” instead. Principles of Economics has been described as a well-designed course, and students coming in with limited background knowledge can count on this course to teach the fundamentals.
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Jul 16, 2024 | 
thenodmag.com | Ria Dalal
We’re all guilty of a little harmless escapism every now and then. Whether it’s rewatching episodes of Selling Sunset and dreaming about owning that mansion with an infinity pool someday or turning our Instagram Saved Folder into a moodboard of our interior décor ideas “just in case” we land that Manhattan penthouse overlooking Central Park, we’ve all indulged our fantasies a fair bit.
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Jun 18, 2024 | 
thenodmag.com | Ria Dalal
I remember the first time I figured that Japanese desserts were a culinary sub-genre of their own. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I found myself staring at a teddy bear with impossibly cute eyes and the roundest cheeks I had ever seen. Was it a toy? A ceramic sculpture? But then a fork swooped in and, to my shock, skewered the cutie to reveal deep red jammy innards. I had just encountered my first kawaii dessert. Kawaii is Japanese for cute, but it’s more than an adjective.
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Apr 29, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | academicsBy Ria Dalal |Ria Dalal
With the academic year coming to its bittersweet end, Columbia students are experiencing a whole bag of mixed emotions—and exhaustion may be the biggest one. The past year has been extraordinarily challenging in many different ways, and it is important that we acknowledge this and take time to check in with ourselves and the friends around us. Before we move ahead into the summer, Spectrum is here to help you say a meaningful goodbye to the year that passed us by.
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Apr 23, 2024 | 
columbiaspectator.com | academicsBy Ria Dalal |Ria Dalal
The first-year experience has been difficult in ways that we may have not anticipated coming into Columbia. As we are in the course of a truly historic and tumultuous time at Columbia, it is imperative to take this moment to check in with yourself and look forward to what awaits us after the first year.
