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Columbia Spectator 05/01/08
CU Film on Music Television
Best Film on Campus, a Web site sponsored by mtvU, allows student filmmakers to submit their work online in a format much like YouTube.
Hormann Prepares to Begin NFL Career
Craig Hormann is a typical SEAS senior with only a few weeks left in his college career—he’s got meetings to attend, final exams and projects, and he just finished getting his first out-of-college job settled.
Columbia Lacrosse Club Seeks to Earn Varsity Status With Stellar Play
For most sports at Columbia, winning a league title at any level should merit some level of recognition from both the student body and the athletic administration, but in the case of the Columbia lacrosse club, neither of these has been given.
Columbia Lacrosse Club Seeks to Earn Varsity Status With Stellar Play
For most sports at Columbia, winning a league title at any level should merit some level of recognition from both the student body and the athletic administration, but in the case of the Columbia lacrosse club, neither of these has been given.
Who Will Watch the Watchers?
The changes made to this year’s FaCU process are welcome ones, but the hurdles that remain are ill-conceived. Come what may, the councils should let students draw their own conclusions from the deliberations, rather than try to manage public perceptions. Transparency should be a tool rather than a threat to student leaders, who, if they are making fair decisions, should have no objection to unqualified public scrutiny.
City Council Approves 125th Street Rezoning
The City Council voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve a sweeping rezoning plan that will reshape the face of 125th Street. The rezoning, approved by a vote of 47-2, is a modified version of a plan originally proposed by the Department of City Planning.
Respected Professor, Renowned Sociologist Charles Tilly Dies at 78
Charles Tilly, Columbia’s Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science and founder of the noted Workshop on Contentious Politics, died April 29 after a 20-year struggle with cancer that fluctuated in severity. He was 78.
Here’s to Misplaced Priorities
I’ve spent more time worrying about what to write in this column than the 50-plus pages of academic writing I have to do in the next two weeks.
Dartmouth Baseball Boasts a Big Green Hitting Machine
This weekend the Columbia baseball team will square off against Dartmouth in a best-of-three series to determine this year’s Ivy League champion.
Dirks Reminisces About India, Long-Haired Days
As the Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology, a professor of history, and the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Nicholas Dirks has a massive job description. But his post, he says, allows him to “realize as many of the aspirations that the University is invested in, because the realities are always more difficult, messy, expensive, and contested than the idea would suggest.”
Misty: The End of History
I am (finally) graduating, which means that from now on I will be acting responsibly in bars in a different section of town, and that this is the last appearance of my column and horrible column photo—so it is time to clean up this mess.
Commission Responds to O’Donnell’s FOIL Request
After accusations of unnecessary delay, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said it responded Wednesday to an April 15 Freedom of Information Law request filed by State Assemblyman Danny O’Donnell (D-Morningside Heights) regarding the proposed establishment of a historic district in certain parts of Morningside Heights. On Tuesday, O’Donnell sent a follow-up letter to the commission, noting that 14 days, 10 of which were business days, had passed since he filed his request—a period in excess of the five business days within which the LPC is legally required to respond to a FOIL request.
CUIT Plans Switch to Sakai
Online academics at Columbia are getting a makeover, via an initiative by Student Services, the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, and CUIT to switch Courseworks over to the alternate platform Sakai. After investigating several different options and piloting the programs extensively, Student Services officials have decided to switch platforms and begin using Sakai, a system with capabilities that exceeded those of Courseworks and which those involved hope will streamline and expand classroom use of new media.
Surprised Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences
On Tuesday morning, three Columbia professors received phone calls telling them they had been elected to the National Academy of Sciences—yet none had the slightest idea as to why. Earth and environmental sciences professor Paul Olsen, biology professor Carol Prives, and genetics and development professor Gary Struhl are three of 72 members appointed this year to the 150-year-old academy, which organizes committees of distinguished researchers to perform studies enhancing the country’s health, education, and welfare.
Students Gather for Palestinian Cultural Day
A highlight of the ongoing Columbia Palestine Al-Nakba Week, Wednesday afternoon’s Low Plaza celebration of Palestine Cultural Day included free traditional food and live performances of music, dance, and poetry—as well as free lessons in Dabke dance.
