Columbia Rings in the Holidays

Columbia students faced the cold weather on Thursday to attend the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Columbia College Student Council invited students to congregate on College Walk and join the Columbia Deans in welcoming the winter season but, more importantly, to take advantage of the free hot chocolate, warm cider, roasted nuts, and Columbia scarves.

"We're going to wait on the scarves, for sure."

"[I hope students] realize that their student fees do go somewhere because campus life pays for this. People think that Student Council doesn't pay for anything in this school, but this is nice."

A popular fable credits the invention of Christmas lights to 16th-century reformer Martin Luther who, walking home one evening, was so charmed by the stars and the evergreens that he placed a tree with wired lighted candles in his home. Though the story may be a myth, the beauty it describes is real.

"I don't think we have many traditions, but the lights turning on is kind of beautiful; I like it."

"The trees, the lights, the singing. I remember freshman year I kind of hated Columbia but this event would be really happy, and now I realize Columbia makes me happy. So I feel like it's really good for all those people who are like, 'This place is apathetic and soulless,' and we're like, 'Look, we love you guys!'"

"This is a wonderful tradition for Columbia to celebrate. People come together - whatever their religious beliefs, their cultural convictions - to celebrate the Columbia lighting of the trees"

The tree lighting ceremony may be a simple celebration, but as the 3,000 people who RSVP'ed on Facebook can attest, this event lights up the hearts of the community.

"It's always a good way to get out of Butler and get ready for the holidays. And also, the campus looks beautiful when it is all lit up."

"I've never really celebrated Christmas before, so all the tree lightings, I'm excited for that."

"One of the great things about this time of year is that we take those trees - newly bare, gray and brown - and we're going to turn them into towers and cones of light, to help light up the walkways of Columbia's campus."

Hey, Columbia Prof, Shhh!

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce asked Columbia University Law professor Eben Moglen to censor his remarks in a hearing about online privacy legislation on Thursday. Congress discussed the possibility of legislation requiring companies to provide a “do not track” option to web browsers, a tool that allows anonymous web surfing. Professor Moglen, an invited witness, used this opportunity to criticize online privacy in general, singling out Facebook's privacy settings as a "mere deception" and comparing the site to a 20th century totalitarian government. Mr. Moglen consented to the House request and omitted Facebook from his oral testimony.

Wikileaks

Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs has warned students to avoid commenting online about the recent scandal surrounding the Wikileaks diplomatic cables. SIPA, one of the most prestigious graduate schools of public policy, sent students an email warning them that commenting on these leaked cables would "call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government." The ethics of the Wikileaks release has been a subject of much debate across the nation, but it seems that if you hope to secure a job with the government in the future, that debate is one you will have to keep offline.

FCC Commish

Federal Communication Commissioner Michael J. Copps is suggesting that a "public value test" be put in place for television and radio stations. The test would replace the current licensing process. The commissioner proposed his idea last Thursday at Columbia University's School of Journalism. During his visit, Copps discussed how the public value test would serve to re-legitimize news. His ultimate goal is to motivate a new dedication to legitimate news, information, and journalism.

The Future of Digital Media

Modern technology is rapidly changing the reporting industry and has led the public to question the integrity of journalistic work in the media. Graduate students and staff members from Columbia University's Journalism program explained how high-tech equipment is transforming the field.

Broadcast and AV coordinator Rachel Wolther made mention of how journalistic technology is catering to the public. "What's important to a lot of people is up to the minute news and that's what technology - our new type of video, shooting, editing - is really good for." 

Technology has multiplied the speed of news release, leading some to doubt the integrity of journalistic work. Ignacio Torres, a graduate student in the School of Journalism, claimed that high speed production actually makes slip ups easier to fix. 

"If there is a mistake that you make, um something that you got wrong, I think you do have that opportunity to quickly go back and correct that information" 

There has also been some concern that the mass distribution of information may reduce the need for journalists. Torres assures that easy to access information benefits reporters and enhances the content of their stories. 

 "The standards are getting higher and higher - just because we have a lot more access to documents...we have a lot more access and quicker access."

Torres claims that journalists still maintain a significant role in presenting information to the public. 

"There is so much information out there that I think you need the journalists who can decipher all that information and pick out whats important." 

The consensus among students is that, although evolution is necessary, the fundamentals of reporting will remain consistent. Students, feel that once journalists have mastered the new mediums of reporting the new technologies will advance the field. 

Journalism student Joe Prodman stated, "The industry has been in this kind of transitional period - or just like a really rough time and I think a lot of that has to do with there is a lack o in the things being produced today - and I think a lot of it is that people are not necessarily understanding the new technology" 

Ignacio Torres agrees, "A lot of the times journalism has to sort of adapt to the medium and the technology and understand that it has to change according to how you are going to be sending out the news and how people are going to be receiving the news." 

The graduate program recognizes the importance of teaching digital reporting. On October 19th, Columbia opened the doors to the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. The center's director, Emily Bell, will educate journalists so that they are prepared for the age of digital news. 

Columbia Robbed

A Bronx resident was arrested earlier this week for stealing millions of dollars from Columbia University. 48-year-old George Castro added an unauthorized account to Columbia's electronic payment system and stole $4.5 million over the course of two months. Although Mr. Castro's relationship with the university is still uncertain, it was verified that he is not a current Columbia employee. Mr. Castro has been arraigned on charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree.

Barnard Sorority Poll Results

The Student Government Association has voted to recognize sororities at Barnard by a vote of 14-5. Earlier, the results from the student poll were revealed. 56.9 percent of the student body voted, with 57.1% voting of favor of sorority recognition. An SGA official remarked that "maybe fifty years ago, Barnard didn’t accept Greek Life but fifty years later, that may have changed,” and that it is the SGA's "responsibility to do what [they] said [they] would do and follow the poll.”

