Live Blog: Syrian Revolution Panel

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="244"] Talk about mounting tension![/caption]

If you're reading this right this moment it means that you should be down here in 517 Hamilton Hall! Seriously, we got seats itching for bums and fantastic speakers laying down the truth. Call it a study break, you deserve it, don't you?

Well, if you somehow can't make it (and tsk tsk) the Cub Pub has you covered, as always. It's live-blogging time!

CPU Event: Syria Panel TODAY!!!

We know it's late in the semester and times are tight, but that doesn't stop human rights abuses in Syria. Bashar Al-Assad hasn't let up the violent oppression of his own people since the Arab Spring, where they demanded an end to his political party's nearly fifty year long rule. Al-Assad's military intervention against protestors has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Syrians and the violence is continuing. Just recently Al-Assad's forces shelled and dispersed opposition forces located in the city of Hama, killing fifty people.

The Columbia Political Union will be holding a panel to discuss the future of Syria and the extent of Al-Assad's violence and if you have any interest then you'll be doing yourself a great disservice by not attending. The event will be taking place Tuesday (that's today) in room 517, Hamilton Hall. Panelists will include Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah and Mr. Sarab Al-Jijakli. Be there, or influential international journalist, Fareed Zakaria, will be disappointed in you!

French Election Primer!

This Wednesday at 7:30 CPU and The French Cultural Society are holding a informal discussion on the French Elections in the IAB. It's a deeply fascinating subject because these elections will shape the balance of power throughout Europe for five years. But if you aren't up to date with France's politics this might be all news to you. Well never fear Pub goers, we've broken it down for you. So sit back, grab your favorite French import to snack on, and join us on a brief tour de French electoral politics.

Nicolas Sarkozy is the incombent president of France. In 2007 he won in his race against Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal for his first five year term as president. But his Union for a Popular Movement (UPM, center-right) wasn't just running against the Socialist Party. Twelve parties ran in France's 2007 presidential election. See, in France voting works differently than in the United States. Instead of one big election there are two rounds, one in April and one in May. If no party received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, then the top two candidates go head to head in round two. That allows for France to have a larger amount of political parties, and ideally a more fluid political system. It also means that parties one might consider fringe groups, such the National Front who's main platform is preventing Muslim immigration, can be very successful in the first round. This happened in 2002 when Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front won second place in the first round with only 16.86% of the votes, only to be trounced by Jacques Chirac in the second round.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128" caption="Nicolas Sarkozy"][/caption]

Sarkozy didn't win his second round in 2007 nearly as easily as Chirac did, partially due to his opponent not being a far-right radical. His presidency was marked by some early successes, especially in environmental policy (Columbia even ranked France as the most environmentally respectful out of all the G20). But Sarkozy's popularity has waned. He's to liberal for the right who supported him and still to conservative for the left to adopt him. He also has a nasty habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, with several gaffs during his presidency that have been criticized as either racist, intolerant, elitist, or some combination of the above. Once he even tried to convince people that he was present during the fall of the Berlin Wall by posting a doctored photo on Facebook. All that plus a struggling economy after the global economic turndown doesn't give Sarkozy much momentum going into the race.

CPU Event: An Open Discussion with Former Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry

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You've enjoyed Bacchanal and took advantage of the Spring weather, but now there's another type of Spring to turn your attention to: The Arab Spring. Join Karl Eikenberry, the current Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and former Commander of Combined Forces in and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan for an open discussion on Afghanistan and related issues.

Not familiar with anyone on the panel? Well, just take the word of CPU GM Emily Tampkin, who says "from the state of U.S. relations to Afghanistan and the Afghan government to the potential for a regional oil pipeline deal that could bring peace and stability to the region, there are few more knowledgeable voices on policy in the area than former Ambassador Eikenberry." That's right, Eikenberry has got the Tamkin Bump, so you know it will be an exciting evening filled with intriguing conversation.

It's all going down this Monday at 5 pm (that's TODAY) in the Wein Hall Lounge. Do it up, Cub Pubbers! 

Click after the jump to see Ambassador Eikenberry discuss private security companies in Afganistan

Cub Pub Scrubdown

Columbia life moves fast, and sometimes we just can't cover all the events that have been going on. That's a darn shame, but thankfully our fellow campus pubs pick up the slack with their dedicated writing staff armies. So, in a segment we hope will stick around and a name we hope won't last, let's go through these articles. Together. As a family. No you can't go out with your friends, we have plans. It'll be just as fun, we promise.

