College Facts Friday: Barnard College

For this week’s #CollegeFactsFriday, we are going to New York, New York! Cue the music and let’s learn more about Barnard College.

 1. Barnard College was named after Frederick A. P. Barnard, who founded the school (with the help of a student Annie Nathan Meyer) in 1889. Barnard was the 10th president of Columbia University, who believed that women should be in the same challenging curriculum as men. Learn more about their history here. 

 2. The campus and its classrooms have been used in films and TV shows, such as The Bedford Diaries and Mistress America.

 3. In 1960, one of the biggest scandals in Barnard was the ban on pants and Bermuda shorts. Read more here.

 4. Are you a breakfast lover? One of the traditions at Barnard is the Midnight Breakfast. On the night before the first day of finals, college deans, trustees, staff and the president serve food to over to a thousand students. What could make this better? The breakfast food usually has a theme! 

 5. Famous Barnard alumni include Joan Rivers (comedian), Utada Hikaru (singer and songwriter), Martha Stewart (TV host and businesswoman), and Jaqueline K. Barton (pioneer in DNA structure study).

 6. Located just across the street from Columbia University, Barnard College shares its resources with Columbia. It is also part of the Seven Sisters, which are made up of historically women’s colleges. These seven schools, which are highly selective liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States, are created to provide women with the same academic rigor as the Ivy League.

 7. At the beginning of the fall semester each year, students are welcomed to a 700 feet long subway sandwich. It has different sections for each dietary preference, such as kosher, vegetarian, or vegan.

 8. Barnard’s mascot is a bear, name Millie the Dancing Bear. She is named after the first president, Milicent McIntosh.

 9. Like to challenge the way you think? Check out the provocative bench – a marble bench engraved with statements such as “an elite is inevitable” or “stupid people shouldn’t breed.” The bench “Selection of Truism” is a Jenny Holzer sculpture, gifted to the college from trustee emerita and art-history major Virginia “Jinny” Bloedel Wright. 

 10. Want to learn more about Barnard College? Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Curious about #collegefacts on Columbia University? Read more: College Facts Friday: Columbia University