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OFFICIAL OPINION SUBMISSION GUIDE (12th Ed.) Table of Contents 1. Write your piece 1 Broad Requirements 1 Editorial Style Guidelines 1 Thesis, Body, Rebuttal, Conclusion, Call to Action 1 Style and Tone 2 Common Mistakes 3 2. Submit your piece 4 3. Editing Process 4 4. Production Process 5 5. ...
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Opinion Content
Living the gap: What I learned this Mother’s Day about equity at Columbia
Living the gap: What I learned this Mother’s Day about equity at Columbia
I have had the privilege of pursuing my undergraduate education at the School of General Studies and my graduate education at the School of Social Work using the educational benefits I earned through military service.
Love, not hate, makes America great
Love, not hate, makes America great
On March 3, the conservative media “watchdog” organization Accuracy in Media <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/03/03/doxxing-truck-returns-following-backlash-to-cuad-death-to-america-x-post-hours-after-us-israel-strikes-on-iran/" rel="">returned</a> to Morningside Heights with digital billboard trucks displaying a CU Apartheid Divest X <a href="https://x.com/AviMayer/status/2027895981350490178/photo/1" rel="">post</a> that read “Marg bar Amrika”—Farsi for “Death to America.” Displayed above the X post was the website ColumbiaHatesAmerica, listing the names of members in the Columbia community associated with CUAD.
Shipman betrays her profession and the Journalism School
Shipman betrays her profession and the Journalism School
When I was a student at the Journalism School, I walked into Pulitzer Hall beneath a banner reading “The First Amendment Lives Here” many times. The banner is meant to be a declaration of the school’s unshakeable commitment to free expression and the societal function it serves in a democracy. Following the recent news that the Office of Institutional Equity <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/04/23/a-student-handed-out-flyers-criticizing-trustees-columbias-antidiscrimination-office-investigated-him/" rel="">investigated</a> a student for handing out flyers criticizing trustees, the banner seems grotesquely ironic.
Letter to the Editor: The Columbia fencing alumni advisory committee defends Michael Aufrichtig
Letter to the Editor: The Columbia fencing alumni advisory committee defends Michael Aufrichtig
As co-chairs and other members of the Columbia fencing alumni advisory committee, we are writing in response to the March 25 Spectator <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/sports/2026/03/25/a-columbia-fencer-was-accused-of-sexual-assault-in-2013-fencers-say-head-coach-michael-aufrichtig-engaged-in-a-cover-up-to-protect-him/" rel="">article</a> that spotlights claims that head coach Michael Aufrichtig fostered a “toxic” culture with a “win-at-all-costs mentality” in the fencing program. This characterization bears no resemblance to the program we have observed during his past 14 seasons.
Spectator editorial board’s endorsements for the 2026-27 student council and University Senate elections
Spectator editorial board’s endorsements for the 2026-27 student council and University Senate elections
As students at an institution committed to providing an education in civil engagement, we have the capacity to shape our collegiate experience through representative governance—a privilege that should not be neglected. You can ensure that the student leaders advocating on your behalf are truly representing your needs by casting a ballot for your student council representatives and University senators today.
Call for candidates: Apply for Spectator’s editorial board spring 2026 student representative endorsements
Call for candidates: Apply for Spectator’s editorial board spring 2026 student representative endorsements
As editors in Spectator’s<i> </i>Opinion section, we spend a lot of our time working with writers to refine their “call to action.” A critical observation about Columbia and its community is a significant contribution to campus discourse, but when we ask authors to chart a path of tangible change, we ask that they contend with what they’re truly asking of their community or institution and sufficiently demonstrate why certain needs or desires ought to be met.
Foreign students and scholars are a gift to America
Foreign students and scholars are a gift to America
Tucked in the middle of Columbia’s July 2025 <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/sites/president.columbia.edu/files/content/July%202025%20Announcement/Columbia%20University%20Resolution%20Agreement.pdf" rel="">agreement</a> with the federal government are two provisions of great importance, both of which have received insufficient attention. The agreement said that Columbia would “ensure that international student-applicants are asked questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States” and “take steps to decrease financial dependence on international student enrollment.”
Open Letter: Barnard must cut ties with Epstein associates
Open Letter: Barnard must cut ties with Epstein associates
To the Barnard College administration,
Ins & Outs: April Fools Edition
Ins & Outs: April Fools Edition
<i>Editor’s note: This is our April Fool’s edition, so take this even less seriously than usual.</i>
The danger of Columbia’s mask ban on campus speech and safety
The danger of Columbia’s mask ban on campus speech and safety
A year of ‘acting’ presidency: What will be the legacy of the Shipman era?
A year of ‘acting’ presidency: What will be the legacy of the Shipman era?
