Obama, CC ’83, largely avoided campaign rhetoric during his keynote address, focusing on women’s rights during an election year in which women’s issues have permeated the political dialogue.

Alonso made his first trip to Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17—the first day protesters arrived there—and within two weeks he had been arrested and featured in a clip on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”

After being homeless and living with a friend’s family for several months in order to finish high school, Nguyen won a scholarship to the Collin College, where he earned an associate degree before coming to Columbia.

Snedeker was instrumental in pushing the senate to endorse public course evaluations, which it did in a 44-12 vote last month. She helped lead a Student Affairs Committee effort to develop and draft a course evaluations resolution, a yearlong initiative that required faculty, administrative, and student support.

Zhai kept himself busy in his four years: as chair of the Asian American Alliance, a brother of Sigma Nu, a varsity swimmer, and the VP Finance for Columbia College Student Council his senior year.

Rick MacArthur, CC ’78, discussed Karl Marx and other texts, while more than 1,000 CC seniors celebrated their graduation and looked back on their time at Columbia.