Afghanistan: eight years later

President Obama must decide whether to send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, as advised by General McChrystal, the commander of foreign forces. The debate has raised several critical questions.

"When you go into a war, you must have a clear exit strategy and what that exit strategy really means. It means you have to know either when you won the war and how to then bring it to an end and pull your forces out and declare victory in a meaningful way, or possibly when it’s no longer worth your while to continue fighting it and how then to get out," argues Professor Richard Billows, Professor of History at Columbia University.

Most of the critiques against America in the Middle East are centered on the uncertainty of the social and military goals of intervention.

As Prof. Billows states, "[in] one of our presently ongoing conflicts, our leader at the time declared in a grandstanding way, "Mission accomplished." I’m not sure even he then knew what that mission was. If it was accomplished, then it seems strange that many years on we are still engaged in that very same conflict."

The war in Afghanistan continues to make headlines, October marking the deadliest month in the war with at least 53 American soldiers killed.

Dr. Reinhard Erös argues that "[people], normal Pashtuns, who have bad experience with Western forces, with Western behavior, with Western influences, now they are taking their weapons. They are not in favor of these religious crazy people; they just want to defend their culture, their family values."

Prof. Billows also maintains that Afghans have "a very different culture than ours. The notion that one could simply oblige them to become like Americans and a reliable friend of America by just getting rid of the current regime was a non-starter, and any real rational debate, if there’s such a thing to be heard in America before starting that war, will surely have pointed that out and have tried to prevent us from going to war with such an unrealistic goal."

The president has been criticized for not making a decision about troop deployment. Citizens worry that if an announcement doesn’t come soon, Afghanistan will become the next Vietnam.

As Prof. Billows explains, "in trying to fight a war that was dedicated to the aim solely of claiming victory, what happened is that all sides lost, everybody lost, nobody won. And that’s the ultimate likely outcome of wars that are fought without having a clear sense of what we’re trying to achieve."

Campus safety threatened

Morningside Heights has experienced a number of robberies in the past week. On November 2nd at about 6pm, a man was robbed at gunpoint while walking along the foot path on the lower part of Riverside Park, adjacent to about 116th street. On Halloween at around 9:30pm, a student was robbed while walking at 114th and Morningside. The suspects knocked him to the ground, took his wallet and I-phone and then fled before being seen. Columbia gives the following tips to keep yourself safe while walking around the neighborhood: remember to stay aware of

your surroundings, limit your use of cell phones while walking, keep your electronic devices concealed, trust your instincts, and immediately report any incidents or crimes to Public Safety or the Police.

NYU student leaps to his death

Last Tuesday, an NYU student, Andrew Williamson-Noble, was found dead in the school's main library. The library was the scene of two suicides in 2003 which lead to the installation of protective panels along the railings to prevent further deaths. Williamson-Noble's death was ruled a suicide by the NYPD. NYU President John Sexton expressed the sorrow felt throughout the community, and reminded us that suicide among people of college age is a national problem and remains a leading cause of death among the young.

Columbia well-endowed

Columbia just released its Consolidated Financial Statement for the 2009 fiscal year ending June 30th. Because of the current economic situation, the endowment fund has dropped in value from 7.1 billion dollars in 2008 to 5.7 billion in 2009. Even so, the university has a positive outlook and claims that they are pleased with the financial statement, especially relative to our peer institutions such as Harvard, Yale and Cornell whose returns on endowments have dropped considerable amounts as well.

Recession-proof Bollinger

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Columbia University President Lee Bollinger ranks fourth among leaders at private colleges in total compensation, earning over one million three hundred eighty thousand dollars for the 2008 fiscal year. Concerns over the economic climate and it's affect on Columbia's endowment have prompted various public responses by Bollinger over the past year. Bollinger's attempts to ease concerns have certainly paid dividends, as Columbia seems to have survived the global recession.