Awareness and Activism: Columbia's Campaign for HIV/AIDS

Columbians joined organizations worldwide in recognizing HIV/AIDS Week, which culminates in World AIDS Day. On this day, we stop to remember victims and patients of the disease. Although HIV/AIDS is often seen as an issue that does not have a direct impact on Columbia, student groups are working to promote awareness of the impact this disease has on us all.

Amirah Sequeira, Vice President of Columbia Students Global AIDS Campaign, remarked that "throughout the week we have a variety of educational, awareness and activist events for students to attend that deal with various issues relating to HIV and AIDS."

This year on World AIDS Day, the Columbia Students Global AIDS Campaign held a vigil to remember those members of the Columbia community who have been affected by the disease. In addition to efforts in the local community, Columbia groups are making their voices heard in bigger ways.

"[Columbia Students Global AIDS Campaign] participated in a White House call-in, which was happening across the nation, so we got students across Columbia to phone in to the White House and let the White House and President Obama know how unhappy we have been with his commitment to HIV/AIDS since he came into office."

Although HIV/AIDS activists throughout the country have been working hard to make a difference in the lives of HIV positive individuals, they still have their work cut out for them.

As Sequeira noted, "It was established that in this country, any HIV+ person would receive the HIV medication they needed, and that’s not happening at the moment due to funding issues." 

Through the efforts of student activists at Columbia and beyond, we hope to see improvements and greater awareness of the issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS community.

Smoking bans

The University Senate has revised smoking regulations at Columbia to prohibit smoking within 20 feet of all campus buildings. Previously, smoking on campus was banned from within 50 feet of any building entrance, though this policy has been criticized in the past for it's ineffectiveness. University Senators attempted to add an amendment that would completely ban smoking on campus, but were unable to come to a consensus.

Sports Roundup

In sports, Columbia wrestlers Eren Civan and Kevin Lester both placed seventh at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational on Saturday. The tournament featured top wrestlers from 32 different schools across the nation. The wrestling team's next bout will be on January 7th at West Point.

In basketball, the Lady Lions remain unvictorious after a losing to Monmouth in a nail-biter, 67-64.  The Lions had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer in the final seconds, but were unable to connect. The Lady Lions fall to 0-7 on the season.

Basketball: Columbia vs. Stony Brook

Columbia men's basketball has looked unstoppable at home so far this season. The Lions, under the leadership of first-year head coach Kyle Smith, have outscored their opponents 184-137 through two home games. Columbia dismantled Colgate on November 23rd, how would they fare against the Stony Brook sealions, who were coming off an overtime loss to Lehigh?

Stony Brook controlled the pace early on, taking a double digit lead. The Lions got hot towards the end of the first half, narrowing the gap with big three point shooting. John Daniels' dunk to start the second half gave Columbia their first lead in the game.

Stony Brook would do well enough to keep the game close. But Columbia forward Steve Frankoski went on a tear, hitting seven threes on the day and three in a two-minute span.

With Columbia up a point with less than a minute to go, Frankoski would foul Stony Brook's Al Rapier. Rapier made one of his two shots knotting the score up at 72 a piece. But when Columbia's John Daniels drew a foul, his free-throw put Columbia up by one point.

With the game seemingly over, a dispute arose over the time left in regulation, and an extra .4 seconds were added to the clock. The extra time did not help Stony Brook and the Columbia Lions kept their unblemished record at home and escaped by the skin of their teeth.

High school dropout drop-off

The nation’s high school graduation rate, which had declined in the second half of the 20th century, may be on the rise again, according to a recent study. The 88-page report, released by nonprofit organization America's Promise Alliance, showed that the national graduation rate increased to from 72 percent in 2001 to 75 percent in 2008. Additionally, the number of “dropout factory” high schools fell by 13 percent. Tennessee led the nation with a 15 percent increase in graduation rates, while New York's rate went up 10 percent.

TSA Attacks!

Airport security is in the news this week. Many reports of privacy violations at security checkpoints have surfaced after travelers complained that Transportation Security Agency officers have been overly invasive and aggressive during pat-downs.

The intensification of pat-down procedures follows traveler discontent with TSA's full-body scanners - machines that create an image of a person's nude body to look for hidden objects. Full-body scanners are considered invasive by many, and recent reports warn that these devices may emit dangers levels of radiation.

Death of Four Loko

A figurative funeral to commemorate the death of alcoholic energy drink Four Loko took place on the steps of Low early last week. Phusion Projects, the maker of Four Loko, withdrew shipment of the beverage to New York State after the Food and Drug Administration declared the drink a "public health concern." Students have been mourning this ban in different ways, with many buying the drinks before they're off the shelves. During the funeral procession, the band played a funeral march and said a couple of jokes, all in memory of Four Loko.

Weather Update

It looks like winter has finally arrived. Students are breaking out the gloves and ear muffs as the weather is starting to get pretty chilly. It will be partly cloudy all this week, with highs in the low 40s to upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.  And get ready to celebrate  the end of classes a couple of days early, with the first snow of the school year hitting us this Saturday. 

There are quite a number of campus productions going on this weekend, so make sure to buy your tickets in the TIC.  Silence, a comedic play by Barnard’s department of theatre, will be showing Friday through Sunday at 8PM, and CUMT’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum will be showing in Roone on Saturday and Sunday at 8PM.  Don’t forget to see XMAS5!, a student written musical, next Monday at 8 or 10 PM.