The Columbia Chronicle

Quidditch players participate in socially-distanced activities like individual shooting drills and a 40-yard dash.

Renegades sports make a comeback with a new biggest competitor — the coronavirus

October 16, 2020

With masks on, shoes tightly laced and sweat beading on their skin, team members run at the blow of a whistle. But, they all maintain their distance and avoid any form of physical contact, sanitizing their ...

First of its kind: Quidditch scholarship will aim to bring diversity to the sport

October 6, 2020

Rylie Smedley discovered quidditch—the real version of sport featured in the “Harry Potter” series—her freshman year at Columbia when she was looking to try something new. Now a senior, the cin...

Quidditch tournament ends with two losses, one win for Columbia

By Katy Duffy

March 8, 2018

Seven Columbia students sat crouched on one knee in front of a set of three hoops in Grant Park. When the whistle was blown, they began to run toward the center of the field while tucking a thin pole between their legs as the Quidditch game kicked off.Columbia's Renegades Quidditch team played a three-game tournament March 2 with losses against Loyola University Lumos Quidditch and Chicago United Quidditch Club, and a win a...

Columbia’s Quidditch team has transformed from a club into a competitive organization, with hopes to make it to nationals in the upcoming year.

Quidditch team flies toward its goals

February 4, 2018

The “Harry Potter” homage sport Quidditch has continued to develop at Columbia into a more hard-hitting and competitive sports team. Ben Dib, a junior cinema and television arts major and U.S. Quidditch coordinator, said the team has transformed from a student organization in...

It’s time to teach LGBTQ history

September 25, 2017

California’s Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act was passed during the 2011–2012 school year and requires the state’s public schools to teach LGBTQ-inclusive history. However,...

Chloe Streif, co-captain of the Quidditch team, practices drills to get the team prepped for future tournaments.

Quidditch soars at Columbia

February 16, 2015

The broomsticks are up and flying as the Renegades Quidditch team has taken off. Co-captain Connor McCluskey, a junior audio arts & acoustics major, started the team last fall and is ready to lead it to...

Madison Zielinski, a freshman creative writing major and a student in “Anatomies of Slam Poetry,” won first place at the college’s first poetry slam hosted by Zielinski’s class and the “Club Management: Practicum” course.

Interdisciplinary collaboration presents first-ever poetry slam

December 8, 2014

Nine poets competed for best poet of the night at Columbia’s first-ever poetry slam. Madison Zielinski, a freshman creative writing major, won over the judges and took first place at the Dec. 4 contest held ...

Renegades officers (left to right) Mike Sempek, a junior television major; Ryan Miller, a senior marketing communications major; and Scott Wilson, a senior cinema art + science major, discuss future Renegades plans.

The Renegades acknowledge progress, aim for integration.

December 1, 2014

After a semester that saw the addition of three teams and several successful fundraisers, the Renegades are continuing to make their presence on campus known.The Renegades have enjoyed an increased turnout a...

Renegades aim to kick off hockey and softball teams

By Abby Seitz

October 31, 2014

When Mike Sempek, a junior television major, became president of the Renegades in August, he had one goal in mind—to expand Columbia’s selection of sports.The Renegades held meetings Oct. 21 at The Loft in the 916 S. Wabash Ave. Building to gauge student interest in creating softball and ice hockey teams. At the meetings, Sempek recruited captains to lead the prospective softball and hockey teams through the next steps of c...

Featured Athlete: Connor McCluskey

October 20, 2014

Connor McCluskey, a sophomore audio arts & acoustics major, is captain of the college’s Quidditch team. Quidditch, an invented sport featured in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, has begun to...

Broom, broom: Quidditch comes to Columbia

By Assistant Sports & Health Editor

October 13, 2014

Break out the broomsticks—the Renegades is adding quidditch to its sports roster for the first time this fall semester. Derived from the “Harry Potter” book series, quidditch is a co-ed contact...

A look into the future of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, finding a solution

Turning a positive into a negative

February 17, 2014

Seven years ago, the only thing Rashid Bashir, leading developer and head of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his researchers needed to revolutioni...