Utter Abstractions at Columbia

18 December 2006 The Weekly Standard Scrapbook item "Utter Abstractions at Columbia".  Note: Responding to Prof. Andrew Delbanco's New Republic article the Weekly Standard notes "Delbanco never mentions in his essay that in Columbia's case (as with many other elite universities) there is a simpler explanation than social class for the situation he laments. Columbia banned the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) from its campus in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam war. And as recently as May 2005, Columbia's Senate (an advisory panel of faculty and students) voted 53-10 to keep Morningside Heights pristinely military free."  See the 1 January responseby Austin Byrd.

Marine Corps Commissioning Ceremony at Columbia University - Mark Xue, CC 06

16 December 2006 Marine Corps Commissioning Ceremony at Columbia University - Mark Xue, CC 06.

Here we go again...

5 December 2006 BWOG (Columbia University Blue and White Blog) item "Here we go again...".  Note:  An item on the incident in which Columbia student Matt Sanchez was insulted for his military service is followed by a wide-ranging discussion that included ROTC.  Issues discussed include the question of why Columbia bans ROTC, citing discrimination against gays, but does not ban Red Cross blood drives in which gay men are not allowed to give blood.

Diversity Double-Talk: Ivy's 'Inclusion' Excludes Military

4 December 2006 New York Post column "Diversity Double-Talk: Ivy's 'Inclusion' Excludes Military" by Matt Sanchez.

Letter from Baghdad - Dispatch # 2

2 December 2006 The Eye (Columbia Spectator) article "Letter from Baghdad - Dispatch # 2" by Josh Arthur CC '04.  Note:  Arthur, recently graduated from Columbia and ROTC, describes how Iraqis are targeting each other more than Americans, but counterinsurgency remains important.

The Academy and Iraq: War College

1 December 2006 The New Republic article "The Academy and Iraq: War College" by Andrew Delbanco.  Note:   Prof. Delbanco writes "For the vast majority of students and faculty in places like Columbia--it's different for support and maintenance staff, who are more likely to have friends or family in the line of fire--war is an utter abstraction rather than an imaginable fact.  Perhaps the deepest divide in our country today runs between those for whom the war is a relentless threat to loved ones and those for whom it is a TV show to be switched on and off.  At places like Columbia, the former is our most underrepresented minority group."  See the 18 December Weekly Standard response and the 1 January response by Austin Byrd.

Letters From Baghdad: Our First Dispatch From the Front Line

25 November 2006 The Eye (Columbia Spectator) article "Letters From Baghdad: Our First Dispatch From the Front Line" by Josh Arthur CC '04.  Note:  Arthur, recently graduated from Columbia and ROTC, is stationed in a Sunni area and describes finding bodies of Shiites "in open fields near mosques, on heavily trafficked corners, or simply in sites that are known as places to expect to find bodies."

Wake Up Dems, Liberalism is Dead

14 November 2006 Columbia Spectator Op-Ed column "Wake Up Dems, Liberalism is Dead" by Rudi Batzell.  Note:  Batzell calls for increasing the proportion of the military that comes from higher socioeconomic groups, but doesn't call for restoring ROTC at Columbia.

Stupid Soldiers

10 November 2006 Columbia Spectator Op-ed column "Stupid Soldiers" by Matthew Dunn and Michael Podberesky.  Note:  Responding to Brandon Hammer's 3 November column, they assemble the evidence that soldiers are above average on many measures of intelligence and income, with fewer at the high and low extremes.  The lack of an ROTC program at elite colleges may account for some of the data.  Similar data was assembled by the New York Times.

Reassessing Kerry's Botched Joke

3 November 2006 Columbia Spectator column "Reassessing Kerry's Botched Joke" by Brandon Hammer.  Note:  Hammer says it is "pretty true" that students who don't do well in school get "stuck in Iraq".  See response on 10 November.

Columbia’s Warrior

November 2006 The Eye (Columbia Spectator) article "Columbia’s Warrior".  Note:  Matt Mireles interviewed Josh Arthur CC '04, in Iraq after graduating from Columbia College and Army ROTC.  Arthur describes how he decided to go into an Army combat unit.

