Kyle Smith Takes the Helm in Levien Gym - Columbia College ...

y how far we have come since we
entered Columbia four years ago.
After graduation, louis Miller
traveled across Western Europe
and returned to New York with a
new interest in art and travel. He
is working in the Capital Markets
group of Morgan Stanley Smith
Barney, which he says he is enjoying
so far. He also is developing an
interest in politics and is looking
for a forum to explore it further.
Although it will be his first fall
not playing football, he says he is
excited to watch his brother, Evan
’12, play football at Columbia.
nirvikar Jassal works for NYC
Mayor Michael Bloomberg in City
Hall as a research analyst. He recently
moved to Long Island City,
a short commute to Grand Central,
with Jonathon sanchez and Eric
pogue. They love their apartment,
which has spectacular views of
Manhattan.
After spending a relaxing postgraduation
summer working odd
jobs and living in Brooklyn, bryan
lowder is downtown this fall at
NYU pursuing a master’s in jour-
letters
(Continued from page 2)
in the form of Mel’s is a positive
economic indicator. Or at least it will
be a good place to get a hamburger.
Bruce Paulsen ’80
New Yo r k CitY
Conservo?
I see that you are publishing conservo-oriented
letters these days —
more so, it seems, than in the past.
Thank you.
Martin Heilweil ’66
New Yo r k CitY
Columbia Club
I suspect that distant memories
have added enchantment. Mr. Jay
R. Deutsch ’66 (Letters, September/
October) remembers an idealized
clubhouse.
I was a member for many years
before it closed. It was a moth-eaten,
dusty mess, with spooky moose
heads coming out of the walls. The
food was something to write home
about; it was awful, with service to
match.
We gave the Princeton people
our club privileges while they were
building their new quarters and in
return they offered our members a
chance to join their brand-new,
beautiful new club. I took advantage
of their offer and for some 30 years I
enjoyed the quiet, dignified setting,
including the members’ lunch table
where anyone alone could dine with
others. We were the only non-Prince-
nalism, concentrating in the highly
regarded Cultural Reporting and
Criticism program. He may still be
seen around Morningside, however,
as he will soon move to West
Harlem with his partner, Cam Mc-
Donald, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in
cultural anthropology at the New
School for Social Research.
ajay Kumar Mangal writes, “I
left NYC with a dream to create opportunities
for teenagers in rough,
low-income communities through
Teach for America in Houston. I
have been doing my best to bridge
the achievement gap while coming
to realize how much I miss New
York City and all of my friends,
who have significantly changed
my life. I can’t believe I’m on my
own. Soon enough, I’ll be heading
to medical school. Until then, I’m
training for the Iron Man competition
while making a difference in
the lives of others.”
rachel vishnepolsky has quite a
story to share. She writes, “My plans
were fixed: I was to teach English in
South Korea for a year. But in the taxi
on my way to the airport, I checked
tonians who were members.
When Columbia took residence
many years later, the atmosphere
changed. Endless meetings took
over the most enjoyable rooms.
Members were shunted from small
room to small room. Quiet was
shattered by loud voices, as personal
business was conducted by noisy
groups in open view. The Princeton
Club was no longer the Princeton
Club. The Columbia Club that Mr.
Deutsch remembers never was.
Milton Kamen ’40
New Yo r k CitY
I write as immediate past president
and president emeritus of the Columbia
University Club of New
York (CUCNY). Jay R. Deutsch ’66,
who must have attended the College
during my tenure as an undergraduate
but was not known to
me, seems to opine on a topic about
which he knows little or nothing.
Many years ago, when the CU
Club bunked with the physically
inadequate Williams Club, we explored
other venues. The Princeton
Club of New York was one possibility.
The PCNY was strapped for
cash and casting about for a future.
I had many conferences with the
University’s financial and alumni
administrators. They, as we, knew
that a place for Columbia alumni to
gather socially in NYC was essential.
