Protesters banging drums and chanting catchy slogans such as “They say ROTC. We say democracy!” have gathered on 116th and Amsterdam across from the Law School, where the University Senate is voting on discussing the final ROTC resolution.

The Senate has released its final resolution regarding military engagement, building off of last week’s draft resolution. It’s going to be presented to the University Senate at tomorrow’s plenary meeting–Bwog is waiting for word on whether or not it will be voted on. The preambulatory clauses are phrased and ordered slightly differently, but the operative […]

The University Senate will probably vote on their draft resolution for ROTC’s return on April 1st, although it’s possible they’ll delay until the following plenary meeting on April 29th. Barring a veto of their decision by the Trustees, the USenate’s vote will be the final decision. Reviewing our coverage of the ROTC proceedings, here is […]

In response to the early draft of the Senate’s resolution to “engage the armed forces” and bring back ROTC to Columbia, the student Coalition Opposed to ROTC has written a clause-by-clause response. An excerpt: 12. Be it further resolved that any further relationships with the Army will be subject to periodic review There is no […]

A draft of the USenate’s resolution to condone military engagement and welcome back ROTC has been circulated among faculty caucuses for comment and discussion. This does not mean that the Senate will definitively endorse ROTC’s return, but a similar resolution will be put to a vote before the Senate body (likely in April). Below is […]

Latest from the ROTC debate which is getting more and more attention from the national media: check out two recently published articles by important members of the Columbia community. Yesterday Katherine Franke, Professor and Director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at the Law school, wrote an opinion piece for the Huffington Post. […]

Yesterday afternoon on IAB 15, a panel of representatives from the upper echelons of Columbia’s faculty made some remarks on the issue of ROTC. The debate was notably free of the bristling tension of the Senate hearings. Each panelist spoke cogently and thoughtfully, covering nearly all the ideological points that pertain to the university as […]

The University Senate met from 1:15 pm to 2:20 pm this afternoon, in 107 Jerome Greene to discuss finances, smoking bans, and the ROTC Task Force’s full report, released today. Bwog’s Military Engagement Bureau Chief Conor Skelding was there to hear what they had to say, watch them check Facebook, and fold their arms to […]

The results from the Task Force on Military Engagement’s student survey are in, and will not be officially released until tomorrow. While 11,629 students were eligible to participate, only 2,252 completed the survey. Check out the Task Force’s full ‘Executive Summary’ here, which contains survey results, the Task Force’s suggestions and Columbia’s history with the military. […]

Steve Jobs released a second version of the iPad yesterday. Other tablets cower. The highlights: two cameras (front/back), FaceTime, up to 9 times faster, and a 10-hour battery life. Plus, just in time for Spring Break, it’s now 33 percent thinner! (WSJ, Apple, Gizmodo, PC World) In a Supreme Court battle between funeral protesters and […]

Glenn Hubbard, Dean of the Business School, and David Schizer, Dean of the Law School, have issued public statements in favor of ROTC’s return. These are the highest level University administrators to have taken a stance on this topic. We expect Dean Hubbard’s statement to be posted on the BSchool website shortly, and Dean Schizer’s […]

CCSC met. Brian Wagner reports: • Learned started the meeting with a “REALLY CRITICAL VOTE” on which movie should win the Oscar for Best Picture. The results: “Okay, there were 10 votes for Inception and 8 votes for Black Swan, so Black Swan wins!” • Casino Night is this Friday. Bwog urges you to learn […]

The Task Force has closed its survey and conducted its hearings. Audio recordings for all three are posted online, as are the first two transcripts—the final one is expected within the next few days. The Task Force will continue to accept e-mail submissions and post them for consideration until 11:59 PM on Wednesday, March 2, […]

Earlier today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on The John Gambling Show to offer his opinion on, among other things, the controversy surrounding ROTC at Columbia. He seemed disappointed  upon hearing that veteran Anthony Maschek was heckled at last week’s town hall. After an audible sigh, he waxed philosophic on college kids, explaining that “a lot of […]

As the Task Force wraps up its proceedings, faculty members have taken definitive stances on the issue of ROTC’s return. An advertisement (pdf here) appeared in the print version of the Spectator on Monday, reprinting the faculty statement of support, countered by a new statement of opposition. You can read our post from February 19th […]