Some heavy (and not-so-heavy) hitting faculty came out in the Spec today endorsing NROTC's presence on campus. Bwog is inquiring into the genesis of the list--mostly male--and will update as information becomes available. The ad ran as follows, with editorial notes in italics:

"We broadly support the return of ROTC to Columbia University -- some of us unconditionally, others if legislation prohibiting military service by open homosexuals is reformed, and/or provision made for faculty control of appointments, curriculum and credit. We all believe, in principle, that an ROTC program at Columbia is an appropriate educational responsibility of the university."
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Michael Adler (School of Business)
Mark H. Anders (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
James H. Applegate (Astronomy, and co-chair of the 2005 University Senate committee on ROTC)
Richard T. Betts (Political Science)
Paul Duby (School of Engineering)
Eugene Galanter (Psychology, Emeritus)
Kenneth T. Jackson (History)
Mark Kesselman (Political Science, Emeritus)
Robert A. McCaughey (History, Barnard, author of Columbia history Stand Columbia)
Letty Moss-Salentijn (College of Dental Medicine)
Richard M. Pious (Political Science, Barnard)
Robert Y. Shapiro (Political Science, Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP))
Allan Silver (Sociology)

Many of your professors will be ending class today with encouragements to get out and vote. Some of these encouragements will be partisan, others will be funny, and maybe a few will even inspire you to vote if you were planning on not doing so.

Bwog will be compiling an collection of such remarks right here in our Professor Remarks: Election Edition Anthology. Send quotes to bwog@columbia.edu or just use the comment thread.

Herbert Sloan in American Civilization to the Civil War: "I hope you all work for the candidate of your choice on Monday. That would at least make this ridiculous holiday that the University gave us slightly worth it. This interruption of our semester is almost as ridiculous as the idea of 18 year olds voting."

Karl Kroeber, in Religion, Literature, and Modernity: "Vote many times, and for the right guy."

Philip Kitcher, in James Joyce: "If you don't vote, you're letting old people decide everything."

Jill Shapiro in Race: Tangled History of a Biological Concept: "As they say in Chicago vote early and vote often."

Over the past few days, the presidential campaign has become even more negative. Now, hot on the heels of the Senator Barack Obama campaign's announcement that they would play up Senator John McCain's part in the Keating Five, Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic reports that McCain's campaign has a new target: Columbia professor Rashid Khalidi.

For several years, Khalidi has been a controversial figure both at Columbia and in New York City for his views on the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Before coming to Columbia in 2004, Khalidi knew Obama during the latter's years in local Chicago government, which overlapped with Khalidi's time the University of Chicago. Khalidi and his wife held a fundraiser for Obama in 2000, and Obama spoke at a goodbye party for Khalidi in 2003. The relationship has already drawn enough questions on the internet to merit several citations in Khalidi's Wikipedia article, but this is the first time that the McCain campaign plans to mention it.

As for the substance of the attack, Ambinder writes that the McCain campaign will try to paint Khalidi as a former Palestine Liberation Organization spokesperson, a charge that has been made several times before, with little evidence to back it up. Khalidi denies ever having been a spokesperson, though he was an advisor at the Madrid Conference of 1991.

Everybody will read today's issue for some forum. But there is other news, apparently:

Madonna Constantine refuses to go away.

How quickly could you construct a "Vag?"

Professors aren't gods? Whaaat?

Already tired of New York clubs? Some months-old options.

Chief Course Directory tipster Jake Miller informs Bwog that this morning, for the very first time, students have access to a full list of this year's CC professors. For the confused Elevens, we've asked some informed upperclassmen (all of who received passing grades in CC!) with whom they recommend taking the class.

Powerhouse celebrities Max Frankel and Dick Wald (both CC '52) will be co-teaching a section, though some cautious Bwoggers worry that maybe this would be too great, and we're just setting ourselves up for disappointment? Anyway, if you've ever wanted to take a class with the entire news staff of the Columbia Daily Spectator, now's your shot.

Other favorites include Mark Mazower, Roosevelt Montas, Katja Vogt, Matthew Jones, and Anthony Corsentino. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments, the Elevens will thank you.

UPDATE: For you Terrible 12s out there, Lit Hum profs have been unmasked as well. Bwog recommends Denise Milstein, who won last year's graduate preceptor award and is reportedly unsafe for silent students and those who would skip class, as well as law school admissions dean Harry Kavros.

Let the shuffling begin.