Just a day after it was announced that Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minuteman Project, could be returning to speak at Columbia University, the Columbia Political Union voted against having him back when it learned that there would be no counter-point speaker. Gilchrist's 2006 appearance at Columbia sparked protests that got out of hand as demonstrators rushed the stage where he was speaking and participants got physical. Eight students were disciplined following the altercation. more ›

Columbia security, get that riot gear ready! Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, the pseudo-militia that patrols the border, tells the Columbia Spectator that, yes, he's up for a repeat appearance. more ›

The latest issue of Brownstone, NYU's magazine devoted to minority issues, is out and it's all Asians, all the time. more ›

Almost six months after a group of Columbia students rushed the stage when Minutemen Project leader Jim Gilchrist was speaking, the university has imposed sentences against the protesting students. The Columbia Spectator reports the students received "disciplinary warnings" which will be on their transcripts until the end of 2008. Monique Dols, a General Studies student who spoke to the media last fall, said, "It's a light punishment, it's a slap on the wrist. It's a victory for free-speech and anti-racism." more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Intoxicated students at a Queens high school, a water rescue near East 14th in the East River, and a body was found in Van Cortlandt Park
• Subway Stickman, or how to turn gum on the ground into floor art
• Because of the Minuteman Brawl, the College Republicans at Columbia will get a refund from the university
• The NYPD has decided to have an outside firm examine its stop-and-frisk procedures, after outrage from the community and politicians
• Mayor Bloomberg says to boycott the Chinese restaurant accused of charging different prices to Chinese and others
• Do you love or hate what will replace some Eberhard Faber Pencil complex buildings in Greenpoint?
• A judge ruled that Madison Square Garden needs to turn over internal documents related to a harassment lawsuit. And details from another employee's complaints about Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas' alleged harassment must be disclosed, too.
• There are rats in restaurants all over the city! Maybe the Rats of Greenwich Village will start a national wide crackdown on restaurant inspection procedures!
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NYU College Republicans say they are happy with the reaction from their planned "Illegal Immigrant Hunt" at Washington Square Park. They wanted to start a controversy and discussion - and that they did, with hundreds of protesters and more members of the media than actual College Republicans playing the game (by one count, twelve showed up, one signed up). College Republicans president Sarah Chambers told the Washington Square News, "Sometimes, you have to be politically incorrect. Sometimes, you have to be provocative." However, NYU president John Sexton told the NY Times he was disappointed that the group put "sloganeering and trivialization of thought above true debate." more ›

A reader snapped this picture from the protest against the NYU College Republicans' "Find the Illegal Immigrant" game in Washington Square Park today. College Republicans president Sarah Chambers denied the event was racist and told the Washington Square News, "The event will open up both vocally and physically the issue of illegal immigration." She added, "The media response was much larger then I expected - the NYU response was no." more ›

What happens when the NYU College Republicans plan a questionable game? Hundreds of NYU students are planning to protest! The College Republicans had planned a "mock illegal immigrant" hunt in Washington Square Park - they were going to put a tag reading "illegal immigrant" on a member and have others, playing "INS" agents, to find him/her. The reward would be $50-100, plus knowing that you can find someone in 9.75 acre mostly-paved park. more ›

Since NYU hasn't had a Minutemen style brouhaha lately, some NYU students - including two College Republicans - appeared on Neil Cavuto's Fox News program to detail the difficulties of being a conservative in the classroom. From the Washington Square News:

Senior Sara Zerner and NYU College Republicans David Laska and Christina Gonzalez participated in a short segment of "Your World With Neil Cavuto," after Fox News approached the NYU College Republicans. more ›

Members of Columbia University's Chicano Caucus and International Socialist Organization had a press conference yesterday to discuss the fallout from last week's clash with the Minutemen group on campus. The protesters said they didn't mean to stop the Minutemen's head from speaking when they went on stage, but, as the Chicano Caucus' political chair reasoned, "We are sure that if the Ku Klux Klan came to campus, African Americans would be there to protest. So would we." The protesters also emphasized that the violence was instigated by the Minutemen and College Republicans - not the protesters. more ›

), as questions about the level of security and motives of chosing certain speakers remained.
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Wednesday night's clash between immigration "watchdog" group the Minutemen and Columbia University student protesters has even pulled Mayor Bloomberg into the frazy. During his radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said university president Lee Bollinger has "got to get his hands around this. There are too many incidents at the same school where people get censored." Case in point: School of International Affairs needing to uninvite President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from speaking because the school couldn't coordinate security logistics in time. Of course, it is interesting that Bollinger's specialty is free speech. Anyway, Bollinger released a university-wide statement:

Columbia University has always been, and will always be, a place where students and faculty engage directly with important public issues. We are justifiably proud of the traditions here of intellectual inquiry and vigorous debate. The disruption on Wednesday night that resulted in the termination of an event organized by the Columbia College Republicans in Lerner Hall represents, in my judgment, one of the most serious breaches of academic faith that can occur in a university such as ours. more ›

Protest is alive and well at Columbia, though it's still a far cry from 1968. Yesterday evening, Jim Gilchrist, head of the Minutemen, the "citizens' vigilance operation" that patrols the Mexican border in California, was invited to speak at Columbia University. But pretty much as soon as he got on stage, a group of student got on stage and protested - and then all hell broke loose. The Bwog liveblogged the event, and here's an excerpt:

Finally the Minuteman himself enters. "Now who're you calling racist?" he shouts, putting his arm around [Minutemen boardmember Marvin] Stewart, who is black. "I love the First Amendment. As soon as you graduate, you'll all be investment bankers. I've been where you at. I know you hate yourselves." more ›