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Generation Iraq: Last Wednesday, a small cabal of journalists who've covered the Iraq war came to the Journalism School to talk about the effect of the war on Americans, Journalists, and Iraqis. It was a really great panel discussion with highlights coming from photographer Ashley Gilbertson, Iraqi journalist Ali Adeeb, and Democracy Now's Amy Goodman (if she would only get off her iPad). For more check out Laura Kirchner's article in Capital, linked above.

Herman Cain does Columbia. Everyone has a take on Cain's presence, and so far it has been pretty good natured. Spec was taken by Cain's recital of a song from the Pokemon movie while Bwog amused itself with Cain's silly question & answer session where he discussed pizza toppings. Both occurrences, we should point out, where already predicted in Cub Pub's own Cain coverage article from last week. All in all it seemed like everyone had fun. See, we promised didn't we?

AAAAND TWEEEEENTY-FOUR DAAAANES

Come down and join CPU at Deutsches Haus today as we host Political Science students from the University of Copenhagen! That's right, 24 Danish students have decided to take time out of their busy schedules to come mingle with us because we're just that fascinating company. Aww, stop it, you're too kind!

Did we mention that coffee and refreshments will be served? The event starts at 5:00 pm at Deutsches Haus, 420 West 116th Street (between Amsterdam & Manhattan). See you there, Cub Pubbers!

CCSC Election Results + Cub Pub Remodel

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You may notice that the Cub Pub looks a bit different. Perhaps a bit swankier? Well that's because the Cub Pub has broken free of its cocoon and emerged a beautiful bloggy butterfly. In plain English that means that this is the blog's finalized design. There's also an all new about page! We're always tweaking and improving things though, and we love your feedback. If you have any suggestions or comments about the website just leave them in a comment below!

In the meantime the Earth still turns and that means that CCSC election results have come in. For sure you already know who won, but Cub Pub has an extensive list after the jump.  However, there is one important detail that you won't get from any other publication. Both of your new University senators, Matthew Chou and Richard Sun, wrote about their platform here on the Cub Pub. They were two of only three who took advantage of the offer we extended to all senate candidates. Sure, they both ran strong campaigns, but it just goes to show the potential this blog has to get the word out. Congrats Matt and Richard! Next year we hope the Cub Pub receives statements from all the candidates!

5 Reason's Why Herman Cain Is Just What This Campus Needs

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="273" caption="CUCR chose you! Herman Cain Go!"][/caption]

You know what they say, no Cain, no gain! That's so far been proven true enough since the race for the Republican presidential nominee hasn't gained any momentum since Cain dropped out. But while Romney and Santorum fail to drum up excitement, Columbia is moderately psyched for Cain's speech next week, 7:00pm Tuesday, April 10^th in Low Rotunda. Ok, Cain's no Obama, but there's a few good reasons Columbians should be more enthusiastic for Cain's Morningside appearance, such as...

#5 A Unique Perspective:

Cain isn't your typical Republican who's been towing the party line for decades. He's a businessman who hasn't really focused on the business world since 2000. He's sort of all over the place from Burger King to Godfather's Pizza to the Kansas City Fed to talk radio and then politics. 2012 isn't the first election he's run in either. He put his name in for the Republican presidential nominee in 2000, and then in 2004 he tried to be a senator. So far Cain's had bad luck getting nominated, but he went pretty far in this race, especially for someone who hasn't held a major office.

But now Cain is out and that means he's free to talk about who's left in. Sure, he's going to pretend to like Romney, Santorum, and Gingrich, but this is Herman cain we're talking about. He's not one to shy away from a question. He'd laugh and make it sound all folksy before laying down some truth on the state of the GOP.

Senate Candidates Speak Out!: Richard Sun

Our coverage of the CCSC elections continues with another statement from a Senate candidate.  Richard Sun may have a sunny disposition, but he's not afraid to talk serious with the Cub Pub. Here's what he has to say.

