Secret Places on Barnard's Campus

(Ok, so maybe just less visible places on Barnard's campus.)

As this month comes to an end, maybe you’ve explored every link and photo on Barnard’s website. Maybe you’ve also toured Barnard’s campus already and/or come for admitted students weekend. I’m gonna try to tell you about some cool places on campus that I didn’t know about before I came to Barnard.

 

So maybe you caught a glimpse of it on a tour, but on the roof of Milbank Hall, there is a greenhouse! This space houses all sorts of plant species, including some for different professors' research. The greenhouse is open to everyone on Wednesday afternoons, but you might also have the chance to visit it with your Biology or Environmental Science lab courses. Coming from the desert, my favorite part of the greenhouse is the cacti section. 

Feels like home!

Additionally, the top of the Diana Center is a green roof, which means the vegetation grown there helps improve the energy efficiency of the building. While this space is used for research and work in different classrooms, it’s also a great space with a view for different events, like yoga during Spirit Week!

Though the 9-15^th floors of Sulzberger Tower are (unofficially) reserved for upperclassmen housing, the 16^th floor is more of a meeting space. A number of events and meetings are held there (like the one during Spirit Week that I missed out on). But when there isn’t something going on there, it makes an awesome place for getting some studying done, with a great view of the city!

Lastly and a bit more personal, I end up sitting at the tables in the little space between the library and Altschul Hall at least once a day if the weather is nice. I often go there to do some reading or call my sister or a friend, because it’s quieter and slightly removed from the main “thoroughfare” on Barnard’s campus. It’s a great little place to be alone and outside. As I was talking on the phone with my mom the other day, I realized that Einstein also hangs out near the back of Altschul (which I find funny since Altschul is the science building). If you prefer the tables on the north side of Altschul, you might be able to wave at one of the deans (some of my favorite people at Barnard!) whose office windows face that space.  

Einstein keeping me company

If you come to Barnard, I’m sure you’ll find your own favorite spaces on campus, just as I have.   

Margeaux

Ye Olde Libraries of Columbia

Good morning again, everyone! On this sunny Sunday in Morningside Heights, I woke up early (yet again…) to walk down to Trader Joes with a friend. Nothing like an 8am grocery run to liven one up, eh?


Barnard Library in Lehman Hall

But I thought I’d get a head start on this first. I can see in your (virtual, imaginary) eyes that you all are simply dying to know about the libraries here. Actually though, I may sound sarcastic, but I consider this no small matter: libraries are the source of your research, they set the intellectual tone on campus, provide space to study, and offer you limitless opportunities to increase your knowledge. Hence comes my undying love of them! So, without further ado:

(Some of) the Libraries of Columbia University

Barnard Library
Obviously, as our home library, this is going to make the top of the list! (Although, to be perfectly honest, I’m not ranking them here). It is conveniently located right in the middle of campus, across from the Diana and between Barnard Hall (general classrooms) and Altschul (the science building). It has, obviously, lots of books (including many that are unavailable in the Butler stacks), but it also has a fabulous Zine library, a ton of periodicals (including fun ones, like the Ballet Review), and top-notch study spaces. If you want a relatively calm place to work, this is the place to be!

Butler Library


Butler Library Reference Room

This is the major undergraduate library at Columbia, centrally located opposite Low Library (which is no longer a library!), and I personally rather like it. For one thing, it has a very wide range of study spaces, from the big, elegant Reference Room to an assortment of carrels, to balcony alcoves with tables and armchairs. For another, you can always find fellow sufferers there when the going gets tough—even on Friday nights, you can count on seeing plenty of students there, plugging away. Another major plus: it’s open 24/7, which matters a lot more than you might now imagine…

Avery Library
You need to be in the mood for hanging out around hard-core artsy, sophisticated grad students to enjoy Avery, but if you are, it’s the best. Technically, it is the art and architecture library, but anyone can go in there as long as you are quiet and don’t try to eat. The upstairs is gorgeous—lined with books and quaint mezzanine walkways—and the downstairs, though considerably less gorgeous, has tons of workspace. It doesn’t have great hours, but to make up for that, it is connected to Brownies, one of the less-expensive independent cafes on campus (also, where you can imagine that your proximity to grad students will make you cool like them…).

Avery Library

Science and Engineering Library
This is one of my recent discoveries, and I am a big fan! Being a history kid, I always feel like a bit of a poser working in there, but the fantastic lighting and open, modern architecture makes it worth it. It’s located in the Northwest Corner building (“NoCo”), right above Joe Coffee (see my earlier post for an explanation of my undying love for Joe). It’s ideal for late nights studying because a) the lighting so is cheerful, which you really can’t say of Butler, b) it’s only open until 3am, so you can’t get sucked into working ALL night, and c) it’s directly across the street from Barnard, so the walk home is painless.