Doing Our Part in a Time of War

24 October 2006 Columbia Spectator article "Doing Our Part in a Time of War" by Eric Chen.  Note: One of the main leaders of the ROTC and veterans movements at Columbia wonders whether to re-enlist or stay in civilian life after graduation.

LGBT Groups Create Community, Should Also Focus on National Issues

20 October 2006 Columbia Spectator letter "LGBT Groups Create Community, Should Also Focus on National Issues" by Sean Wilkes, CC '06.  Note:  A recent ROTC graduate discusses an article focusing on the atmosphere for gender identity at Columbia and urges activists to focus on national issue too, such as changing the "Don't ask, don't tell" law.

Discussion of Citizenship and Military Service at Columbia University

11 October 2006 Columbia University event Discussion of Citizenship and Military Service at Columbia University.  Note:  Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer, co-authors of AWOL: the Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service—and How It Hurts Our Country talked and answered questions at Columbia

ROTC not Such a Victory: Progressives Should Welcome Change

15 September 2006 Columbia Spectator letter "ROTC not Such a Victory: Progressives Should Welcome Change" by Eric Chen GS'06.  Note:  Responding to a 12 September column, Chen notes "it is an irony that those who blocked changing Columbia's policy on ROTC would call themselves "agents of change"".

Agents of Change

12 September 2006 Columbia Spectator column "Agents of Change" by Joanna Bove.  Note: Bove suggests that those who blocked changing Columbia's policy on ROTC were agents of change.  See letter on 15 September

Military Recruiting at Columbia's Activities Day

8 September 2006 "Military Recruiting at Columbia's Activities Day".

The Movement to Restore ROTC at Columbia: Historical Background

31 August "The Movement to Restore ROTC at Columbia: Historical Background" by Sean Wilkes CC'06, Chairman, Advocates for Columbia ROTC

Columbia Hosts ROTC Commissioning Ceremony

1 June 2006 "Columbia Hosts ROTC Commissioning Ceremony".  Note:  The ceremony was held on 19 May.

At Columbia, First ROTC Event Since '72"

17 May 2006 New York Sun article "At Columbia, First ROTC Event Since '72".  Note:  In contrast to the annual ROTC Commissioning ceremony at Harvard, "the commissioning ceremony is sponsored by the students, not the university."  Columbia Provost Alan Brinkley, who spoke passionately against ROTC at the 6 May 2005 Columbia University Senate meeting that rejected ROTC, will attend the 19 May commissioning

Shane Hachey (GS 04) letter to Columbia University Senate. Subject: Columbia v. The Military

10 May 2006 My Learning Curve blog item "Shane Hachey (GS 04) letter to Columbia University Senate.  Subject: Columbia v. The Military".  Note:  On the first anniversary of the Columbia University Senate vote against ROTC Hachey notes that "this vote had no tangible effect on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. It did not "send a message" to anyone in Washington except that our university is hostile to the military".

Campus Politics

28 April 2006 WNET TV (Channel 13) NY Voices report "Campus Politics".  Note:  Sean Wilkes CC '06, chairman of Advocates for Columbia ROTC discusses the history of ROTC at Columbia.

Military academy attracts new 'greatest generation'

5 April 2006 Detroit News column "Military academy attracts new 'greatest generation'" by Thomas Bray.  Note: Bray observes that 62% of the Army's officers come from ROTC programs "which been making something of a comeback on college campuses" and notes the student-led effort to return ROTC to Columbia.

Discrimination Policy Amended: New Policy Wording Adds Military Status to Protected Group List

24 March 2006 Columbia Spectator article "Discrimination Policy Amended: New Policy Wording Adds Military Status to Protected Group List".  Note:  When Columbia revised its antidiscrimination rules to include all military veterans it began the statement with the words "Columbia University is committed to providing a learning environment free from unlawful discrimination".  Since the previous antidiscrimination rules had been used to argue against ROTC on the basis of discrimination against openly homosexual people in the military this wording is interesting because "Don't ask, don't tell" is the law, and therefore not unlawful.  However, this Spectator article adds another possible explanation.  University spokesperson Susan Brown said that the new statement "is a semantic clarification, not a policy shift. New York State Law had already held military status as a protected category, and the old policy included “any other legally protected status”".  This suggests the possibility that Columbia may have been trying to include in its policy all forms of unlawful discrimination without meaning to accept forms of discrimination mandated for the military by federal law, but Columbia has not commented more definitively on the wording change.

