The author is a Columbia College first-year in Alpha Epsilon Pi. This piece ran in today's opinion page. Click here to read today's section.
As I anxiously surf the web, putting off my impending eight-page History of the Modern Middle East midterm, I came upon the headline “Columbia Ranked Second in Daily Beast’s Top 50 Most Stressful Schools.” The midterm, and my own procrastination, aren’t the only source of my Columbia-induced stress, though. It’s the lack of anything to do on campus past 9 p.m. Cue the elephant in the room and the other source of my disconsolation: “The Decision,” Dean Kevin Schollenberger’s choice to revoke Alpha Epsilon Pi, Pike, and Psi Upsilon’s housing for at least the next two years. This decision is final and cannot be appealed. So no, I am not writing this as a first-year member of Alpha Epsilon Pi trying to regain the rights to my 150 square foot, second floor, campus-facing, sophomore single. I am writing this as a Columbia student concerned about the future of our social life.
