View source for Columbia University Science Fiction Society

(Did you mean [[Cambridge University SF Society|CUSFS, the Cambridge University SF Society]]?)

[[FSFSCU]] was succeeded by the Columbia University Science Fiction Society (which sometimes called itself the '''Barnard-Columbia Science Fiction Society'''). It was organised in October 1975 by [[Dani Eder]], [[Richard Lanpin]], and [[Harold Lehmann]]. It published a short-lived [[fanzine]] called ''[[Sol III]]'', produced radio and television programs on campus stations, and sponsored speakers and a film series.

In September 1978 the first issue of its newsletter ''[[Quandry]]'' appeared; with issue #5 (dated "Finals, Fall Semester, 1978") the title was changed to ''[[CUSFuSsing]]''. It was edited by [[Charles Seelig]]. Over the years it mutated from a single page bulletin to a substantial fanzine. 

{{link | website=http://dbr.nu/cusfs}}

In that period CUSFS met weekly, hosted frequent film screenings in campus spaces, and maintained a large library in Ferris Booth Hall, the student activities center. On 1 April 1978 CUSFS put on a one-day convention called [[Apricon]] that attracted about 200 people. Several further Apricons were held at various times until the end of the 1980s.

When Ferris Booth Hall was demolished in 1996 CUSFS lost most of its library space. (Much of the collection went into permanent storage.) Membership dropped steeply and the club was in crisis for a while, but it recovered with coverage by the ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' and collaboration with the [[NYU Science Fiction and Fantasy Club]].

In 2014 CUSFS president [[Flo Doval]] launched a speaker series that brought [[Gail Carlson Levine]], [[Naomi Novik]], [[John Joseph Adams]], and writers, editors, and artists to Columbia. These attracted large audiences. ''[[CUSFuSsing]]'', which had ceased publication sometime in the 1990s, is being relaunched in 2017 as "more of a literary magazine". A catalog of the club library is available on the CUSFS website. Less formal club traditions include an end-of-year banquet, a celebration of [[Bilbo Baggins's birthday]], and a sacrifice to [[Cthulhu]] – an event that "manages to bewilder and amuse many unknowing bystanders".

See [[Fandom at Columbia]] for a history of fandom at Columbia University.

{{link | website=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cusfs/}}

Members included [[E. Wayland Daw]], [[Dani Eder]], [[Richard Lanpin]], and [[Harold Lehmann]], [[Raymond Loy]], and [[Charles Seeling]].

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