I've always held the radical notion that those individuals who serve or served in our nation's armed forces deserve our deepest thanks and utmost respect. Apparently, Columbia and the Columbia discrimination policy disagree.

Call it the most overt and appalling case of discrimination that you've never heard of. Nearly five months ago to the day, three of Columbia's most notable "liberals" found themselves at the Military Society table. Amid cries of "Baby killers!" and forceful denunciations unfit for print, a student, both a veteran and a minority, was singled out by the trio. The table nearly flipped, papers and literature thrown about the floor; their violent rant had turned personal.

Their perverted logic dictates that the military is evil and seeks only to take advantage of minorities. When informed by the white protesters that he was being exploited (quite the surprise, I would think), the student responded that he willingly enlisted. Indeed, the progressives found this quite repulsive and responded that minorities are used as "fodder." For "supporting them," he was "ignorant," "stupid," ... A whole litany of derogatory statements followed, including a classic seemingly borrowed from the administration: "Get off our campus!" If their goal was to cause a scene, they succeeded; thousands of people were there for the club fair. Moreover, the aforementioned table was manned by other servicemen and women (including, ironically, minorities), who have corroborated, if not the exact statements, the antagonistic and offensive racial slights.

Amazingly (this is Columbia, remember), it gets worse. Having been publicly insulted for being both a minority and a veteran, the student submitted a complaint to his dean with hopes of a thorough investigation and ultimately disciplinary action against those students who harassed him. Several e-mails, meetings, and promises later, there was still no record of an investigation some four months afterward (which, by all measures, would be an open-and-shut case). Never mind any foreseeable hope of the University taking action against those students. Facing an administration unwilling to act, the complaint was filed once more last month. How far has the complaint progressed? Funny, did you get an e-mail from Dean Colombo yet?

Institutionally, by Columbia's own standards, veterans, to whom we owe much, if not everything, are literally deemed unworthy of protection. In other words, had this student been white, or had race not been mentioned, there could be no action taken against those harassing him-in the eyes of the University, there is no crime in harassing or discriminating against someone for being a serviceman or woman. To cite Columbia's own, accepted definition of discrimination: "The protected groups are based upon race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran."

Considering that few students are Vietnam era vets or disabled, this loophole leaves a great number of vets, always a target at institutions such as this, open for verbal and personal abuse. Astonishingly, a student or professor could identify vets and shout "Murderer!" with little fear of reprisal by the administration; by this flawed standard, most veterans cannot be "discriminated" against. Couple this lapse with the extreme feelings generated by the Iraq war and a new generation of students soon to arrive, the case for change soon becomes clear.

However, I must confess a great deal of naivete on my part. When I first heard about the incident and failure of the administration to act, I blamed the bureaucratic nature of the system. Only when I considered the Ruggles incident did I realize how wrong I was. Within 48 hours, some of the biggest figures in the administration had e-mailed the student body expressing their disgust at the hate crime, detailing their actions against those guilty and rightfully championing a stronger and more respectful community. In this situation they acted as they should, and for that, we are all most appreciative. The failure to act when the student was a veteran stands as a sad testament to the reality of Columbia.

I am ashamed that I attend a university where such anti-American, anti-military sentiment is so entrenched, and the spirit of '68 is alive and well. One can only hope that the Ruggles incident would persuade the University to thoroughly conduct the investigation which, by their own procedural time frame, is months overdue. Furthermore, for current and future generations of Columbia veterans, the University must edit and revise its policies to include those students and prevent such ridiculousness. On this, I think all respectful members of the Columbia Community will agree.

Chris Kulawik is a Columbia College sophomore.

Chris Shrugged runs on alternate Wednesdays.