As Columbia gears up to host presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama next week, about 30 students gathered in the Lerner piano lounge Thursday night to “put America first.”
The Columbia University College Republicans hosted a watch party of John McCain’s speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, an event which took place exactly a week before the newly dubbed presidential nominee appears on campus.
It was an intimate group, proudly sporting “McCain-Palin” buttons and reveling in what is, at Columbia, a rare and precious comfort: being surrounded by fellow conservatives.
To stand out from the typical Columbia blue, Katie Lupica, CC ’11, wore a red polka-dot dress and elephant earrings, and held both the American flag and that of her home state—McCain’s own Arizona.
“I have a lot of state pride, so of course I’m really proud that McCain is from Arizona,” she said. “I was a little disappointed that he didn’t bring up Arizona issues, like immigration reform.”
Ender Guerra, GS ’08, also felt that McCain should have spoken “more about immigration, about borders.” But he added: “He really did hammer out those topics of service and selflessness, and putting America first. ... He was being classy.”
While Guerra is excited about McCain’s visit to Columbia next Thursday, he noted, “Of course it’s going to be much overshadowed by Obama’s coming.”
Following the speech, CUCR Executive Director Lauren Salz, BC ’11, concluded that “the best part was the audience, definitely.”
Lupica replied, “Too much alcohol.”
