The one day of the year you actually want to go to the Package Center: Valentine’s Day. We find out just how many people’s textbook orders from Amazon arrived today.

6:16: The guys from the Package Center said they do like cookies… Tysheim, pictured right, says he likes to play pool and go out for movies and dinner. He’s looking for a girl who’s family-oriented. Gary, on the left, said he likes sports and reading and wants a girl with a sense of humor.

Sara Garner for Spec

6:13: The girl from 6:08 is opening her package and the highlights include a toothbrush “for kissing,” a pair of “lacy pink underwear,” eyeliner, a copy of Cosmo, and St. Patrick’s Day earrings.

6:09: The guy at the Package Center suggested we mention “that guy at the Package Center.”

6:08: One girl received a box from her mom, and sent a box of Krispy Kreme donuts to herself.

6:07: Another package from mom! He said he sent an ecard and a pack of the written hearts. “I don’t have a real valentine, so my mom is my valentine. She said she’ll always be my valentine.” He then added, “She just learned how to use emojis so she sent a heart in every single color. It was a little out there.”

6:03: One of the guys from the Package Center said that today was really busy and that people have been getting flowers from their secret admirers and parents and that people were really excited. “A lot of smiles today.” He said he was hoping for something and that the Package Center is open until 7! And don’t worry, your flowers will be here tomorrow!

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Tomorrow I’ll be asking some of the bros of Sigma Phi Epsilon, more commonly known around these parts as Sig Ep, questions on love, dating, and hook-ups in order to get all of you ready for Valentine’s Day.

If you want to find out what that guy meant by the text he sent you at 3 a.m. last night, submit the message to our Google Doc, along with a little bit of background information. We’ll choose our favorites and find out if they think you’re his Alma Mater or his Almost-Doesn’t-Matter.

We all have Beyonce moments at Columbia– when you wear heels and don’t trip all over College Walk, get an A on the paper you wrote the night before, or make a comment brilliant enough to make you the suspect of a power outage.

Unless Beyonce is at Bacchanal (and is hopefully accompanied by Wavves…BACCHANAL PLANNING COMMITTEE I HOPE YOU’RE READING THIS), this is the closest you’ll come to Sasha Fierce actually stepping foot on campus.

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This is the first installation of a series in which Spectrum highlights some of the student artists here at Columbia. This week, we spoke to Runtao Yang, CC ’15 and a multimedia contributor for Spec.

Sara Garner: When did you start drawing? How did you get so interested in art?

Runtao Yang: I started drawing at the beginning of sophomore year in high school when I decided to get my visual and performing arts requirement out of the way with a basic introduction to drawing class. I did not expect that I would like it at all since before that I never had an appreciation for art or seriously considered drawing.

However, I had the most amazing drawing teacher who taught me the bare basics of visual arts. At the same time, I found art to be quite therapeutic and cathartic which really helped me get through sophomore year when academics started getting more and more difficult.

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Last year I decided to throw my skepticism aside and rush for a sorority, and let me just say, it was the adventure of my life.

I belonged to a sorority for around a total of two weeks. Although being a part of this whole crazy thing was just about as close to being a member of the Spice Girls or Anna Faris in the movie House Bunny as I had imagined it would be, I quickly realized that I still was the kind of person who detested calling people my “sisters” and felt ridiculous running around campus in a hat singing songs, and thus retired my pin.

However, for those of you like last-year me who want to give this lifestyle a spin, here’s what to expect and how to score a bid.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll awkwardly walk to “parties” held in the different lounges with a pod of fifteen or so girls. Why awkwardly? You all want exactly the same thing, some of the girls will see this as a cross between a reality show and The Amazing Race, and oh, right, sororities—the only thing other than the weather you can think to talk about—are off limits.

If you don’t believe me when I say that this whole weekend turns into a beauty pageant gone extreme, read this rule from the Potential New Member Handbook: “Stay hydrated and remember to eat! You’ll be on your feet and in conversation for extended periods of time, so make sure you fuel and rest your body appropriately. Low energy makes for a dull and uncomfortable day of Recruitment.”

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It’s the second week of school and you’ve decided that this semester you’re finally going to make that cute girl you always see in Butler fall in love with you.

Well, instead of posting your feelings on Columbia Admirers and hoping things will magically work out, here are some ideas to initiate conversation and make something happen.

1. First you need to find out where and at what time she studies, and then return to this place every day at that exact same time. Think of this less as stalking, and more as being deliberate.

Most people study in the same room every day so this is a great way to accidentally bump into her and get on her radar. Plus, one day when you’re married to her it’ll be a fun story to tell your kids. More »

Founded in early 2008, CollegeACB became Columbia-renowned for discussing our personal lives in a less-than-friendly way on the beloved public domain that is the Internet.

It also specialized in deciding which frats on campus were best and which inanimate objects were the “gayest.”

Unsurprisingly, this format caused some controversy. Eventually the website was sold by its original founder and disappeared from public interest.

However, it seems to have made a comeback of sorts under the name CollegiateACB. Previous patrons will be glad to know that the new incarnation still retains its previous “charm.” Below are some reasons why the new version is just as fun as the old.

1. Everybody loves to talk about all of the frats (and sororities)

In trying to decide which frat has the “easiest pledge process cause im in seas,” someone asked:

I don’t know the answer to this question, and I don’t care to find out.

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Yet another MoHi spot bites the dust– first the closing of Card-O-Mat and Il Cibrero, and now M2M, the popular “morning to midnight” supermarket has been closed by order of the Commisioner of Health and Mental Hygiene until further notice.

Mikey Zhong for Spec

A closeup of the sign after the jump.

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Get excited to return from winter break– on those busy Thursday nights, you will now be able to swipe yourself into East Campus!

Here’s a photo of the new turnstile system: