This week on CTV News:

Columbia and the military have not had the most amicable relationship. See how this Veterans Day may signify a change.

President Obama speaking at commencement seems like a remote possibility. What is the Senior Student Council doing to raise hopes?

An often overlooked problem: Wheelchair accessibility on Campus. CTV investigates.

We interview David Karp, the founder of Tumblr, on the changing role of the media.

And the Columbia Lions play their final home game of the season.

Veterans Day: Tradition Paving the Way for Columbia's Military Future

Every year, on November 11th, Americans show their appreciation of military veterans by celebrating Veterans Day. This year at Columbia, members of the military and veteran communities joined in honoring Veterans Day. CTV News sat down with Brendan Rooney, Vice President of the U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University, to discuss Veterans Day at Columbia.

"I know this is the first time that we’ve had a flag-raising ceremony since I’ve been here, which is 2007. This is the second year that we’ve had a float in the Veterans Day Parade, which about 25 veterans participated in this year."

One tradition that is being reinstated by the military community at Columbia is the raising of the flag at dawn by military personnel every Monday. For 42 years, military activities have been prohibited on Columbia’s campus. However, with approval from the University Senate, Columbians involved in ROTC activities will continue to raise the flag.

"It shows that there are service members here in the Columbia community, and that military service members are students just like you and me. If you hadn’t seen them before, now you see them."

In recent years, the university has stated that the reason they do not allow military activity on campus is the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the Armed Forces. However, as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” becomes a major social issue in the United States, policy towards the military on campus may change.

"I think as this 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' policy changes, Columbia is definitely going to be interacting with its veterans more and I’m sure they’ll be more vet-friendly and military-friendly, for that matter."

We will see where the future of the military and Columbia leads in the coming years as we continue to celebrate and appreciate the men and women who have served our nation in the military. 

As Mr. Rooney noted when quoting Thucydides, "The nation that makes too great a distinction between its scholars and its military service members will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools."

Barnard votes on sorority recognition

Barnard students can now vote on whether or not the Student Government Association should recognize Greek life. Representatives from the Inter-Greek Council are seeking official recognition from the SGA in order to gain financial support from the university. However, the SGA has been reluctant to grant recognition for all the Barnard councils, citing concerns about Greek life exclusivity. Students will have the chance the voice their opinion by participating in this online poll, available during the program filing period. The SGA Representative Council will vote to pass the results on November 29th.

Gender Neutral Housing

The long debate over the issue of gender-neutral housing ended this week as Deans Moody-Adams and Peña-Mora approved a plan to allow for a pilot program to begin next fall. Wien, EC, Nussbaum, Ruggles, Woodbridge, and Claremont Halls will participate in the program, which will allow students to live in doubles with any other student, regardless of their sex.

Obama at Commencement?

President Barrack Obama holds a special place in the hearts of Columbia students as the only CU graduate to be elected President of the United States. The 2011 Student Council hopes to use this sentimentality to convince the President to speak at commencement - an initiative known as the POTUS Project.

Sean Udell, Columbia College's Class of 2011 President, noted that "the enthusiasm I heard from people when Obama came to Service Nation - even though they weren't going to get a ticket to watch him speak - you could really feel that excitement. Same thing for when Eric Holder came and spoke at both the College and Law School Class Days. You know, we take a big sense of pride in the people who come and engage our community and so that's the idea behind this project."

As one of its main goals, the Project recognizes the importance that President Barrack Obama has in the community and wants to make sure that the entire student body can be involved in his appearance at Columbia. The Student Council does not want to limit the Project to the class of 2011 and hopes that the movement can bring the community closer.

"And we're talking about ways, if President Obama were to come, to get the community to actually watch it. Which would be moving people to Baker Field where they could watch -even if you're not 2011 - they could watch it at Baker Field and sort of engage the community that way."

As part of the campaign, the student council is asking students to write letters, make videos and attend activities centered around Obama and his presence at the school. They hope to show Obama that Columbia University is a more united community than ever before.

"But I think, whether or not you are going to get to watch Obama speak at commencement, the fact that he's coming back to his family and sort of reuniting with the family is really exciting for a lot of students regardless of class year."

To learn more about the POTUS Project visit potusproject.wordpress.com.

Four Loko leaves New York

Phusion Projects, the maker of alcoholic energy drink Four Loko, has decided to stop shipment of the drink to the state of New York after receiving heavy criticism from many news outlets, including a story on the cover of the New York Times. Four Loko has already been banned by the states of Washington and Michigan, and the Food and Drug Administation has also launched a probe into the potential health effects of the beverage.

Social media and the new age of journalism

Media experts gathered at the Columbia Journalism School this Tuesday night to discuss the evolution of media at "The Changing Media Landscape 2010" panel. The event was dedicated to Hossein "Hoder" Derakhshan, an Iranian blogger who spoke at the 2007 panel but was arrested in Iran in 2008 and is currently serving a nineteen and a half year prison sentence. Panelists included Hilda Garcia, editor of El Diario La Prensa; David Karp, founder of Tumblr; and Betty Wong, Reuters' global managing editor, among others. The panel addressed issues such as the role of social media and evolving ethics in news. CTV News interviewed the founder of Tumblr, David Karp.

