Two stories in the paper lately draw a stark contrast between Columbia’s activist past and our passive present. Yesterday, members of Spectator’s opinion section chronicled recent reactions by Columbia students to student activism.
Many of the pieces linked in this article talked at length about the recent Barnard fliering drama where administrators eventually capitulated in the face of unified student opposition. Why did this issue warrant such attention? Because it’s the first time in a long while that one could locate any trace of successful activism on the part of the student body.
Yet, introducing these series of articles was a picture of the April 29 edition of Spectator, chronicling the student siege of Hamilton Hall. What happened to us, CU? We used to take over buildings when we didn’t like school policy! Now, when student government takes a stand over something it warrants three opinion pieces?
