Last Tuesday, Bwogger Alex Jones hopped over to the law school to hear Michael Steele speak at an event hosted by the Columbia Political Union. As the former chairman of the GOP, Michael Steele has a past defined by partisanship. But the message he conveyed on Tuesday was one of post-partisan idealism. The speech was […]

Turath, the Columbia Arab Students Organization, may have spoken too soon. On Thursday, members announced a “Columbia Stands with Egypt” protest against the injustice of the Mubarak regime. But after Mubark’s departure on Friday, what was once a protest is now a party. Head down to Low Plaza at 2 p.m for snacks, sharbat, music, and […]

Last night Peter Sterne learned pretty much anything you would want to know and probably a lot of stuff you wouldn’t about how to have a career in politics. Last night, Matt McMillan, CC ’03 and internet consultant for Democratic political campaigns, showed a group of about 40 undergraduates in Hamilton 602 what it really takes […]

Give me Four Loko, or give me death!  Or at least don’t ban it. (Spec) In case you haven’t heard yet, we have a Five Guys coming!  Their burgers taste good. (DNAinfo) Peek into the lives of Jake and Marty La Salle CC ’07 under the big-top, on a new PBS series. (NYT) Democracy happened […]

Breaking news if you’re into this kind of thing: New York’s 27th congressional district will likely find earmarks a lot harder to come by soon, as a House investigative committee has found that longtime congressman and lord of Harlem Charles Rangel “violated a range of ethics rules.” The eighteen-month-long investigation was investigating whether the former […]

This Wednesday, SIPA and the J-school invited authors of Game Change John Heilemann and Mark Halperin to discuss their book about the 2008 presidential campaign in light of the upcoming election season. Bwog’s Political Lit Bureau Chief Rebecca Newman reports. To Heilemann and Halperin, Game Change is and always has been about the characters. The […]

So this thing happened a few days ago. Hate it or love it, it’s here, and it will actually affect you. We’ve compiled some of the most immediate changes the bill creates, student-specific clauses, and a listed a few places to learn more about this extremely messy and important bill. Here are some of the […]

Grant D’Avino sought to learn more about political image-making from Joshua King, former Director of Production for Presidential Events during the Clinton administration. Self-proclaimed political dinosaur Joshua King gave attendees of Wednesday night’s lecture a glimpse into the murky waters of modern political image-making. He endeavored to help deconstruct the images of politicians seen in […]

Bwog Oldie Justin Vlasits endured enormous lines winding throughout IAB in order to bring you this report on Linguist/Political Activist Noam Chomsky’s speech last night. In today’s intellectual climate, with its emphasis on tight specialization, it is uncommon to see someone excel in more than one field.  Noam Chomsky is a member of this rare […]

Generative grammar devotees, be warned! The 5th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture, featuring Noam Chomsky, is packed to the brim in IAB’s Altschul Auditorium. Bwog’s Webmaster and Official Chomskyan Political Correspondent Hans Hyttinen reports that, as of 6:30 PM, students are being asked to leave IAB and no one else is being allowed in. Hyttinen […]

Bwog sat down with the latest Columbian to make the rest of his class look bad. All-Amur’can Raphael Graybill (CC ’10) of Great Falls, Montana has recently been awarded the 2010 Marshall Scholarship. Each year, the prestigious award is granted to up to 40 American students of “high ability” to pursue graduate studies in the […]

The October issue of the Columbia Political Review is out. The tongues of former commies and renegade colonists are back in style, Young idealists are still hopping on the bandwagon, Barack Obama spreads hope and change,  San Francisco finally puts its money where its (progressive) mouth is, and Conservatives pretend its 1773.  

Yes, Mark Hay can! This week the Senate Finance committee pushed out a neutered healthcare bill. And then thirty senators voted against a bill to block government contracts with companies that do not allow their employees to sue when raped by fellow employees. I guess last November’s hope water is wearing off, because it’s just […]

Politico has an early copy of MSNBC reporter Richard Wolffe‘s new book Renegade, about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and among his many tales is the following confrontation between Joe Biden and John McCain during the ServiceNation forum (presumably in Lerner). When Sen. John McCain wouldn’t return the phone calls of Sen. Joe Biden, the never-subtle […]

 – Anonymous photo of the CC ’10 presidential candidates in friendlier days (aka “last week”) The 2010 Class Council hopefuls gathered in cramped Lerner 568 to wade through students’ favorite topics this evening.  Guessing, perhaps, that there would be little new and exciting to hear, there were not more than ten people in the audience, […]