Opportunity Disguised

24 March 2006 Columbia Spectator editorial "Opportunity Disguised".  Note:  "Getting as many liberal-minded Columbia lawyers as possible, both gay and straight, into the military’s judge advocate general corps would be one of the best ways to turn the tide against “don’t ask, don’t tell” ... Shunting ROTC off to Fordham is a great symbolic way to protest the military’s policies, but it does very little to accomplish real progress. Increasing Columbia’s involvement with the military through recruiting and ROTC might rankle some, but it would be the best way for Columbians to work for justice."

Rumsfeld 1, Columbia 0" by Chris Kulawik CC '08. Note: Kulawik points out that Columbia has many programs that discriminate by race

22 March 2006 Columbia Spectator column "Rumsfeld 1, Columbia 0" by Chris Kulawik CC '08.  Note: Kulawik points out that Columbia has many programs that discriminate by race and gender and concludes that to "claim that ROTC is the only such case ... is blatant hypocrisy".  He also recounts how anti-ROTC students told him that “The racist military takes advantage of minority students; they aren’t able to understand what exactly they’re getting into.”

War College

10 March 2006 The New Republic article "War College" by Peter Beinart.  Note:  Beinart describes the scene outside the Columbia University Senate vote on ROTC on 6 May 2005: "Outside the senate auditorium, some pro-rotc students hung a banner reading a vote for rotc is a vote for the heroes of our generation. With the Court decision as her pretext, Senator Clinton's opportunity is clear: Go to Columbia and tell its leaders that those students are right... Today, the Serviceman's Legal Defense Network--which represents gays and lesbians in the military--understands the same thing. Which is why it does not oppose rotc on campus, even as it struggles heroically against "don't ask, don't tell." It is Bollinger and Brinkley who, by shunning the military, have placed themselves in the oppositional, anti-liberal tradition of the New Left."

Supreme Court Upholds Solomon Amendment: Unanimous Ruling Affirms Military’s Right to Recruit on College Campuses

8 March 2006 Columbia Spectator article "Supreme Court Upholds Solomon Amendment: Unanimous Ruling Affirms Military’s Right to Recruit on College Campuses".  Note:  ROTC opponent Nate Walker TC '07 said it was likely that the Pentagon would use the court victory to seek to restore ROTC at Columbia, while Sean Wilkes CC '06, head of Advocates for Columbia ROTC, said it was unlikely

Supreme Court Upholds Solomon Amendment: Columbia Could Face Choice Between ROTC and Federal Funding

6 March 2006 Columbia Spectator article "Supreme Court Upholds Solomon Amendment: Columbia Could Face Choice Between ROTC and Federal Funding".  Note:  The ruling says nothing about ROTC and the reasoning used in upholding the Solomon Amendment, that "recruiters are not part of the law school", does not apply to a full ROTC program, where instructors are faculty members and ROTC courses are in the university's list of courses.  However, the Pentagon's likely offer to Columbia was an ROTC satellite office, not a full ROTC program, for which the faculty appointment and course offering issues would not apply.

Equal educational opportunity and student nondiscrimination policies and procedures on discrimination and harassment

23 February 2006 Columbia University statement of nondiscriminatory policies "Equal educational opportunity and student nondiscrimination policies and procedures on discrimination and harassment".  Note:  The statement begins with the words "Columbia University is committed to providing a learning environment free from unlawful discrimination".  Since the previous antidiscrimination rules had been used to argue against ROTC on the basis of discrimination against openly homosexual people in the military this wording is interesting because "Don't ask, don't tell" is the law, and there fore not unlawful

Military Veterans Bring Diverse Voices to Columbia Community

21 February 2006 Columbia Spectator letter "Military Veterans Bring Diverse Voices to Columbia Community" by The Executive Board of U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University (MilVets).  Note:  The MilVets point out that Adam Weinstein’s February 13th column is an example of the political diversity of military veterans on elite campuses.

