One of my most memorable experiences at Columbia was Orgo Night in the undergraduate reading room in Butler Library. I attended Orgo Night in all eight semesters I was at Columbia. Each was an experience of its own.

The most memorable would have to be in the year 2000, at the end of my second semester of freshman year. The crowds started piling into the reading room very early in the evening and, by the time midnight rolled around, there were hundreds of students clogging the entrances and pushing their way into the main room. Students were everywhere: on top of every shelf, every windowsill, every table, and every copy machine. The reserves desk was inundated with students jumping over the desk and clobbering each other to reach the door to the reading room. I was one of many who struggled to get into the reading room. After pushing through the masses, I finally made my way in. The crowds gathered as the marching band magically made its way through the madness.

Despite the rumors of more than $10,000 of damages done to the library that night, the show of school spirit was unmatched in the years following at all other Orgo Nights I attended. In addition, that night's craziness forced the administration to heighten security and limit the number of people allowed to enter the reading room for Orgo Night to 200.

Cheers to Columbia and its passionate students who continue to fight for our school's age-old traditions.