Columbia University College Democrats fought hard in the lead-up to the Nov. 4 election, supporting the successful presidential bid of Barack Obama, CC ’83, and campaigning in Virginia over fall break.
“The election consumed most of our time in the fall,” Dems spokesperson Avi Edelman, CC ’11, said. But even with their candidate moving into the White House, the group has no intention of scaling back its efforts.
Since the election, the Dems have urged students to vote against the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps as long as the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy stands. Edelman said DADT would exclude nearly 20 percent of the Columbia student body or ask them to hide their sexual orientation.
“We are happy that students voted against bringing it back with the current position of discrimination,” Edelman said about results of a recent campus-wide NROTC survey. The survey closed last Monday with a slim majority of 51 percent of Columbia College, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and General Studies students, and 61.9 percent of Barnard students, opposing the return of NROTC to campus.
The Democrats launched a flyer campaign, cosponsored a speakers’ panel on the legal and moral ramifications of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” sent speakers to the student council forum on the issue, ran an editorial in Spectator, and handed out information highlighting their objections to the controversial policy.
During the election season, the Democrats also supported Joseph Addabbo (D-N.Y.) in his successful bid for a New York State Senate seat. With Addabbo’s victory, the Democrats took control of the State Senate, a development which could allow Columbia activists to make more political headway in the state.
In a meeting Sunday afternoon, the Dems board reviewed its positions on issues and discussed where to focus its energy in 2009. They will start the spring semester with an open house and issues fair before finalizing their plans.
news@columbiaspectator.com