When the Class of 1905 challenged the Class of 1906 to a friendly athletic competition in 1903, neither group knew they were founding one of the most famous and cherished traditions on campus: the Barnard Greek Games. On April 26, after a seven-year hiatus and as the College sprinted to the end of the academic year and to Commencement Day, the celebratory competition was back, alongside Spirit Week, which ran April 21-25.
The return of the College’s quintessential fun and games surely pleased the running, torch-bearing statue — sculpted by artist Chester Beach and gifted by the Class of 1905 to mark the 25th anniversary of Barnard’s first Greek Games, in 1903.
Spirit Week brought the entire student body together to laugh, play, and trivia their way through a five-day, fun-filled roster of campus activities that included scavenger hunts around campus, movie screenings on Futter Field, and the all-important Commencement tradition of seniors decorating their mortarboards as only they could. While the Class of 2027 secured the most student signatures for their class banner, this year’s overall winner was the Class of 2025.
Getting Back in the Games
From 1903 to 1967, the Greek Games evolved from informal rivalries between first-years and sophomores into an annual celebration that transformed the campus into ancient Greece. Inspired by the athletic competitions of antiquity, students donned toga-like costumes to compete in activities ranging from chariot and torch races to wrestling and hoop rolling. The iconic figure of College life, officially named the Spirit of the Greek Games and informally known as “the torchbearer,” has watched over every subsequent challenge since she arrived on campus nearly a century ago. With a knowing air of confidence, the beloved statue has graced the glossy pages of Barnard brochures and magazines and appeared in countless alumnae photo albums decade after decade.
True to Barnard’s pioneering history, the Greek Games predated the 1983 formation of the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium — which allows Barnard student-athletes to compete alongside Columbia undergraduates in Ivy League and NCAA Division I athletics — and provided women on campus with an opportunity to demonstrate their athletic skills by helping their teams win tournaments, break records, and even land a spot at the NCAA’s March Madness tournament.
Beyond athletic prowess, the Greek Games also served as a stage for artistic expression. Students hand-crafted intricate costumes and designed the sets for dances, recited ancient Greek poetry, held theatrical performances, and performed choral pieces, with a different Greek god as the focus of each annual celebration. In 2011, a classics student penned an ode in Greek to the chosen god of that year — Athena.
Barnard Greek Games 2025
“The Greek Games are a powerful reminder of the Barnard student community’s unique ability to blend tradition with transformation,” said Noelle Kee ’25, co-president of McIntosh Activities Council (McAC). “In moments when we all yearn for a little more connection, this event brings us together in celebration of our shared identity and the many ways we show up for one another.”
“The 2025 Greek Games saw the return of a long-standing Barnard tradition where students engage in friendly competition to see which class year will be the winner,” said Noah Mullenix, program coordinator for Campus-Wide Programs and Student Experience & Engagement (SEE). “Students competed in a battle of brawn with relay races, tug-of-war, and dodgeball and a battle of brains with trivia. We hoped that participants walked away from Greek Games with a stronger connection to their class and to their Barnard community past, present, and future through this tradition.”
Spirit Week is hosted by the McIntosh Activities Council (McAC) — the student-led programming committee behind some of the most cherished traditions on campus, from Big Sub to Midnight Breakfast — in partnership with the Student Government Association (SGA) Class Councils.
With Commencement a stone’s throw away, the Greek Games and Spirit Week were the perfect prelude to the series of campus events that led up to the big day on May 20. Class years of the past would be proud.
—TARA TERRANOVA ’25
