Jill Shomer

Kyle Murray CC’25 (he/him) is the editor in chief of Bwog, Columbia’s independent, student-run campus news website. A biology and art history double major from Redding, Conn., he’s looking forward to shaping Bwog’s unique brand of Columbia coverage this year.

What is your favorite part about working with Bwog?

I was first attracted to Bwog during student orientation; the editorial board at the time just seemed really welcoming. They were this group of people that were able to write both things that were really serious and things that could be more irreverent or comedic. Once I joined as a staff writer that first semester, I was struck by the creative freedom. The editors and senior staffers encouraged me to write whatever I wanted — one week, I could be doing a little recipe piece from a dining hall, then the next week could be breaking news about administrative stuff, and then the third week could be a comedic piece about my dorm room pumpkin! I could write about anything under the sun. Bwog was just all these creative, funny and great writers that were supporting one another and so I knew I found a really good community that I wanted to be a part of.

What’s been your favorite class at Columbia and why?

Last spring I took a class called “Geological Excursion to Death Valley.” I am not an Earth science major; I had actually never had a formal Earth science class prior to last spring. But I had heard about this class from some friends, so I applied and got in. We learned all about rocks and about the crust of the planet and then, during spring break, the class took us [on a field trip] to Death Valley. So during that entire week I was seeing the layers of earth and looking at fossils. It was just a really beautiful place to be in, to be climbing and seeing a bunch of major geological features of the United States in person. It was about 20 students — a small, intimate class. We were camping together under the stars, stuffing into these two vans during the day and just driving all around Death Valley.

What do you like to do outside of class and Bwog?

I like DJing for WKCR — usually in the classical department — and I do research in the Danino Lab [a synthetic biological systems lab in Columbia’s Biomedical Engineering Department]. I also do some tech crew for the Varsity Show. But then besides that, I love documentaries, so my letterbox is filled to the brim with as many of those as I can watch.

How do you like to take advantage of being in New York City?

I like visiting every single museum, gallery and art exhibit that I can. Parks and churches, too. Where I’m from, it’s a really small town; there are no sidewalks, it’s like half an hour drive to the supermarket. And then here, there’s so just much access! I can immerse myself in these different worlds with just a short subway ride. I love engaging with all of these great museums that are only in NYC, whether it’s the Met or MoMA — and I have to give a shout-out to Poster House, that’s my favorite museum!