"The thing that we really weren't expecting and suddenly became a big part of what Tumblr is; we started as a purely publishing platform. It was a place where you could create a blog with a lot of customizable controls, but it was all about the creation. And about 6 months in when we started to realize that it was actually this really great network of interesting content there, we started to build these consumption tools," said David Karp.

CTV asked: "If Hollywood decided to make a film about Tumblr, who would you want to play you?"

Karp responded: "Taye Digg."

Columbia Community Service

Get those gardening gloves and construction hats ready for the 64th Annual Columbia Community Service, a campaign to help those in need in the upper Manhattan community. Columbia University faculty will help raise money for organizations that offer legal, health care, and educational services to local individuals and families. After raising $300,000 last year, President Lee Bollinger is hoping to replicate the success of the campaign again this year. So far he has raised $4,050 from two donors.

Uni Cafe opens in place of Pinnacle

The new season is welcomed by new eateries around campus, as construction for a new diner on 115th and Broadway has finally concluded. Uni Cafe replaces the former late-night hub known as Pinnacle. Early this year, Pinnacle was closed by the New York Department of Health for accumulating 94 health violations. The new cafe sports a new 60-inch television display as well as a cleaner layout. Expect the restaurant to open sometime later this month.

Wheelchair access on campus

It may seem simple to navigate Columbia’s web of pathways and stairs, but if you have a physical disability, your journey to class can get complicated.

As usual, temporary ramps were brought in to help students move in to housing, but this year the ramps are still in place and are even indicated on Columbia’s disability access map.

However, the metal ramps are only a temporary solution to what could potentially be a greater problem.

Only two elevators connect Upper Campus and Lower Campus, and the one inside Kent Hall is closed at night.

Since the skywalk over Amsterdam is only reachable by stairs, the International Affairs Building can only be reached by this elevator, on the Broadway side of campus, some 300-400 feet away from starting points like Uris or Schemerhorn Halls. You must then walk the entire distance of college walk back to Amsterdam and cross the street to arrive at the IAB. In total, the journey takes you more than half a kilometer out of your way.

Additionally, there is only one ramp between college walk and lower campus on the entire 100 meter span of the interior of campus. This is especially a problem for students who live in the housing on lower campus.

The question must then be asked: Will the temporary ramps be left up? Or will permanent replacements, like the newly built ramp outside Butler Library, be constructed?

CTV reached out to the Office of Disability Services for comment, but they declined. If you would like to share your story about getting around campus or your opinion on the ramps, email tips@ctvnewsonline.com.

Quidditch World Cup

For several hours this weekend, New York became the breeding ground for future Victor Krums, as the International Quidditch Association hosted its 4th Annual World Cup in midtown Manhattan. Teams came from around the nation, including participants from Harvard, Yale and NYU, attempting to become the champions of "Muggle Quidditch," an adapted form of the sport made famous in the Harry Potter series. The event took place in DeWitt Park and saw a wide array of live entertainment, from fire-breathers to live owls and Harry and the Potters, who recently performed at Columbia's Potterpalooza.

Sports Roundup

It was a big week for Columbia athletics. Both the men's and women's basketball teams played their season openers last Friday. The men went into halftime with a four point lead against La Salle, but they could not hold the Explorers off in the second half, eventually falling 82-71.

The Lady Lions fared similarly in their matchup against Long Island. The Light Blue allowed a 13-3 run in the second half, and the team was never able to recover, losing by a final score of 73-60.

The men's soccer team closed out their season in a hard-fought match against in-state rival Cornell. The game ended in a scoreless draw, but the result was a moral victory for the Light Blue, who played most of the second half one man down after goalkeeper Alex Aurrichio was sent off with red card.

The Columbia volleyball team also finished their year on a high note, sweeping Brown 3 sets to zero. The team's final of record of 16 and 9 is now the program record best performance in a season.

Lions bring home the Empire State Trophy

The Columbia Football Lions faced off against in-state rival Cornell University in the Lions' final home game of the season. Columbia was looking to break its three-game losing streak, as well as to come away winners of the inaugural Empire State Bowl.

Though the Lions made some good plays in the first half, they came away trailing 10-3. The third quarter did not treat them much better, as the Big Red extended their lead by a touchdown.

But it would be a fourth quarter to remember. A great team effort was lead by QB Sean Brackett. After a scoring drive, Columbia marched down the field for a hard earned field goal to cut the deficit to 17-13.

Columbia's defense would hold the Cornell offense to a three-and-out, giving them a chance for one final heroic drive.  After getting to the Cornell one yard, Columbia had four plays to score the winning touchdown. On second and goal, Brackett took two steps from the shotgun and dove over a pile of linemen to put Columbia ahead for good, 20-17.