Columbia University news stories on Newser

Ex-Girlfriends' Letters Recall Younger Obama

John Johnson — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:31:41 CDT

President Obama must be just thrilled his old girlfriends kept their letters. Vanity Fair today publishes an excerpt of Barack Obama: The Story , a biography written by Washington Post reporter David Mariniss. The excerpt focuses on the 20-something Obama's relationships with Alex McNear and, later, Genevieve Cook, when he studied...

Top Colleges Steer Grads Away from Wall Street

Matt Cantor — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:44:05 CDT

For many seniors at elite US universities, Wall Street provides a straightforward path to a job—particularly since big banks often dominate campus recruiting. But recently, fellow students and staff alike have urged graduating classes to consider a wider array of options, the Los Angeles Times reports. A nationwide campaign...

Derided Goldman Boss Backs Out of Barnard Speech

Rob Quinn — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:58:05 CDT

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has pulled out of a controversial lecture at Manhattan's Barnard College. Students at the Columbia University-affiliated institution had planned protests and workshops to coincide with Blankfein's visit, declaring the week to be "School the Squid" week, in reference to Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi's description...

Cops 'Stood Back' After Threats to Malcolm X: Book

Rob Quinn — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 08:14:24 CDT

Columbia professor Manning Marable spent 20 years working on a groundbreaking biography of Malcolm X but died yesterday, just three days before its release. Scholars who have read Marable's Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention say it presents the most definitive look yet at the black nationalist leader's legacy, reports...

Chicago, Honolulu Battle to Host Obama Library

Matt Cantor — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:21:05 CST

President Obama is far more concerned about a second term than his legacy—but two cities are duking it out to host his presidential library, Politico reports. Four groups at the University of Hawaii, in the state where Obama was born, are already hard at work on the matter, hoping...

Columbia Professor Charged With Incest

Rob Quinn — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:22:06 CST

A well-known Columbia University professor has been charged with having an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Court papers allege that political science professor David Epstein had an apparently consensual 3-year relationship with the woman, who was over 18 when it began, the Columbia Spectator reports. Epstein, who's married to a...

Ivy League Drug Bust Had Bizarre Kidnapping Twist

John Johnson — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:50:27 CST

This is not your run-of-the-mill Ivy League drug raid—this one has a torture-by-LSD component. When police gave details today about the five Columbia students arrested and charged with distributing everything from LSD to Adderall to fellow students, they also told of a crazy scheme by one of their alleged...

Columbia to Students: OK, You Can Discuss WikiLeaks

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 04:25:29 CST

Columbia University has apparently remembered it's supposed to be a defender of free speech and has dropped its warning to students not to discuss WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter. Following a warning from an alumnus at the State Department, the career counseling office of the university's School of International and...

America's 10 Priciest Colleges

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:30:50 CDT

Oh, sweet journalistic irony: Forbes releases its list of the country's most expensive colleges, and MarketWatch reports on a Sallie Mae survey released today that finds that, on average, families have saved $48,367 for school by the time their kid leaves for college. (Though, disturbingly, 24% of parents use...