Despite only a few winks of sleep and an iced coffee this morning, I’m still jumpy from the news that presidential candidates and Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) will be coming to campus on Thursday. Columbia, yet again, will have the eyes of the nation upon it. But how did Spectator find out they were coming to begin with?
It all started when deputy campus news editor Joy Resmovits heard through a few students that their groups had reserved space revoked at Lerner for next Thursday. A representative from the University said he wasn’t aware of anything going on. Joy, along with an office full of over-caffeinated Speccies, tried to think of what the reason could be on Tuesday night. A speech from New York Senator Hillary Clinton? An announcement about financial aid? Or my favorite guess, the bat mitzvah of an administrator’s kid?
After President Bollinger’s Freedom of Speech and Press class, Joy chased him down and asked what kind of event would be happening at Lerner. Sure enough, he said McCain and Obama were coming to campus but that he wanted us to run it by Public Affairs. Jacob Schneider (campus news editor), Joy, and myself hurried up the steps of Low Library seeking to convene with Public Affairs before going ahead with the story. Time was of the essence. We didn’t want the student e-mail to be sent out before we had a web update posted. Or worse yet, to have a national publication get a hold of a campus story before we did.
When we didn’t have any luck at Low, we headed to the office to start planning the coverage. Joy began typing up the web update and we continued to try to reach Public Affairs. Finally contact was made and we agreed to wait for them to get information from ServiceNation (the event’s sponsor). After nearly an hour of chomping at the bit, we put the article on our website.
As an interesting and ironic aside, Bollinger “uninvited” Doctors Without Borders from a campus facility that day, citing “lack of secure room on campus”. The organization had reserved and paid for the Columbia venue, advertised and arranged transportation for international and US guests attending the following summit .. Starved For Attention: The Neglected Crisis of Childhood Manutrition.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/StarvedforAttention2008/
Quite stunning that Bollinger was so comfortable displacing one of the world’s most highly respected humanitarian service organizations in favor of showboating with
the political candidates. And the candidates are coming to speak about……public service. Columbia is an embarrassment.
Said Margaret,
On September 4, 2008 at 9:52 pm:
Sorry, but why do you insist on posting that inane comment after each McCain-Obama article? This is one of the most important events in the Campus’ history, so deal with it. While it is unfortunate that your event was displaced (many groups’ events were too), do you seriously believe that your event should have been allowed to remain in the way of an event like this?
Said Kermit,
On September 4, 2008 at 1:20 pm:
Inane? Clearly, your self-centered attitude has clouded both your choice of vocabulary and sense of moral outrage. Yes, I believe having the candidates on campus is interesting, but hardly “one of the most important event in the Campus’ history.” Clearly, you are new to the community. I agree with the previous poster that displacing an organization like MSF for the visit is hypocritical. I believe other events were accommodated elsewhere on campus (your sorority tea, perhaps?). They should have done the same for this event.
Said Tim,
On September 4, 2008 at 3:53 pm: