Leora Falk

While New Yorkers are limited to voicing their views on campaign issues by voting for candidates who share their concerns, voters in states with ballot initiatives have the chance to vote directly on some of the most contentious issues facing the United States today. Here is a look at several of these issues and the states where voters will have the chance to weight in. For students' thoughts on the races and ballot initiatives in their states, go to www.columbiaspectator.com.

Worlds AIDS Week at Columbia University, organized by Columbia Global Justice, is in its third year and growing. With the pandemic continuing to spread across the globe, the students teamed up with a variety of other campus groups and made political activism a focus of last week's events.

A day after the University invited the Iranian president to speak at Columbia, University officials announced late this morning that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not come to campus.

Kit, 12, and Rachel, 13, were supposed to be in fencing class, but instead they were standing outside with three classmates and dozens of other New Yorkers.

While other students are still enjoying the last month of summer vacation, 135 sixth graders will start school at one of the city's newest Charter Schools.

For the first time since May 2003, teachers entered New York City classrooms this morning with a contract. The contract, which was agreed upon by the United Federation of Teachers and the city in early October, was ratified yesterday evening with 63 percent of the members voting yes.

Residents of Wien Hall are rarely out of the loop. Earlier this semester, when drunken festivities plagued some floors, an announcement via e-mail made clear that they wouldn't be tolerated. Soon after, another announcement reminded students that throwing such objects as chicken fingers and dorm furniture out of the windows was also a no-no. And more recently, flyers on certain floors let residents know that the water will be shut off for boiler repairs between certain hours.
But it seems to have slipped someone's mind to tell floor seven that their sinks can only produce brown, particulate-filled fluid these days. An anonymous source at Housing and Dining Services claimed that nothing is wrong; students should just let the water run until it's clear. The same source also advised against actually drinking the water.

A day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accepted Columbia's invitation to speak on campus Friday, University officials called off the event, announcing late Thursday morning that the school could not coordinate the necessary logistics in time for his speech.