Diving Into a New School Year

It is surprisingly easy in summer to forget what life on campus feels like. The Spring semester ends, students disperse. Soon afterward follow many faculty members and staff, off at various times for vacation in less urban locales. Campus isn’t empty, but it becomes an almost bucolic version of itself. So, this is what the Steps look like when they aren’t covered with people. The lawns seem greener. Everything is quiet.

Then, near August’s end, come the cheers heard round the city.

These are the cries of the New Student Orientation Program (NSOP), the joyful and endlessly energetic band of students who each year welcome Columbia College and Columbia Engineering’s newest classes during Move-In Weekend and Convocation. They deliver a contact high that can be seen in the faces of first-years and transfers, in the families clad in newly purchased Columbia gear, in just about anyone watching who for a few minutes remembers what it’s like to be in freshman shoes and meet a friendly face. This year, the NSOP-ers wore bright blue shirts that bore the Orientation theme: “Dive In.”

And so, with a bracing splash, here we are: Fall 2024.

Our cover story features the electrifying Imara Jones ’94, a journalist and the founder of TransLash, a media nonprofit dedicated to reporting on the transgender community. Jones was one of TIME’s 100 most influential people last year, and her work is especially vital in light of the increasing assaults on trans rights. She is clear in her insistence that others see the transgender community in the fullness of their humanity — a message made more powerful by Jones’ openness to putting her own story front and center as well.

Elsewhere, we mark the 20th anniversary of Frontiers of Science. The newest entry to the Core Curriculum has a riveting origin story; first-years of the last two decades have renowned astronomy professor David J. Helfand to thank for his tenacity in getting the course established. And in keeping with its name, we share how Frontiers is firmly entrenched in the present, ensuring that today’s students are on top of the latest scientific issues and innovations. We also catch composer and sound artist Ellen Reid ’05 en route to a busy creative season in Amsterdam, including the world premiere of her opera The Shell Trial. The prolific and protean Reid, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2019, has a slate of significant works being performed this fall in Los Angeles and New York.

Finally, we feature the winning submission in the Undergraduate Community Initiative Essay Contest. The initiative was launched in January to deepen students’ understanding of and commitment to three foundational values: respect, belonging and service. In turn, the contest was an opportunity for students to consider those values and describe a time when one of them made a difference in their lives. Emma Shen ’26’s poignant essay speaks to the importance of being there for one another through the simple act of listening — just listening — and in so doing, reminds us to do the same.

We hear you, Emma, and we carry your wise words into the semester. We wish everyone the best — and welcome to the Class of 2028!

Alexis Boncy SOA’11
Editor-in-Chief