Ad­min­is­trators Vow to End Columbia Uni­versity Marching Band's Historic Tradition

Administrators at Columbia University are vowing to end a cherished campus tradition on Thursday that has brought smiles and comfort to generations of students. NY1's Michael Scotto filed the following report.

It's Orgo night.

At the end of every semester since 1975, the Columbia University Marching Band gathers in the school's library on the eve of the big organic chemistry final to play music and tell jokes.

The goal is to relax anxious students cramming for the high-stakes test.

The event was supposed to be held Thursday.

But last week, university officials told the band that the 41-year tradition needed to find a new home.

"The extent of the history really makes this such a jarring decision on the part of the administration," said Elizabeth Pudel, a junior at Barnard College.

The administration claims the event is now a disruption and wants the band to perform somewhere else on campus.

"This change in venue reflects our interest in preserving Columbia’s libraries as a quiet place to study and conduct research at all times in the academic year and particularly during the final exam period," said Ann Thornton, University Librarian.

Band members say studying students expect and even welcome the disruption, which begins at 11:59 p.m. and lasts roughly 45 minutes. 

The event, they say, is supposed to remind students that college is more than studying.

University officials did not respond to our question about whether they had received complaints about the event.

"In reality," said Pudel, "your grades don't determine your worth and there's no reason to give up your mental health for the sake of your grades.

Desperate to preserve the event, students have reached out to alumni groups and have asked them to explain to the administration the importance of the tradition.

Samantha Rowan played in the band in the 1990s. Her appeals to the university were ignored.

"Moving an event like Orgo night from Butler Library to another venue on campus is kind of like moving the Macy's parade to the FDR," said Samantha Rowan, president at Columbia University Band Alumni Association. "It would still happen but it wouldn't be as exciting on the FDR as where it is now."

No word from students on whether they will move the event to a new location or try and keep it where it has always been.