A tipster has just forwarded the following PrezBo Communique to Bwog, in which your President assures recipients that despite the terrifyingly awful economy—PrezBo refers to it as "a landscape largely defined by uncertainty," but a crisis by any other name...—Columbia will be just fine, thank you.

For one thing, the University is still ahead of schedule Capital Campaign-wise, with over $3 billion in the bank. Still, expect the grant enviornment to "deteriorate further."

Regarding financial aid, PrezBo writes: "Let me also make clear that we will not permit the economic downturn to affect Columbia's long-standing commitment to need-blind admissions and the meeting of full financial need in student aid for undergraduates in the College and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. We will also work to sustain, and when possible enhance, current levels of financial aid in other schools and programs."

Full email after the jump.

A state plan to revitalize the lifeblood of Harlem.

An Abyssinian white tie extravaganza celebrates Rev. Butts' service. The Clintons have always been known to throw a good party.

TFA and the economy make altruism sexy again.

Seniors will have none of the economy's doom and gloom when tackling the job market this year.

BaseNow and Barnard, a partnership by (and for) design.

In which Lecture Hop Editor Pierce Stanley takes in the second of two economic forums held at Columbia last night.

Another spectacle of epic proportions has come and passed in Roone Arledge Auditorium. Yet, last night's Presidential Economic Forum courtesy of Columbia's Program for Economic Research and co-sponsored by the Economics Department, the Committee on Global Thought, and the Business School seemed to pass quietly into the night with a whimper far more than with a bang. While not quite on the level of spectacle that characterized the original Obamacain affair, yesterday's Presidential Economic Advisors Forum, which pitted self proclaimed "data hound" Austan Goolsbee, Senior Economic Advisor of the Obama-Biden ticket and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Chief Economic Advisor of the McCain-Palin camp against a serious panel of Columbia Economics department heavy-hitters, including Professors Richard Clarida, Janet Currie, Joe Stiglitz, and Michael Woodford, resembled a high school policy debate round moderated by a panel of seriously pretentious judges more than a forum of any academic import with serious implications for the fate of the economy.

Daily Editor Eliza Shapiro reports from the Economics Forum today that wasn't this Economics Forum.

"Macro people think they know everything about everything" the man seated behind us at this afternoon's Earth Institute-sponsored "Can We Save the World Economy?" lecture grumbled. Bwog nodded our heads appreciatively and applauded PrezBo alongside a Miller Theater entirely packed with Economist-reading fiends as the lights dimmed and the talk began.

Our faithful leader introduced the participants: moderator John Roberts of CNN, and economists George Soros of the Open Society Institute, Nouriel Roubini of the Stern School of Business at NYU, and the dreamy Jeffrey Sachs, of whom Bwog is sure you are more than aware. Roberts took the stage and began by informing the audience that the Dow had risen 400 points that day and shouted "crisis averted! We're cutting you all loose for the rest of the afternoon!" The audience roared. This was to be a long afternoon.

Pretty building on campus exists for a reason

Dates set-ish for Manhattanville, something should happen somewhere possibly in Spring 2009

CU grad schools prefer if grad students take grad student classes, undergrads get fussy

Feast your eyes: 800 words on why the economic crisis is actually a good thing. Finally, no CU student will want to go into finance, and we can all just sit around talking about Plato all day, everyday, forever!

"Inky whirls reminiscent of jazz music", art that has "more right to exist than actual people and things," all in Dodge!

Last time we checked in with our pals over at the Business School, things weren't looking too hot. Since today was the first good day in a long, long time, Bwog headed over to Uris when the stock market closed this afternoon to see what we could find.

B-Schoolers were clustered around the televisions in the lobby, reading the headlines on the 11.6% gain and the European summit this weekend and chatting happily. The powers that be had wisely chosen this particular day to sell Business School merchandise, and Bwog noted long lines of students shelling out $50 for backpacks.

We asked a vendor clad in a B-school T-shirt that read "we're the GBA, and we're here to serve you!" if the mood had been a little more cheerful around school today. "It's hard to say for sure," he began. We gave him a few moments, and he lifted his head after stacking another $20 bill into his collection. "But yeah," he continued, and Bwog may have seen a twinkle in his weary B-school eyes, "yeah, a definitely little bit."

Madonna Constantine sues TC, drama proves to be as eternal as Columbus' legacy...oh wait...

Farewell, evil Columbus Day! Hello, Indigenous Peoples Day!

New Yorkers pay a lot of money for food; seem "more than willing to enjoy a bit of gastronomic luxury."

The economy, Columbia's endowment are "mildly disheartening": Spec-er has "vague impression" that "theoretically things could go very wrong."

Students can't be sick all the time in order to do well at school.

The B-schoolers aren't the only ones effected by the recent economic downturn. It turns out undergrads are too! Instead of offering advice on how to save money, this week Bwog on a Budget returns with a special money-making feature.

The long and the short of it is simple: Bwog is broke. Given our economic state, there's little sense in discussing how to save money since there's no money to be saved. Yes, indeed the time has come for Bwog to make some money. But when the times are tough, finding work is hard. And finding work is especially hard for Columbia students, who not only prefer not to waste their talent doing remedial labor but also have their cumbersome class schedules to take into account. And while the minority of employed folks may receive a steady flow of cash each month, by October 18th, September's paycheck certainly must have diminished.

Bwog's done some research and discovered that Columbia's most lucrative resource is just where you'd expect to find lucrative things and people. Tucked away on the second floor of the business school library is Columbia's Behavioral Research Lab. If you are desperate enough, Bwog understands and suggests you sign up to receive the Behavioral Research Lab's bi-weekly announcements.

On this cold fall night, Bwogger Anish Bramhandkar was lucky enough to make the trek over to East Campus to sit in on the most recent incarnation of President Bollinger's Fireside Chat. While the mood was decidely somber in the President's Mansion because of the state of the economy, it seems that PrezBo was also in a hurry to go watch tonight's Presidential debate.

Tonight was PrezBo's own "Big Block of Cheese Day," in which he took in tens of Columbia students into his palacial party space to listen to them chirp about the same things as last time, and to give them a long-needed lesson in economics. Upon leaving his dusty jacket in the dimly lit foyer and ascending the magnificent marble staircase in his battered sneakers, Bwog happened upon a lacy table set out with bits of dead animal. Meat on a stick, meat on a bun, cleverly disguised cubed meat, and deep-fried meat with meat-based sauce. Oh, and some dry vegetable skewers and classy PB&J finger sandwiches.

Econ profs bring crisis to the classroom.

City food pantries and soup kitchens feel the pinch.

Columbia professors, always bailing you out.

Manhattanville saves Cotton Club, gobbles up old gas stations.

Hurrah! Enjoy your holidays while you still can.