ROTC and the Ivory Tower: Cease Fire

13 February 2006 Columbia Spectator Op-Ed "ROTC and the Ivory Tower: Cease Fire" by Adam Weinstein.  Note:  A self described "liberal war resister" suggests that if you have disagreements with current military practices "You bring ROTC back to Columbia, and you sign yourself up".  He suggests that to do otherwise is to "keep the military and the ivory tower separate and go on with your life of smug self-satisfaction" and will result in "marginalizing yourselves and alienating potential supporters".  See letter in response on 21 February.

Sanchez Lodges Protest: Reserve Marine Files Grievance With SDA Against ISO Protest

9 February 2006 Columbia Spectator article "Sanchez Lodges Protest: Reserve Marine Files Grievance With SDA Against ISO Protest".  Note:  University spokeswoman Susan Brown said Columbia already includes military status as a protected category in its speech code, and the protection is not limited to Vietnam-era veterans.  International Socialist Organization member Monique Dols GS ’06 said post-Vietnam veterans should not have such protection since they enlisted voluntarily.

Letter from Baghdad - Dispatch # 4

8 February 2006 The Eye (Columbia Spectator) article "Letter from Baghdad - Dispatch # 4" by Josh Arthur CC '04.  Note:  Arthur, recently graduated from Columbia and ROTC, describes his most enduring memory in Baghdad, retrieving a soldier with a fatal wound. 

Veterans Take Grievances to Columbia Provost

1 February 2006 New York Sun article "Veterans Take Grievances to Columbia Provost".  Note:  The provost, who spoke passionately against ROTC on campus in May 2005, was to hear complaints about harassment.  The article lists an incorrect tally for the Columbia Senate vote on ROTC in May 2005; it was 53-10.

Letter from Baghdad - Dispatch # 3

1 February 2006 The Eye (Columbia Spectator) article "Letter from Baghdad - Dispatch # 3" by Josh Arthur CC '04.  Note:  Arthur, recently graduated from Columbia and ROTC, describes an engagement with a lone sniper and how his men showed restraint until they were confident they had identified the attacker.

Revisiting Vietnam

30 January 2006 Columbia Spectator column "Revisiting Vietnam" by Monique Dols GS '06.  Note: Dols observes that "ROTC supporters are making headway by recruiting for the Fordham University and Manhattan College ROTC programs on campus. By increasing the ranks of military personnel on campus, they are laying the groundwork for the program’s future return."  She regards this as a negative development and urges people to "expose the ugly underbelly of US aggression in the world".

The Conservative Witch Hunt

27 January 2006 Columbia Spectator Op-ed "The Conservative Witch Hunt" by Zach Zill CC '06.  Note: One of the students who "confronted" pro-ROTC students in the "anti-ROTC incident on Activities Day" denounces the 25 January Spectator news article as part of a "witch-hunt" and denies having made offensive remarks attributed to him.

A Firm Stance: CU Marine Reservist Targeted In Angry Confrontation; No Disciplinary Action Taken

25 January 2006 Columbia Spectator article "A Firm Stance: CU Marine Reservist Targeted In Angry Confrontation; No Disciplinary Action Taken".  Note:  An anti-military incident recounted in an Op-ed column is covered by the Columbia student newspaper.  The Spectator claims that students urging other students to sign up for ROTC was "not allowed on campus" at the time.  This seems wrong.  Even after the 3rd Circuit court decision allowing bans on external recruiters, students always retained the freedom to urge other students to enlist to fight for their country.  After the Supreme Court agreed to review the case, the 3rd Circuit halted implementation of its ruling, removing the restriction on external recruiters.

U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University

25 January 2006 U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University press release "Anti-Military Discrimination at Columbia".  Note:  The group "asks that Columbia University amend its Discrimination and Harassment Policy to grant all veterans and military-related persons protected status."