The Senate was established in the wake of the events of '68 to be a forum for an active and participatory governing body. In this spirit, the Senate should be a place to push forward important and complex initiatives, initiatives that are too great for just one school’s governing body or administration to handle. Things like open course evaluations, the Morningside Student Space Initiative, "Quality of Life" on campus, and the need for greater transparency, accountability, and accessibility of our senior administration—these are the important initiatives that the Senate should be addressing and these are the issues that I have and will continue to fight for in the Senate. I believe that based on my experiences I am uniquely qualified to serve as your University Senator.  I believe that I have the ability to follow through and realize our shared vision.

For the past two years, I have served as Chief of Staff of the Senate’s Student Affairs Committee, a body composed of 24 student senators across all schools. In this role, I act as part chief strategist, part press secretary, and part personnel director to the Chairs of a committee charged with representing graduate and undergraduate interests.

My experience as SAC Chief of Staff has allowed me to learn the different stakeholder interests at play. During last year’s ROTC debates, we saw Senators stifled by the lack of an ability to directly reach out to their constituents; we also heard cries for transparency from the general student body. It was the system, and not individual Senators, that failed the greater Columbia Community. This year, the Senate has passed a resolution that allows senators to directly reach their communities. SAC has been at the forefront of that effort, and I have been a part of every major committee discussion we made regarding this policy. This is a vision we have realized, a result that we can be point to and be proud of.

Senate Candidates Speak Out!: Derrick Fu

Here's another statement sent in from a CCSC Senate Candidate, this time we have Derrick Fu. He's on the Cub Pub to provide a little insight on what needs to be done in student goverement in a segment he calls It's Our Senate, Not Theirs.

What’s the biggest problem with USenate today? Simply put: students have no idea what USenate does. More importantly, students don’t understand what their USenate can do. USenate was founded in response to the 1968 riots to serve as a powerful resource not just for faculty/administrators, but for the student body. The student body should have a say in the policy changes it wants and needs.

But that’s not the USenate situation today, and that’s exactly why I’m running to reinvent the Senate-Student Body relationship.

Now here’s how I’m going to give the Senate back to the student body.

Virtual Town Halls – Town halls have been largely ineffective. Despite the flyering and Spec shout-outs, no one shows up. I want to provide students the opportunity to login to an Issue-Specific, Virtual Town Hall [Ex: Town Hall on Student Wellness, Town Hall of Academic Integrity, etc.] directly from their laptops, cutting out the hassle and mundaneness and enabling students to learn about the Senate’s stance and progress on an issue and put forth their own ideas. Ideas like a Social Justice Center, which I will advocate for unrelentingly, need mass student momentum to move forward. With Virtual Town Halls I’m bringing the Senate floor to you – the students.

Senate Candidates Speak Out!: Matthew Chou

Since CCSC elections take place this week, the Cub Pub has reached out to all the College Senate candidates, asking them to share their platform on the blog. First we have Matthew Chou, enjoy and remember to do your civil service by voting this week!

Talking to students about the University Senate, I always hear “What does the Senate even do?” For others, there is a common statement: “I don’t see how Senate’s work affects my life.”

It can be hard to know how to respond. For even the most involved students at Columbia, the Senate often seems like an enigma, a black box that either spits out boring policies or huge decisions, with little room for student feedback or review.

Correct or not, the fact of the matter is that the existence of such a perception means that there is something very wrong. The Senate is second only to the Board of Trustees. How can our relationship be so uncertain?

After serving on the Senate as one of two current student staffers, I’ve seen how University-level issues directly affect students. From liberating our course evaluations data to communicating to the administration the terrible student space situation on campus, it is crucial that our student Senators fight passionately for what students need and hold the University accountable.

CC Senate Candidates share the love on Cub Pub

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You're all such lovely candidates, we'd love to take you home with us! We'd love to take you home!

But while the Cub Pub simply can't be asked to choose between all these bright faces, the student body must. To make that choice easier we've invited the candidates to come share their platform on the blog. Not everyone answered the call, but you can be sure those who did can something to say. Stay tuned, this isn't an April Fool's joke Cub Pubbers!

Update: You too can see all the hot debate action by just following this schedule!

Location: Satow Room:
4:00pm - 4:30pm: Pre-Professional, Student Services and Academic Affairs Reps.
4:45pm - 5:15pm: Class of 2013
5:30pm - 6:15pm: Senate
6:30pm - 7:30pm: Executive Board

Location: Lerner 569:
5:15pm - 5:45pm: Class of 2015
6:00pm - 6:30pm: Class of 2014