Well, summer has come and gone as it always does, even though the beginning of Fall 2016 feels especially rude because it’s happening to us right now. Plus, there’s one more thing that’s weighing down this sinking feeling that often accompanies the beginning of the new semester… the death of a campus celeb, the Barnard Magnolia Tree. As we walk through our ravaged campus, a place of former grandeur, the corpse of Maggie looms. What once was a shady, blossomy gathering spot for all CU students is now a morose reminder of why we indubitably cannot have nice things. In order to mourn properly and fully process the turn of events that have lead to her death, we’ve gathered statements from students on their thoughts on the matter.
“I inherited the Twitter account from some former zine girls and decided to give the magnolia a sassy personality. She’s basically a cool rebellious Barnard girl turned into a tree. When I inherited the account I honestly didn’t realize the tree would be going through anything traumatic or huge like this, but it’s been fun to see her through so many big events.” – Suze Meyers, BC ’16 and voice behind @BCMagnoliaTree
“We have all collectively lost our special flower.” – Jordan Lachner-Mannix, BC ‘17
“I would have missed it more if I could have climbed it before. Oh, you could?…” – Anna Espinola, BC ‘17
“I don’t know how to respond because I don’t know what it is. I’m sorry for the loss?” – Phil Burnett, a Columbia Senior
“They shouldn’t’ve f***ing moved it.” – Mojdeh Kamaly, BC ‘17
“I fell out of it once… good riddance.” – Phoebe Jones, BC ‘18
“I didn’t know Maggie well, but she seemed like a nice girl.” – Ciara Keane, CC ‘18
“I guess I just feel like Barnard students were really proud of that tree. It was our one place on campus to lie in the grass and enjoy nice weather. Columbia really has a lot more space than us, and I’m worried our campus is just going to turn into a bunch of obnoxious buildings with no character.” – Shannon Wolling, BC ‘17
Pour one out for Maggie. Don’t cry because she’s gone; cry a lot because she went too early.