Alberto Tiburcio

Barely a couple of weeks ago—almost strategically coinciding with the climax of the hunger strike affair—some Columbia faculty members issued a “statement of concern” regarding what they saw as President Bollinger’s failure to defend academic freedom.

As I was walking to campus this morning, I stopped by the small grocery store where I usually buy yogurt and carrot juice. The monotony of my daily purchases apparently has had its advantages, because the man at the cashier already knows me and smiles approvingly every time I enter the store.