For most of our readers, the graduation ceremonies have finished, and after watching all the webcasts, we still can’t tell them apart. They all have graduates throwing things/falling asleep/not paying attention, administrators reminding said graduates about the opportunities that await them, and lots of light blue and school pride. The one area that does have […]

But only if you’re in the Law School or SIPA. Columbia’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs announced the complete list of Class Speakers today, and joining Attorney General Eric Holder are many other famous names to prop up the 22 various Class Day and Commencement ceremonies taking place between this Saturday (the B-School) and […]

In a decision lacking much of the fanfare of the College’s Class Day speaker announcement, SEAS deans chose their own speaker over the weekend: James Albaugh, SEAS M.S. ’74. Albaugh earned his B.A. in Math and Physics from Willamette University and is now executive vice president of the Boeing Company and chief executive officer of […]

Loyalty is not something ingrained in students at this spirit-deprived school.  Even with all the excitement, we knew deep inside that Barack Obama (CC ’83, now some kind of important person) would never speak at Class Day. After all, what with saving the world, how could he possibly have time to visit his Alma Mater? […]

Don’t forget that this year’s class day speaker will be announced today at 12:30 on Low Plaza. That’s in one hour, folks. Place your final bets and cross your fingers. UPDATE (12:38 PM): As rumored yesterday, the CC Class Day speaker will be Attorney General Eric Holder, CC ’73, Law ’76. UPDATE (1:35 PM): We’ve […]

 – Wikimedia Commons Make that two cabinet officials: sources confirm to Bwog that the Class Day speaker will be announced at midday tomorrow on Low Steps, and that discussions are underway with Attorney General Eric Holder, CC ’73 and Law ’76. Holder, the first African-American attorney general, has previously been Attorney General for the District […]

CC ’09 Class Council Rep. Colin Felsman has notified Bwog that the much-anticipated voting website for CC ’09’s Class Day speaker has been online for the last few hours and may be found here.  So if you are a senior who wants to take a break from that 25-pager you’ve been “working” on in Butler […]

The list of the twenty most popular living CC alums and parents is in! The CC 2009 Class Council has just released your top twenty choices of who you want to see as this year’s Joel “Who?” Klein. Class Day Speaker nominees include Eric Holder, Warren Buffet, Seymour Hersh, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Terrence McNally and yes, […]

We just posted about nominating your favorite political figures, writers, scientists and members of Vampire Weekend for this year’s Columbia College Class Day speaker. If you’re unsure of whom to pick, Bwog’s put together a quick list of people we’d think would be good choices. Feel free to argue with us or suggest your own […]

The Class Council of the Columbia College graduating class of 2009 is urging that all seniors submit nominations for this year’s Class Day Speaker. Using your nominations, the council members will present a “wish list” to Quigley, who will then invite those 5-8 possible speakers. This is all of course assuming that there are more […]

With the pomp and circumstance of Class Day and graduation weeks behind us, Bwog was surprised and delighted when we were contacted last night by Maxim Pinkovskiy, the Columbia College valedictorian. Wrote Pinkovskiy: “As the valedictorian of Columbia College does not give a speech on Class Day, I did not get to make a speech. […]

Tipster Sumeet Shah sends word that PrezBo had a rollicking good time at SEAS’s class day yesterday. Shah sends a photo of PrezBo laughing—real human laughs—at speaker Armen Avanessians’ speech. Says one SEASer of the speech: “Hilarious but uninspiring. The whole speech was nerd jokes… he got a laugh with the phrase ‘1.5-micron CMOS’, as […]

CC Class day, though never a particularly riveting experience, was cold, blustery and, well, boring this year. The afternoon began with clear skies and salutatorian Julia Kalow, a double major in chemistry and creative writing, whose speech tended toward the latter. She told the story of a writer who informs her friends that she’s written […]

Grumbly reactions to Class Day speakers are traditional at Columbia (John McCain, too conservative! Matthew Fox, too pedestrian!). Joel Klein has received only a smattering of disapproval in the comments, on account of his low name recognition. To stoke your envy (or pride–at least we didn’t end up with Bianca Jagger), Bwog has collected a […]

For SEAS Class Day speaker engineering is the new liberal arts. FaCU, SGB funding meetings should be open to all. The New Harlem, its a happening place. The mayor of Brigadoon bids farewell. Gandhi scholar to hang it up after 40 years of teaching the same course. Jeffrey Sachs goes back to the future.   […]