Posts Tagged ‘Obama’
You in a few
After scouring the Forbes “30 Under 30″ and other similar lists for motivated young people who have their shit together, I shot out some emails asking for interviews.
(Recap: This blog series is about life after graduation and how it’s not actually daunting and everything will work out.)
I can report back that I’ll be speaking to some very interesting people this week and will have my first “You in a Few” subject next Monday!
Sadly, though, one cold email – despite its Columbia roots – will probably never see a response:
Dear President Obama,
In case you missed it: This week in news
Between stressing over midterms, procrastinating away fall break, and throwing the first snowballs of the season, you’ve had plenty of excuses not to pay attention to the news recently. In case you missed it, here’s a quick breakdown of this week (and the week before that) in news:
After years of campaigning, billions of dollars of spending, and a few too many gaffes, the 2012 election has finally come and gone. City News Editor Finn Vigeland reported from Obama’s victory party in Chicago (and later described his experience covering the historic night). Meanwhile, a little closer to home, students celebrated on Low Steps, voters braved long lines at local polling places, and Harlemites enjoyed Obama nail-painting at Rep. Charles Rangel’s Election Night watch party.
While the president’s re-election clearly has a big impact on the direction of the country, it will also affect Columbia on important issues like student loans, affirmative action, and research funding. In fact, the University spent more than $100,000 to lobby federal lawmakers in the months leading up to the election. (And some individual administrators have also donated big sums to Democrats around the country on their own time.) Finally, for some historical political perspective, you may not have known that Columbia was once quite conservative! Don’t tell Fox News… More »
Pet election predictions
As you know, animals have the uncanny ability to predict everything from earthquakes to which team will win a sporting event to when there is food on the floor in a 30-kilometer radius.
Spectator has discovered that, in addition to all of these talents, our pets (not your pets, that’s why we’re a newspaper and you’re not) can predict the outcome of this year’s presidential election. Below are some predictions to save you the trouble of watching tomorrow’s returns:
Milo (Frenchie) may have two names, but he’s only got one vote! (But really none because he’s a dog.)
Obama’s Columbia GPA
Last Friday the Daily Caller published an article about an (anonymous) Columbia official who told this (anonymous) Columbia alumnus that Obama, “as best could be determined after sorting through the incompletes, had a GPA of 2.6” while at Columbia.
Alright, Deep Throat here is called a “successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur,” but that can mean many things. The DC cites a $2,500 donation as a source of credibility, but I’m not sure $2,500 gives you this kind of authority.
Ignoring the 4,000 issues about the authenticity of the source, the fact that people are actually paying attention to this story highlights an unfortunate truth about the importance of GPAs. More »
Election Day Eve 2012
It’s late. You’re up. Election Day Eve is finally upon us, and now that you’ve got the election tree set up, your returns-watching party planned, and your emergency plane tickets out of the country sitting on the mantle just in case the wrong guy wins, it’s time to pass some time looking at internet links:
Playing god, election edition: In case you haven’t already, click here to make your own electoral map and live your dream of being MSNBC’s David Gregory.
512 paths to win: In case clicking on a map is too much work, the New York Times has all election possibilites outlined in flowchart form.
You would have been better off finding a different excuse to drink
For this Quick and Dirty, we asked our Opinion writers for a few thoughts on this week’s presidential debate:
Virgilio Urbina-Lazardi, Blogger: Boring, vapid, dripping at every inch with hypocrisy, filled with a host of erroneous claims but with none of the expected flair. Obama should’ve been much more aggressive, while it would have helped Romney to actually say something of substance.
Mikey Zhong, Blogger: The ties.
Yoni Golijov, Columnist: Not even the candidates are excited about this race. Instead of watching the next debate, watch South Park’s 2008 Election episode, McCain and Obama conspiring for Obama to win so they can steal the Hope Diamond from the Smithsonian. If only the debates were as accurate.
Noel Duan, Columnist: Why did my childhood (Big Bird) have to be brought into this?
Leo Schwartz, Columnist and Blogger: Romney clone army rushes stage after debate, once and for all proving his true goal of galactic conquest.
Cecille de Laurentis, Columnist: I had the privilege of viewing something pivotal, something that altered my perception of the election. It was a parody of “Gangnam Style” called “Romney Style.”
There is Amy Poehler/Will Arnett news you should care about
It’s late. You’re up. You probably just completed (or are completing) your first Thursday out and about. After three full days of classes, you (hopefully) don’t have a huge pile of work. Go ahead, savor the time you have. You deserve it.
Actual news:
Obama’s DNC speech: After days of hearing Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton hype up the President, we finally heard from Barack Obama as he accepted the Democratic nomination. While he touched upon most every key political topic, his primary focus was the economy, insisting that he plans to continue to create jobs and pay off US debt with money that used to go towards military spending. He also made many a mention of his “opponent” and “opponents” and all of their apparent faults. Even more: Did anyone else notice Eric McCormack aka Will Truman, fictional Columbia alum of Will & Grace fame? I did. But seriously, here’s Obama’s speech in full. More »
It’s Obama headquarters here: Everything you need to know
Asiya Khaki
Good morning, Morningside Heights! President Barack Obama, CC ’83, is returning to campus to deliver the address at Barnard’s Commencement, his first visit to campus since September 2008 and possibly the first visit to campus by a sitting president (see below for more: it seems like it was the first visit by a sitting president in about 50 years, though). It’s going to be a hectic day, with ultratight security locking down all of South Campus. Graduates are scheduled to arrive in Roone Arledge Auditorium at 8 a.m., four hours before the procession is due to begin.
Spectator will be bringing you coverage from inside and outside of the ceremony but we urge anyone on campus to send in pictures or stories to dailyeditors@columbiaspectator.com and tweet @CU_Spectator using the hashtags #ObamaAtCU or #Barnard2012.
Didn’t get a golden ticket to commencement? Don’t worry, you can watch Obama’s speech streamed live here. We’ll be liveblogging the whole day, from the 8 a.m. arrivals to what it’s like inside the press filing room, from the procession at noon to the speech, to the moment Obama leaves campus at around 3 p.m.
(UPDATE: 3:21 p.m.) Photos after the jump, too.
The POTUS will be here in less than 12 hours
It’s late. You’re up. Your sleep schedule is probably still messed up thanks to the week-which-must-not-be-named.
At the moment, I’m trying to decide whether I want to skulk around the Barnard campus all day in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mr. President, or avoiding the area altogether by going to Flushing and drowning my sorrows in soup dumplings and kebabs because I didn’t get an invitation…
Actual News:
Obama chooses to phone a friend pastor: Multiple pastors, actually, after he openly declared his support for gay marriage on the 9th.
Mitt Romney responds with: “Culture…matters…Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.” I could make a jibe about his overemphasis of the word one, but that would just be petty.
Obama is given a new title: The “first gay president.” Check out the interesting Newsweek cover. More »