Once again, this list is not inclusive, but it gives you a sense of the library options available on campus. No matter what sort of study environment you are looking for, you can find a library that will cater to it, and exploring the options is a fun activity on it own (the nerd just came out full force…busted!).

I hope your decision-making process is going well (especially given the impending date!). This may be my last post, but I will continue thinking of you all, and I look forward to seeing you around campus next semester! Enjoy the rest of your senior year!

Chloe

 

Lectures vs. Seminars: Barnard's Classroom Experience

My seminar classroom in Milbank. 

 

 

 

Small class size was a huge factor in my decision to attend Barnard, and while I’ve had the opportunity to take a number of small classes here, I’ve found that even professors of “larger” classes at Barnard are just as available to interact with students as well. 

As a first year, you’ll have at least one small seminar style class, if not more. In a seminar class, you’re asked to do readings and then discuss them in class. The professor usually provides some suggestions or questions throughout class, but the way the class proceeds is really up to the students. These classes give you the opportunity to discuss a specific subject matter with 12-16 of your peers and really get to know your professor.  

Lecture courses at Barnard usually (but not always) consist of slightly less discussion among students, and more presentation by a professor. When I hear my friends at larger universities talk about their gigantic lectures in auditoriums where they see their professor on a screen, I realize that what I define as a “large” lecture course at Barnard... really isn't that large. Yes, there are certain lecture courses, like Intro Biology and Introduction to Art History, that are a bit larger than the average Barnard class. However, for courses like these at Barnard, there are often weekly sections where you break up into smaller groups and discuss the material in more depth. Professors also hold weekly office hours where you can ask specific questions and get to know your professors better. 

Lehman Auditorium, a lecture hall in Altschul. 

I’ve found that a lot of classes at Barnard fall somewhere in the middle of “large lecture” and “small seminar.” For example, the History of Science course I took last semester was considered a “lecture” course, but it was around 18 people. The professor often asked us for our take on the readings or to discuss a question with someone sitting near us in class. There are probably 100 or so people in the Philosophy class that I’m currently taking, but it doesn’t feel so large because, in every class, the professor is constantly asking for the students' thoughts about an idea or theory he is presenting. Barnard faculty members have a commitment to teaching undergraduates, no matter the size of the class.

While smaller seminar courses are usually the ones that you see taking place on Lehman Lawn at this time of year, just last week even my Organic Chemistry lecture class got to take a practice quiz outside! 

Margeaux

No Matter How You Study, Barnard Has a Place for It

A view of Columbia from the Barnard Library

While I’d consider myself one of the Barnard Library’s biggest fans (I mean, they even have a zine collection!), some days the library isn’t where I feel like studying. In high school, I never really studied in only one room, but preferred to move around my house. At Barnard, there are plenty of places I can go to study and get work done depending on what I am doing that day.

If I’m looking for silence, but need a change of scenery, I like to go to the study room on the third floor of the Diana Center. There are large windows there, so it’s pretty bright and great for keeping me awake. As is the coffee from Liz’s Place, also located in the Diana Center. There are some comfy chairs there also, if I’m not in the mood to sit at one of the desks or tables, which is often. (If I’m studying in my room, I almost always preference my bed, over my desk, so the non-desk options often win me over.)  



If I want to get work done, but don’t mind a little bit of noise, I usually head to the Altschul Atrium which is on the first floor of Altschul Hall, which houses most of Barnard’s science departments and labs. This space is supposed to be more of a fun, no studying zone because (there’s a foosball table!), but it’s often not very crowded and always full of light. There’s also a piano, so every once in a while, a student might come in and provide some nice studying music! 





Diana Center Reading Room. Photo courtesy
of www.dwell.com.

As a first-year, you’ll be living in the Quad, which has it’s own study room, Brooks lounge. I liked studying there my first year year. It felt very collegiate and was in the same building as my dorm room, which meant I could stay as late as I wanted (needed?) without having to think about when a building was closing or the weather outside.

 



One great thing about Barnard is that everything is relatively close together, so you can stay in the Diana Center till late and not have to worry about a long walk back to your dorm. I guess if I’m being totally honest, I liked that the Brooks lounge felt like an extension of my hall, and I could head there in pajamas and be in like company. (:





Barnard offers plenty of places that lend themselves for studying, whether they be designated “studying zones” or just somewhere you feel comfortable and productive. I’ve had fun exploring different places that work for me, and I’m sure you’ll find the space that’s best for you too!

 

Margeaux