Veterans Deserve Better

18 January 2006 Columbia Spectator op-ed "Veterans Deserve Better" by Chris Kulawik CC'08.  Note: Kulawik describes an incident on Activities Day in which a student visiting the Columbia Military Society table was "publicly insulted for being both a minority and a veteran" by three people in a "violent rant" in which "the table nearly flipped".  The student "submitted a complaint to his dean with hopes of a thorough investigation and ultimately disciplinary action against those students who harassed him" and got no response from the administration.  See responses by Jonah Birch, CC ‘05 and Todd Murphy, GS '08.

Columbia University Wants It All

12 January 2006 GayPatriot blog item "Columbia University Wants It All".  Note:  A gay servicemember says "If Columbia University doesn’t want the federal government on its campus, fine. But they shouldn’t expect federal dollars."

Supreme Court Hears Solomon Amendment Case

7 December 2005 Columbia Spectator article "Supreme Court Hears Solomon Amendment Case".  Note:  The article mentions how Solicitor General Paul Clement began to argue that the 2004 change to the Solomon Amendment did not demand greater access for the military than other employers and Justice Scalia said he was "galloping in the wrong direction".

Embedded in New York: Or, How I Learned to Stop Whining and Love ROTC

November 2005 The Blue and White article "Embedded in New York: Or, How I Learned to Stop Whining and Love ROTC".  Note:  The article describes some of the ROTC training for Columbia students "In one Chemical Warfare exercise, Wilkes had to walk through a gas chamber filled with CS gas (ortho-chlorobenzylidene-malononitrile). Cadets wore gas masks, but were required to remove them in the middle of the room, state their name and social security number, and answer a simple question such as, "What's one plus one?""

Columbia Plays Dirty Pool

25 October 2005 Columbia Spectator column "Columbia Plays Dirty Pool" by John Mateus.  Note:  A Columbia Law student calls interference with military interviews, which blocked him from being interviewed, "underhanded and sabotage" and criticizes the unwillingness of Columbia to stop the interference.  See also responses by Karyn Lukoff, Michelle Rutherford and Cuauhtemoc Ortega.

Columbia University Senate "Minutes of September 16, 2005"

21 October 2005 Columbia University Senate "Minutes of September 16, 2005".  Note:  Senator Paul Duby reported on the discussions at the June Columbia University Trustees meeting about the ROTC issue.  When "a Trustee asked if there was anything else the Trustees were expected to do on this subject; Sen. Duby said Provost Alan Brinkley answered in one word: No".  The minutes also note that "the Task Force made some recommendations for improving conditions for Columbia students who are pursuing ROTC off campus, at Manhattan College or Fordham. One was to provide more assistance in the form of transportation, or maybe a small office on the Columbia campus. Another was to assure that any students barred from ROTC because of their sexual preference would be eligible for equivalent financial support from Columbia. Sen. Duby said he and Sen. Applegate would discuss these issues with the provost."

Hypocrisy 101: The Academy and Military Recruiters

12 October 2005 American Council of Trustees and Alumni press release "Hypocrisy 101: The Academy and Military Recruiters".  Note:  ACTA lists the federal funds at risk under the Solomon Amendment.  Of the listed colleges barring ROTC, Columbia leads with $457 million at risk

Anti-Military Sentiments Persist on Elite Campus

September 2005 VFW Magazine article "Anti-Military Sentiments Persist on Elite Campus".  Note: Many of the leaders of the Columbia effort were quoted, including Advocates for Columbia ROTC chairman Sean Wilkes and alumni group Columbia Alliance for ROTC chairman Ted Graske CC'59.

Universities and the Military: What You Should Know About the Upcoming Supreme Court Case

August 2005 American Council of Trustees and alumni article "Universities and the Military: What You Should Know About the Upcoming Supreme Court Case" by Melvin H. Bernstein.  Note:  The article recounts the history of the Solomon Amendment and compares the attitude of the presidents of Harvard and Columbia towards ROTC.

Honor thy soldiers

30 May 2005 Washington Times column "Honor thy soldiers" by Suzanne Fields.  Note:  Fields discusses the University Senate vote against ROTC at Columbia and quotes Harvard President Lawrence Summers as saying that military service is "vitally important to the freedom that makes possible institutions like Harvard".