For as long as I can remember, my father has passed down stories of how our family fled North Korea, our search to find a permanent refuge from the war. After 70 years of separation, a scant four kilometers of the demilitarized zone still keeps us away from our extended North Korean family, the grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins who I only know through colorful anecdotes and the rare picture. As a child, one of my favorite hobbies was creating watercolors...

Last year, while I was touring Columbia’s renowned metropolitan campus, I noticed a group of protestors on the steps of Low Library, young men and women who were chanting the same phrase over and over: “Don’t let our planet die!” At first, I assumed that these demonstrators were an outside organization, but as I watched hundreds of additional students join them and march to Foley Square, I realized that this climate initiative was a direct product of the...