Yes, you read that right. Sources confirm that representatives from the CC, GS, and SEAS student councils, in conjunction with SGB, the College Democrats, CQA, CPU, the Hamilton Society, and the College Republicans, have been meeting since school began to discuss plans for a student referendum on the return of Naval ROTC to campus.

At this time, Bwog can also confirm that one current version of the referendum could have three answers:

1.) yes to allowing ROTC

2.) yes to allowing ROTC (provided it stops employing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy)

3.) no to allowing ROTC.

But according to a student representative, the ballot could also be a simple yes/no.

The referendum, if it passes the undergraduate councils, will be held after the national presidential elections. If the initiative passes the student vote, it will then move to the University Senate. The last referendum on ROTC occurred in 2005, and was struck down by the University Senate, 51 to 11 53 to 10, with 5 abstentions.

Planning for this began last May, and several meetings have been held since the start of the school year. The Obama-McCain double endorsement of ROTC (and subsequent national media attention on Columbia’s ROTC ban) only accelerated the process. Bwog will keep you updated with more developments as they happen.

UPDATE 9:34 PM: For those curious about Barnard’s students, there are BC students on the commission and the details of Barnard’s involvement are unclear at this point.