“There’s no better way of experiencing New York City than scavenging for housing in early August after being denied housing as a transfer student with no promises of entry in future housing lotteries,” claimed Director of Residential Life and Housing at Barnard, Rizeth J. Lamirez.
Students can find the updated Foundations requirement on Barnard’s website as detailed below:
Requirement: One course (or exclusion from the housing lottery) that asks students to examine the community and environment in which they find themselves as residents of New York City (whether they like the housing market or not).
Aim: This requirement encourages students to situate themselves (literally) in a local context (if you are able to find/afford local real estate). In this respect, New York is not just the backdrop of their undergraduate experience, but also their first hellish landlord experience! The requirement can be met through the study (or experience) of many topics, from the literature of the Harlem Renaissance to the ecosystems of the Hudson River, from the frantic search for housing by transfer students during their academic careers, to dealing with the most god awful apartment complexes on earth.
Students who complete a course (or experience) satisfying the Thinking Locally requirement should be able to attain at least one of the following outcomes:
- Identify distinctive geological or environmental factors that characterize the region
- A horrific housing experience that includes living with a variety of rodents, strains of mold, and a heinous roommate
- Situate art, architecture, literature, urban planning, or performance within the social or historical context of the city
- Tenant trauma
