columbia-university

In front of an array of posters emblazoned with red and black slogans, the Columbia-Barnard Young Democratic Socialists of America mounted a rally in support of its tuition strike. The rally began with a press conference in front of University President Lee Bollinger’s 60 West Morningside Drive home and culminated in a march to the steps of Low Library.

Andrew Yang, Law ’99, who rose to prominence in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary, formally kicked off his mayoral campaign Thursday morning just blocks away from Columbia’s Morningside campus. In his speech, he highlighted his signature proposal for universal basic income and a new approach to politics.

Columbia College announced its 22 Junior Phi Beta Kappa recipients. The remaining eight percent of Phi Beta Kappa recipients from the class of 2021 will be announced in the spring.

It goes without saying that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused great physical, social, and financial strain on our student population. In response, now is the right moment to discuss the burden that the cost of university is putting on students. Not only are we going through one of the worst economic recessions in American history, but the pedagogical quality of remote instruction raises a fair question about whether it’s truly worth the $60,000 price tag.

Halfway through the interview with Dr. Raymond Givens, two young boys materialize through the slightly-pixelated Zoom virtual background displaying the stoic face of the rapper Biggie Smalls. The little one pops cheerfully through the famous rapper’s mouth, waving a tiny green toy at the camera, and the taller one comes running through the rapper’s tilted plastic crown, grinning cheekily and tugging at his father’s surgical scrubs. Givens, smiling at his sons and not at all fazed by the distraction, smoothly introduces his six-year-old, Lucas, and his two-year-old, Nicholas, pausing momentarily to swoop Nicholas into his lap and put his arm around Lucas’ shoulder. Givens gently corrals them out of the room, apologizes for the interruption, and without missing a beat, returns to the discussion of his efforts to change the name of Bard Hall.

Columbia students are organizing the largest tuition strike in U.S. history. In the past two weeks alone, over 3,000 students have joined the effort, and the number of committed strikers continues to grow rapidly. But it’s not just the sheer scale of the tuition strike that makes it so unprecedented—it’s also the nature of the demands themselves.

As racial and economic disparities both within and outside of the Columbia community continue to be exacerbated by the worsening public health crisis, the tuition strike has gained considerable traction, even capturing the attention of national news outlets. The demands being made of the University are comprehensive, such as a 10 percent reduction in the cost of attendance, more satisfactorily meeting its obligations to the West Harlem community, and more widespread recognition of student workers. These demands have found widespread support in the University with nearly 2,000 students already pledging support, myself included.