At Columbia, there is a diverse student body which is, brought together as a whole. A strong element in cutting across school and college life 12 is dormitory life. Between 1901 and 1911, the number of students living in residence halls as opposed to commuting to the school increased a great deal. This gives the students a common base to share, the ability to spend more time together and on the campus, and even common grievances complaints about the inadequate size of their rooms, or the low quality of the food, to name a few. This helps to bring students together.
Student organizations are key in creating student life.
Fraternities bring students together by giving them a common bond while creating a sense of brotherhood. Even the most academically dedicated of Columbia students might be involved in one of the many student organizations, The forming of organizations of all kinds, and particularly the holding of offices therein, seems to gratify a fundamental human craving. 13 Student-run organizations gave students yet another opportunity to share experiences with fellow students, creating the brotherhood which Santayana wrote existed at Yale. The earliest evidence of a student organization at Columbia dates back to a literary society in 1784. This desire, to get more out of college life than an academic education, to also have a social experience, can be argued to have existed almost since the founding of the colleges themselves.