Columbia U students debate NROTC on Fox News

[underpants]

Run time: 04:21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERf3NVSriH0   Posted on YouTube: November 30, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: December 03, 2008 By DU Member: underpants Views on DU: 1065

 

The students "Voted" via a survey and voted NO

Published December 03, 2008

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2008/12/03/next-step-unclear-after-split-survey-results

A day after voting closed on the controversial Reserve Officer Training Corps student survey, student government leaders were sharply split on how to interpret the results.

The survey—which asked undergraduates “Do you support bringing a Naval ROTC program to Columbia’s campus?”—aimed to gauge student opinion on Columbia’s 40-year-old ban on ROTC programs on campus. The results of the vote, which concluded Monday, are supposed to inform the undergraduate University senators as they weigh whether or not to bring the issue to the full University Senate this year. However, the student leaders who brought the issue to the forefront seemed split Tuesday on whether the results of the survey are valid and whether they call for further consideration of the issue.

Barnard’s survey results, announced Tuesday, revealed that the school is solidly against the proposal: 736 students, or 61.9 percent, voted against it, while 38.1 percent voted for it.

Columbia’s three undergraduate schools—Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the School of General Studies—conducted the survey together. Students in those three schools were almost evenly divided on the vote, with students coming out against the proposal by a hair’s width: 1,502 (50.56 percent) voted no, 1,463 (49.24 percent) voted yes, and six (0.20 percent) abstained.

Contentious discussion about the NROTC proposal, which has been a source of controversy since the idea of a student survey was first floated in October, continued after the survey results were announced Tuesday. Though his fellow council leaders expressed confidence in the voting system, General Studies Student Council president Brody Berg publicly spoke out against the computerized survey in an e-mail to constituents Tuesday. Berg referred to defects in the system, including allegations that it enabled students to vote multiple times.

[ProfessorPlum]

1. Good debate - both participants conceded points of fact

and were very respectful with each other.

"Learned Foot". Is that a pseudonym? I know there was a "Learned Hand" who was a judge . . .

[jhrobbins]

2. Wow! I guess I was expecting the NROTC guy to rant and rave

but when he kept saying,'Ravi has a point' or 'Ravi is right on this', I was very impressed

[Mozcram]

3. How great to see a quasi-debate that is respectful and honest

How wonderful it would be to see things like this more often.
How great for our society and our government!