Here's a quick round-up of all the goings-on of Columbia and its environs, happening right now:

A notably dapper member of the Philolexian Society is currently standing atop the Sundial. He and others advertising for the Joyce Kilmer Bad Poetry Contest, which is happening on the 13th.

A few yards over, on the Steps, Amnesty International: International Refugee Day is going on until 5 PM. Then, at 7:30 PM, there will be a panel of Refugees Scholars in the Trustee Room in Low, who will be talking about their experiences.

And finally, for reasons unknown, Postcrypt is celebrating suggestive portraiture on College Walk.

Busy afternoon, no? Enjoy these outdoors activities while you can. Maybe it'll soon be winter, which we vaguely remember as being cold.

Oriflammes are gleaming! The rabble is roused! T-shirts are free for the taking! Five Years of War, Five Days of Action has reached its apex out on Low Plaza. A devoted cadre of protesters walked out of class at noon. Though the crowd has dwindled, there's no reason to think any of the 236 people who confirmed their attendance via Facebook flaked out. Since then, they've encircled the sundial, which has been recomissioned as a podium. The professors invited (Hamid Dabashi, Rashid Khalidi, Zainab Bahrani, and Bruce Robbins) wrapped up their speeches earlier. Three veterans (one a Columbia grad student) have told their war stories. But as the speeches end, hijinks await. The group has promised protestacular mischief at 2 o'clock. An anonymous tipster informs Bwog that Butler, Alma Mater, a banner, and some unfurling may be involved. Stay tuned for live(ish) updates.

Update, 1:52 pm: Much of the crowd is now sitting. One speaker, a postdoc student, asked the crowd whether it wanted to engage in any chants--response was unenthusiastic. Bwog is stroking sweat away from its brow, and regretting having bought a black, heat-absorbing laptop. Talk has turned to divesting Columbia from business with Iraq war contractors (some $5M invested!), and to demanding that Columbia introduce scholarships for Iraqi students. This has raised audience engagement to a low whooping level.

Update, 2:14 pm: The event reached a monumental finale when a banner was flung from Butler (Bwog was mighty impressed) and Alma Mater was veiled and surrounded by a militant bunch of arm-linkers. Bwog remains a bit confused about why the banner looks like a pink dress, and about why the veil looks like it was made of some sort of do-rag material. Sunbathers seemed befuddled but engaged. The clanging of the bell has recommenced.

Photos after the jump

Demonstrations against the war in Iraq continue today with a walk-out happening right now at the sundial, in the middle of a sea of sunbathers, who have splayed themselves out on South Lawn and and on the Low Steps. Check back for continuing coverage of the walkout plus the rumored "dramatic political statement" occurring at 2 PM by Alma Mater.

Tipster Kirill Skok informs Bwog that the world-famous 53rd and 6th gyro/rice/pita/chicken, etc. cart is currently parked on College Walk.

For those of you eating leavened bread tonight, the cart's sandwich selections are cheap, delicious, and highly recommended.

Be warned: The cart's been there since 3 PM—you might have noticed the mention of a chicken and rice cart in the Hangama article of earlier today—so it seems wise to hurry.

On the semester's first Friday the activities fair bestowed unto Bwog the following:

• One plastic Japanese fan (which was very useful in the foul heat)
• One pocketful of melted chocolate
• At least four varieties of baked goods
• Condoms-a-plenty
• the Holy Bible
  
• One bright yellow gym sack brandished with advertising from Columbia Community Outreach
• A nice little dry erase board embellished, in blue, with our beloved mascot
• An upcoming surplus of organizational spam
  

Also, were you aware that there is such thing as a Figure Skating Club at Columbia? Or that there's an organization devoted to aeronautics? Neither were we -- but we were tempted to make a run with the Society of Automotive Engineers' race car parked in the middle of college walk.

We know it's hot, but you have about 45 minutes to decide which of those esoteric organizations are going to take over your life for the rest of your college career. Get to it, kids!

"Sweet shit!" Bwog thought as it considered the network of temporary fencing cris-crossing College Walk. "They're filming a sequel to 'The Siege' right here at Columbia!" But a quick glance behind the fences--as well as the ominous absence of Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington--revealed that the university is undertaking a long-overdue renovation of its main thoroughfare. Although things seem to be at a preliminary stage, Bwog sincerely hopes that oddly-placed, high-heel devouring hexagonal bricks are a thing of the past on this campus.

The great thing about Hanukkah's fourth night, said J-school professor Ari Goldman as he lit the lanterns of Chabad's traveling menorah this evening, is that the people who believe the candles should be lit in descending order and those who believe one should be added every night can at least agree that, on that night, four are correct.

On Low Plaza, the fifth night was pretty chill as well, as a happy group gathered to drink oversweet cider and sing Hanukkah blessings (some sounding like they have yet to celebrate bar mitzvahs). They've been there every evening at 6:00 PM since last Friday, and Goldman is but one of the illustrious figures who has graced the ceremony--last week Zvi Galil lit candles in front of a goodly crowd, J-school professor Sam Freedman's on the docket for tomorrow, and welterweight champion boxer Dmitriy Salita (fresh off an appearance at the first-annual White House menorah lighting) is scheduled for the final night.

And if you haven't gotten your menorah yet, there's still time! Just ask Rabbi Yonah Blum, who aims to promote "holiday awareness." As if we weren't already painfully aware.

- LBD

Bwog correspondent Addison Anderson was there.

I couldn't stay for the whole thing, but Dean Quigley read an (the best) excerpt from Dylan Thomas's "A Child's Christmas in Wales" for about fifteen minutes to a rapt audience, and repeatedly told us to keep an eye out for friendly ghosts of Columbia's past. Then some administrators started giving each other awards so I grabbed a truffle from the truffle man and left.

More lovely photos from Sumaiya Ahmed after the jump.