Finally, after months of negotiations,
I signed a five-year agreement
with the president of the Princeton
Club. I spent more hours of congenial
conversation with my Princeton
board colleagues than I did
NOvEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
70
my voice messages and found out I
had been taken off the waitlist for a
Fulbright research grant. I had been
on the list for several months. Now
I’m going to Poland to study philosophy,
math and logic. My college
boyfriend, corey bregman, will join
me in Warsaw.”
chris Yim certainly wins for
either his fiction writing skills or his
remarkable experience. Chris writes,
“While mowing the lawn, I was
stung by a scorpion in my backyard.
After being taken to the hospital
and hospitalized for two weeks
for an almost fatal sting, biologists
who study insects started studying
the origins of these scorpions that
had made their way as far north
as central Virginia. My misfortune
began the pioneering of widespread
research on the species. Glad I could
help. Since then, I moved to Seoul,
South Korea, and am teaching English
at an English academy.”
Erica lee hasn’t seen any
scorpions lately, but she has seen
many “cute little mice” in her
Harlem apartment. She is hoping
to escape before the bedbugs start
confronting irate Columbians who
sounded so much like Deutsch:
unknowledgeable, unhelpful and to
a great extent offensive.
Princeton owned the building,
the ground and the air. As they
were in need of financial support,
we were in need of a viable venue.
During our contract negotiations,
there had to be a certain amount of
give and take. We could not usurp
the total identity of Princeton. We
could and did establish and slowly
expand Columbia’s identity.
The Columbia membership has
grown to almost that of equal size
with Princeton alumni. Programs
of interest and entertainment to
the Columbia community have on
occasion been merged with those
of the PCNY. And yes, we are the
Columbia Club in Residence. We
have never been disingenuous about
that fact.
If a grateful alumnus, perhaps
like Deutsch, would donate a building
in the midtown area, furnish
it, staff it and leave it as his legacy,
then we might well have our own
CUCNY. Perhaps if Deutsch had
known some meaningful facts, he
might have had a more complete
understanding of what preceded
the current successful situation. Perhaps
he might even have tendered
some positive suggestions. He
might even have been a little kinder
and less offensive in his remarks …
but then again, probably not.
Laurance J. Guido ’65, ’69 P&S
SiaSCoNSet, Ma S S.
Columbia CollEgE Today
biting. Nevertheless, she says she is
excited to still be in New York City!
veronica couzo’s summer was
filled with moving, packing, and
more moving and packing. In addition
to studying for the LSAT, she
has been a full-time employee at
MTV since June. She says the most
exciting thing that happened to
her during the summer (other than
attending a Backstreet Boys concert)
was having a bathroom ceiling in
Columbia graduate housing collapse
on her head. Stay safe, Veronica!
Thank you for all of your great
submissions. Keep them coming!
alumni Corner
(Continued from page 72)
says. “The result, after a bit of research,
was a gluten-free, dairy-free,
egg-free and sugar-free cake that
actually tasted good.” But you don’t
have to be a magnificent pastry chef
to support a celiac friend. We were
able to enjoy countless dinners because
people simply asked questions
about what food was safe for us.
So, what is Columbia without
gluten? Without beer, pizza and
Chinese take-out? In the end, not all
that different. You find alternative
drinks and foods, plan for meal-less
emergencies and make understanding
friends. While a gluten-free diet
is certainly not an unsurpassable
obstacle, our point is that it need
not be an obstacle at all. The only
thing truly daunting about celiac
disease and a gluten-free diet is the
barrier of unfamiliarity. We thrived
at Columbia because we were able
to break down this barrier within a
small group of friends. But if celiacs
are willing to speak up, to not be
apologetic about their condition,
and the rest of the community is a
little more conscientious, the barrier
needn’t exist. We hope that the Columbia
community will continue to
rise to the challenge of being aware
and supportive of its celiacs, taking
a lead in helping three million
Americans lead normal lives.
For more about celiac disease, see the
article in the Winter 2009–10 issue of
Columbia magazine: magazine.col
umbia.edu/features/winter-2009-10/
against-grain.
arianne richard ’10 works in an autoimmunity
research lab at the National
Institutes of Health and intends to enter
graduate school in fall 2011. Jeffrey
spear ’10 works for the Center for the
Core Curriculum and is trying to earn
a place on the U.S. 2012 Olympic fencing
team before applying to graduate
school in fall 2012.