Recently, I went to a trivia night organized for students of all of the Columbia graduate schools – TC, business, architecture, social work, etc. I arrived to find a packed room, bags and bags of salty, crunchy toothsome treats, and two glistening kegs of beer. What really took my breath away though was the number of males in the room. Probably only 30% or so of those in the crowded room were women. TC is 75% women, and I didn't realize how much I'd gotten used to that environment. It was borderline overwhelming; it almost reminded me of coming back from Japan and hearing English from so many different directions simultaneously. I wonder if that's what it feels like to go from an all-girls' high school to a co-ed college. Girls taught in single-sex environments supposedly come out more confident, but they must have some advantage I don't because I felt borderline panicky for the first few minutes.
Once I had regained my composure, I focused on helping my team to stay hot on the heels of the winners up until the last round, when we dropped to 3rd place. (Who pays attention to current events anyway?) I think 3rd place when you're competing against other Columbia grad. students is pretty respectable, frankly. We had a fantastic time, and I've got my fingers crossed that another trivia night will happen soon.
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