Day 6: Columbia University
Following the daily routine of an early wakeup and sleepy breakfast, we convened in the lobby at 8:45 and leave a little after nine (although it feels like longer; everyone is still waking up). We walk to the subway, swipe our metro cards, and begin the lengthy subway ride to Columbia University.
Our first stop at the university is Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. In the dimly lit lobby, Ari explains that of the sixteen schools at Columbia, the journalism school is the smallest. We learn more about its history, focusing on Joseph Pulitzer. Ari describes him as being an unsatisfactory journalist, but wanting journalism to become better. He was a large part of journalism’s history.
Following the introduction in the lobby, we crowd into the elevator, heading to the sixth floor. Ari scans his card and we head into a classroom with a Pulitzer quote on the wall. The desks are tiny and on wheels; a couple of us are briefly distracted by rolling around on them. After a few minutes of discussing our schedules and final projects, our speaker walks in.
Frank LoMonte, of the Student Press Law Center in Washington, DC, has the voice of a game show host and the demeanor of an auctioneer. His presence fills the room. He starts off by informing us about his organization, the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), which teaches students their rights as journalists and counteracts censorship. He explains how important the work of journalists is, as it brings to light what needs to be talked about. LoMonte proceeds to speak about Constitutional rights and who they protect; for example, they protect those who engage in hate speech, but they also protect those defying hate speech.
After a little over an hour of his lecture, LoMonte thanks us and says his goodbyes and we move on to getting a taste of “snapchat journalism”. We learn the significance of capturing the attention of young people with things like ten second videos and instant articles. We watch a video compiled of snapchats in Times Square; the kids in the clips looked slightly uncomfortable but still as though they were enjoying themselves. It was a step out of their comfort zone, as they had to ask the political views of strangers, while using a platform they were familiar with (Snapchat). Perhaps this Snapchat aspect will draw younger people toward reading and even writing stories; it makes journalism more relatable.
After we finish in the classroom, we walk to the World Room: a hall with rows of chair and a gold and green stained glass window depicting the Statue of Liberty sandwiched between two Earths, perched atop a bed of clouds and framed by columns. We were in the room midday so the window was practically glowing. It’s the house of various award ceremonies and receptions.
We then make our way back to the lobby and exit the dimly lit building. We finally are able to take in all of the buildings; they’re immense with their Grecian columns and, combined with the sprawling, immaculate lawns, turn out to be quite humbling.
We walk up the steps to the “library”, which doesn’t actually turn out to be a library but an administration building where Pulitzer prizes are awarded among other things.
We enter and crane our necks to see just how high the interior reaches. Ari leads us to yet another (much larger) ceremony hall, complete with arches, statues, black marble columns, yellow curtains, along with the rows upon rows of chairs.
After ooh-ing and aah-ing at the sheer magnificence of the room, we discuss the plans and technicalities for the rest of the day and say our goodbyes, ending our day at the Columbia University.
