AROuNd ThE quAdS <strong>Columbia</strong> CollEgE Today Senate Votes To Invite Return of ROTC The <strong>University</strong> Senate voted on April 1 to support inviting the Reserve Officers Training Corps back to the <strong>Columbia</strong> campus. Shortly afterward, the <strong>University</strong> issued a statement indicating the issue would go be<strong>for</strong>e the Council of Deans, and a final decision could be expected be<strong>for</strong>e the end of the semester. ROTC, which has units at more than 300 campuses, has not been at <strong>Columbia</strong> since 1969, following anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in Spring 1968. <strong>Columbia</strong> students wishing to participate in ROTC must train at Fordham <strong>University</strong> (Army) or Manhattan <strong>College</strong> (Air Force) or serve extended sessions in Quantico, Va. (Marines). The senate, whose recommendations are nonbinding, voted 51–17, with one abstention, to approve the resolution that states, in part, “<strong>Columbia</strong> <strong>University</strong> welcomes the opportunity to explore mutually beneficial relationships with the Armed Forces of the United States, including participation in the programs of the Reserve Officers Training Corps.” The vote capped several months of Senate debate regarding the return of ROTC, which began shortly after Congress voted in December to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that had prohibited openly gay men and women from serving in the military. The Senate’s task <strong>for</strong>ce <strong>for</strong> military engagement conducted a student survey in February, with 60 percent of respondents in favor of the return of ROTC, held three town hall-style meetings and invited comments via e-mail from the B y aL e x sa c h a r e ’71 For many years, <strong>Columbia</strong>’s Corps of Midshipmen drilled on <strong>College</strong> Walk and in neighboring streets. <strong>Columbia</strong> community. Soon after the Senate vote was announ- ced, the <strong>University</strong> issued a statement to media that read, “We appreciate the diligent work by the <strong>University</strong> Senate in fostering a robust debate on the issue of military engagement and ROTC. As in any diverse, open community there will always be a range of strongly held opinions on such important issues. But as President [Lee C.] Bollinger stated after last December’s Congressional vote, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ offers an historic opportunity <strong>for</strong> universities to reconsider their own policies as well. As planned, we look <strong>for</strong>ward to sharing the Senate resolution with the Council of Deans and seeking an official conclusion on this matter by the end of the semester.” Even if Bollinger follows the Senate recommendation, it does not mean ROTC will return to campus. A branch of the military would need to agree to start a Brill, nnadi win Goldwaters Zachary Brill ’12, from Somerset, N.J., and Chimno Nnadi ’12, from New Mil<strong>for</strong>d, N.J., both chemistry majors, each received the $7,500 2011 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in March. The scholarship is the most prestigious national undergraduate award <strong>for</strong> students studying the sciences, mathematics and engineering. Brill has worked in the lab of Professor Scott Snyder since 2009. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry focusing on the total synthesis of natural products. In 2010, Brill received the Class of 1939 fellowship to pursue independent research. He is a violinist with the <strong>Columbia</strong> <strong>University</strong> Orchestra and a member of the Chandler Chemistry Society. Nnadi, who works in Professor John Hunt’s lab, will study molecular biology in a M.D./ Ph.D. program. In 2009, she received a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship grant. Nnadi is active with CU Emergency Medical Services and the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee. Dmitriy Timerman ’12E, a biomedical engineering major, received honorable mention. MAY/JUNE 2011 8 program at <strong>Columbia</strong>, and <strong>University</strong> officials would need to negotiate terms of the program with the Department of Defense. On March 4, Harvard, which has been without ROTC since 1971, signed an agreement to bring a naval ROTC program back to its campus effective on the date of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” At <strong>Columbia</strong>’s Senate meeting, there was a late push to add an amendment stating that the resolution would not take effect until the repeal is officially implemented, but Bollinger indicated he would not bring an ROTC program to <strong>Columbia</strong> until that point. <strong>Columbia</strong> was involved with ROTC since the program’s beginnings in 1916, <strong>for</strong>ming one of the first Naval ROTC detachments in the nation. For more than 50 years, ROTC students took Naval <strong>Science</strong> classes, drilled on <strong>College</strong> Walk and in neighboring streets, and worked on ships and submarines in New York Harbor. <strong>Columbia</strong>’s NROTC program graduated thousands of students to become naval officers. At its peak, <strong>Columbia</strong>’s Corps of Midshipmen rivaled the Naval Academy in size. Six years ago, the Senate voted 53–10 against inviting ROTC back to campus. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was cited by opponents as a contradiction of <strong>Columbia</strong>’s policy of nondiscrimination. The <strong>University</strong> Senate, which was created in May 1969 in the wake of the demonstrations that rocked the <strong>Columbia</strong> campus the year be<strong>for</strong>e, has 108 voting seats, with 63 reserved <strong>for</strong> faculty, 24 <strong>for</strong> students, six <strong>for</strong> officers of research, two each <strong>for</strong> administrative staff, librarians and alumni, and nine <strong>for</strong> senior administrators including the president, who chairs monthly plenaries. For more, go to columbia.edu/cu/ senate/militaryengagement.
This Is <strong>Columbia</strong>’s Moment. ������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������� �������������������������� ��������������������� $5 billion by December 2013
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