Wednesday night, Spectator learned that Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, CC ’83, will be appearing together in Alfred Lerner Hall next Thursday, almost a year after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke on the same stage. Sponsored by ServiceNation, the event promises to receive just as much, if not more, interest. Ahmadinejad’s visit was a time during which the Columbia campus came together in discussion, and next Thursday’s offers a similar unique opportunity. While we hope as many students as possible can actually attend the event, the University should do all that it can to make sure those who are not admitted to the auditorium are able to participate in the occasion.
In an e-mail to students, University President Lee Bollinger explained that Columbia had been selected to host “ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum,” part of a two-day summit that will take place in New York. ServiceNation is a self-described nonpartisan organization committed to the pursuit of what it calls America’s greatest promise: liberty and justice for all. Sept. 11—the anniversary of an important day in our country’s history—marks the kickoff of ServiceNation’s campaign to call on the next president and Congress to enact a new era of service and active citizenship in America. Bollinger’s e-mail went on to say that the event—which will address the future of national service and be moderated by Time Magazine editor Richard Stengel and PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff—will consist of two nonpartisan “conversations” and will not take the form of a presidential debate. Bollinger also wrote that despite space limitations, the University was committed to acquiring as many tickets as possible for the students. A follow-up e-mail, to be sent today, will explain the lottery registration process for the distribution of tickets.
The use of a lottery system for the distribution of tickets is a welcome change from last year’s first-come, first-serve free-for-all over Ahmadinejad tickets. It seems to be the fairest way to distribute seats, in theory granting all students an equal chance. Yet given that the event is taking place at Columbia in a building that is designated for student use, whether students make up a majority of the attendees should not even be in question. Furthermore, it appears that Barnard College students did not receive any notice of the event, leaving them pessimistic about their chances to participate.
Though we don’t yet know how Columbia was selected to host the event, administrators have made it clear that they did not organize it. Regardless, student leaders from the undergraduate councils and governing boards took the right step in calling on administrators to ensure that the undergraduate community is represented properly at the event. Those who will not be able to access the auditorium should have a different venue in which to participate, such as complementary programming, overflow rooms for the speech, and a live screening on South Lawn similar to the one that broadcast Ahmadinejad’s speech to thousands of students.
It is important that excitement for this event not be bogged down by red tape and limited tickets. It is still unclear who will be granted seats or even how many will be available, but more important is that the event has the potential to engage the campus in the unifying theme of service at Columbia. Even those that don’t get in to the discussion should still be able participate in the dialogue.
