Groups Organize Across Political Spectrum

Columbia has a reputation for being a liberal university and has a history of activism. From the riots of 1968 to the rise of the Columbia College Conservatives Club, Columbia's political identity has been defined by the most vocal students.

But a recent Spectator poll of 310 students in Columbia College, Barnard College, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science shows that 30 percent of Columbia students define themselves as "moderate," while only 14 percent claim to be "very liberal."

Columbia leans left, but many students are politically inactive. Only 20 percent of students polled said they are involved in a political group on or off campus, and for some of these students, involvement entails only receiving group e-mails. A full 45 percent of students also claim to be "rarely" or "not at all" politically involved.

 

THE SPIRIT OF '68

The spring 1968 uprising, led by Students for a Democratic Society, who occupied campus buildings such as Hamilton Hall and Low Library, is the landmark of Columbia activism. Some wax nostalgic about the lost "Spirit of '68," while others insist that energy is still here.

"I think the 'Spirit' is still here," said Seth Flaxman, CC '07 and president of the College Democrats. "But the times are different. You can't relive 1968 in 2006."

David Judd, SEAS '08, a member of the Campus Antiwar Network and the International Socialist Organization, said today's activists have different motives. "I think '68 was more about political rebellion against the University and the government. At the time, the biggest political group on campus was SDS. Now it's the Dems-and they have a very different activist style."

The activist style of today's University is reflected in the activities of campus groups from the Columbia College Conservative Club to the ISO. On the left, this semester saw the reformation of the Student Solidarity Network, an umbrella organization for liberal campus groups at work on similar issues. The group focuses on bringing people together to talk about their plans and float ideas for team projects on particular issues. Columbia activist groups have increasingly begun to combine resources and communicate more.

 

THE LEGACY OF THE ELECTION

The 2004 presidential election made a significant impact on Columbia's political scene, mobilizing students on both sides of the Bush-Kerry divide. Out of current Columbia students who were on campus in 2004, 77 percent voted in the presidential election, beating the national turnout for voters age 18-29, which, according to the nonpartisan Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, was 51 percent.

For Kerry supporters, especially those involved in campaigning, the election results were incredibly disappointing.

"I think it's just that so many people got involved ... so more people than usual were disillusioned afterwards-but that doesn't mean that campus activism went away," said Nickole Miller, CC '08 and secretary of the College Democrats.

Some groups' goals remained unaltered after the election. "It took us a while to realize that we really were going to have to live under this administration for four more years, but as a group we just kept going," said Sim Kimmel, CC '06 and a member of Students for Environmental and Economic Justice.

In this way, the 2004 election drew a line between campus-oriented groups and those with a more national focus. If SEEJ continued on the same activist path after the election, others had to regroup and start to think about 2006.

For those more focused on election politics, the 2004 election was a tough blow to take. "I think the nature of this university really came out after the election. The campus was just dead-it was the most depressed I have ever seen it," Flaxman said.

 

AN IDEOLOGICAL MINORITY

Not everyone on campus was devastated, however. For the small number of Columbia students who voted for George W. Bush (8 percent, according to a recent Spectator poll), Nov. 2 was a night of celebration. Yet, in the aftermath of the election and the months leading up to it, conservative students experienced the difficulties of being the political minority.

"I put a George Bush bumper sticker on my door, and that got torn down and put in the trash," said Peter Law, CC '08 and executive director of the College Republicans. His replacement sticker was also torn down. "You take these things in stride," he said.

Even outside election season, conservative students often feel marginalized at Columbia.

In an effort to ease this sense of marginalization, groups like the Republicans, which boasts a nearly 600-person mailing list, and the increasingly influential Columbia College Conservatives Club, known as C4, provide forums for students to discuss politics and host conservative speakers such as former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who spoke on campus in December.

Ann Klibaner, BC '08 and president of the Republicans, said Columbia's liberal atmosphere is "typical of the Ivies," where other College Republicans chapters face similar difficulties.

"It's weird being on a campus where you are an ideological minority, when in the rest of the country you are the majority, or at least normal," said Chris Kulawik, CC '08, president of C4, and Spectator columnist. "By the time you walk out of here after four years, you are ready for anything."

 

IS BIGGER BETTER?

The College Democrats, however, as Columbia's largest political group, have little chance of being marginalized on campus.

Recognizing that size can create sluggishness, the College Democrats made many changes to the group's mechanics. According to Miller, "It used to be that very few people could get seriously involved with the Dems, but now anyone can find some sort of avenue to do work, in one of the umbrella groups or the activist council."

However, Kimmel said the sheer size of the College Democrats does affect they way it relates to other campus activists. "The Dems seem willing to work with other groups on campus, but only if we go to them. I think size has a lot to do with that-if SEEJ had 800 people in it, we would have to change the way we work completely."

At the same time, a large, diverse member base can make it difficult to make decisions. "We have very liberal people and also moderates who are really passionate about certain issues ... but I don't think that's a bad thing," Miller said.

 

BRINGING

IT ALL

TOGETHER

Having strong leaders and vocal students on both ends of the ideological spectrum may make Columbia's political scene seem polarized. Uniquely nonpartisan, the Columbia Political Union refereed campus political life.

"We think it's important for there to be a place where students can come to discuss things outside of a specific political agenda," said CPU General Manager David Kim, CC '06. "One of the things a Columbia education should teach you is that there's always the strong possibility that you could be wrong."

The group cosponsors events such as Ashcroft's speech and hosts its own events like the intelligent design panel last week. While maintaining a close partnership with the other political groups on campus, the CPU also makes an effort to appeal to students without strong political beliefs.

"I think that people interpret politics too narrowly," Kim said. "There are issues of culture and society, religion, human rights, civil rights, that are relevant to students that aren't overtly political."

CPU Events Coordinator Wei Wei Hsing, CC '08, said events this year have been very well-attended due to better outreach efforts and a focus on improving the quality events. Hsing especially likes hosting panel discussions because they incorporate speakers from all sides of an issue.

Columbia students "are definitely more politically aware," Hsing said. "That's why the Political Union is so successful."

Spectator polled 310 CC, SEAS, and Barnard students over four weeks, Feb. 6-March 2. General Studies students could not be polled randomly because they do not have ROLM phones. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.5 percent.