Many of you may have voted last weekend. Now that we are all back on campus, let's find out what students have to say about the election results.

Election Break Adventures

The Election Day break offered Columbia students their first rest since the start of classes at the beginning of September. While some students volunteered for various campaigns around the country, most spent their time recovering from the chaos of midterm season.

"I went home and went to sleep, because midterm season was heavy and hard-hitting. I rested up. Got home, got some of mama's cooking, cuddled up with my bed and that was pretty much it."

"I flew to Utah, where I was living all of last year and picked up some friends, and we went into the wilderness for a while and camped and hiked and made campfires. It was awesome and so much different from here."

"I went to visit my boyfriend at CU Boulder and then actually flew to Wisconsin for the Packers-Vikings game, even though we lost, but that's okay. And then, I flew back to Boulder and then back here, so it was jet-setter this weekend."

"I slept, I slept all day because I took midterms. So, I needed to take a rest and met with friends."

Other students, however decided to remain on campus for the break, taking the extra time to explore what New York City has to offer. As Halloween coincided with the break, the annual Halloween Parade in the Village was a popular attraction.

"Over election-day break, I personally slept for 15 hours a day, and upon waking up I immediately took a one-hour nap. Halloween was especially fun. I visited what is known in New York as a fetish club, where I was subject to many things that no human should ever see."

"I went to the Halloween day parade, and I got lost, and I got a free Starbucks. That was really cool. I saw Kirsten Dunst which was kind of weird. That's pretty much it. My friends and I hijacked a limo somehow."

"Over break, I just stayed here, and my mom came to visit. We just did things in the city."

"I went to the Halloween Day parade in the West Village, and the weather was a bit unpleasant, but it was still really fun. And, I was planning on going to see a Broadway show, but it was too expensive."

"On Election-Day break, I stayed here, but my boyfriend came and visited me. So, we did a lot in the city and it was a very good chance to get out and about. But, there weren't very many of my friends here, so I would recommend that if you are staying here to have a friend visit you, since it's a great chance to see the city."

Now that the break is over, students return to the humdrum of classes, papers, and problem sets. For those already longing for the next break, you may look forward to Thanksgiving, only two and a half weeks away.

Sports Update

It wasn't a good week for the Lions.

In football, the Lions fell to the Crimson on Saturday after Harvard took an early lead in the first quarter.

The volleyball team lost its last home game to Princeton, 3 to 1. The Lions won the first set, 25 to 23, but dropped the next three, giving the Tigers a win.

The women's soccer team ended its season at home with a loss to Harvard. The final score, 2-1 in overtime.

After an early lead, the mens' soccer team also fell to Harvard with 2 to 1 loss in overtime. The team will travel to Cornell next week for the last game of the season.

Columbia's grand win at the Concourse

The Bronx Museum recently held an international design contest for the grand concourse which features the old Bronx Courthouse and both the old and new Yankee Stadiums. Congratulations to Columbia University Architecture students Dongsei Kim and Jamieson Fajardo who won the contest out of 200 entries from 25 different countries. Their design for the 4 1/2 mile boulevard built in 1909 includes a snake-like pump device along the Major Deegan Expressway. The new technology would clean air, filtrate rain water, dampen noise and provide green walkways to the waterfront.

Lerner turns 10

Lerner Hall turns 10 years old this fall, and administrators are planning celebrations to mark the occasion. The building opened in the fall of 1999, replacing Ferris Booth Hall. The new student center cost $85 million and provided 225,000 square feet of space. Bernard Tschumi, dean of the School of Architecture, designed the new student center, and construction lasted three years. During this time, student clubs were housed in a temporary building in front of John Jay, called Lions Court. Administrators hoped that the new building would foster a sense of community and that the ramps would become an indoor version of Low Steps even distributing t-shirts with the slogan "CU on the ramps". When Lerner opened, students complained about the difficulty in reserving space, delays in the package room and the shortage of telephones and vending machines.