University presidents leave legacies. For Lee Bollinger, Law ’71, University president from 2002 to 2023, the expansion into Manhattanville is arguably his signature achievement. Former University President Minouche Shafik left an institution in crisis, with deepening divisions over campus protests, student discipline, and repeated unilateral decisions to enlist the New York Police Department. When Katrina Armstrong stepped down from her role as interim University president just a week after reaching a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration, the board of trustees chose to appoint one of their own, board co-chair Claire Shipman, CC ’86, SIPA ’94, as acting University president. Now, with the impending arrival of Jennifer Mnookin on July 1—and the one-year anniversary of Shipman’s appointment on March 28—one might wonder what the legacy of the Shipman era will be.
People are trading traditional news for social media. It’s coming at a cost.
People are trading traditional news for social media. It’s coming at a cost.
Am I the main character?
Am I the main character?
A bigger class, a smaller voice: why we must reclaim our vote
A bigger class, a smaller voice: why we must reclaim our vote
On protecting the professors you hate
On protecting the professors you hate
Here’s what Columbia can actually do to protect its international students
Here’s what Columbia can actually do to protect its international students
If sisterhood is really for everyone, Columbia needs more sororities
If sisterhood is really for everyone, Columbia needs more sororities
If Columbia truly stands with its immigrant community, it must say more than ‘The agents took our student.’
If Columbia truly stands with its immigrant community, it must say more than ‘The agents took our student.’
Ins & Outs: February Edition
Ins & Outs: February Edition
Meet Opinion's spring columnists!
Meet Opinion's spring columnists!
Columbia’s rushed expansion will kill its institutional future
Columbia’s rushed expansion will kill its institutional future
Call for editorial cartoons
Call for editorial cartoons
Open Letter: Toward real freedom of expression
Open Letter: Toward real freedom of expression
To incoming University President Mnookin: Please don’t let artificial intelligence devalue the liberal arts
To incoming University President Mnookin: Please don’t let artificial intelligence devalue the liberal arts
Introducing Spectator’s 150th spring editorial board
Introducing Spectator’s 150th spring editorial board
Columbia’s Community Benefits Agreement with Harlem is not a benefit, it’s a performance
Columbia’s Community Benefits Agreement with Harlem is not a benefit, it’s a performance
Columbia cannot stay silent as the Trump administration weaponizes ICE
Columbia cannot stay silent as the Trump administration weaponizes ICE
Columbia must answer for its Epstein ties
Columbia must answer for its Epstein ties
The Scope: Preprofessionalism and Purpose of College Education
The Scope: Preprofessionalism and Purpose of College Education
Separating the Columbia community’s public and private responses to antisemitism
Separating the Columbia community’s public and private responses to antisemitism
Why Columbia’s unchecked expansion violates its educational mission
Why Columbia’s unchecked expansion violates its educational mission
International and undocumented students need protection, not performance
International and undocumented students need protection, not performance
Turning disagreement into discovery: Why we need open discourse at Columbia
Turning disagreement into discovery: Why we need open discourse at Columbia
Saving humanity a seat at the American table
Saving humanity a seat at the American table
Ins & Outs: January Edition
Ins & Outs: January Edition
The return of Dadaism
The return of Dadaism
Discourse and Debate: Preprofessionalism makes for a shallow education
Discourse and Debate: Preprofessionalism makes for a shallow education
Discourse and Debate: Preprofessionalism culture opens doors to opportunities in finance
Discourse and Debate: Preprofessionalism culture opens doors to opportunities in finance
Discourse and Debate: Don’t let preprofessionalism do the thinking for you
Discourse and Debate: Don’t let preprofessionalism do the thinking for you
Discourse and Debate: The promise of preprofessionalism lies in community building
Discourse and Debate: The promise of preprofessionalism lies in community building
Discourse and Debate: Open inquiry and intellectual curiosity can reform our culture of preprofessionalism
Discourse and Debate: Open inquiry and intellectual curiosity can reform our culture of preprofessionalism
Columbia’s liberal arts education is the key to your preprofessional development
Columbia’s liberal arts education is the key to your preprofessional development
At Columbia, political conformity inhibits curiosity
At Columbia, political conformity inhibits curiosity
Columbia’s actions facilitate the politicization of my ethnicity
Columbia’s actions facilitate the politicization of my ethnicity
Call for Spring Columnists
Call for Spring Columnists
In defense of romantic commitment
In defense of romantic commitment
Yes, Columbia needs more conservative professors
Yes, Columbia needs more conservative professors
The Ivy League viewed the Brown shooting as a surprise. It’s a wake-up call.
The Ivy League viewed the Brown shooting as a surprise. It’s a wake-up call.
In defense of the B
In defense of the B
My Chinese heritage enriches my American dream
My Chinese heritage enriches my American dream
Letter from the Editor: The power of a byline
Letter from the Editor: The power of a byline
Ode to the Core
Ode to the Core
On the abuse of faculty immunity
On the abuse of faculty immunity
Proactive capital planning and support for libraries is overdue
Proactive capital planning and support for libraries is overdue
The Scope Columbia Presidents
The Scope Columbia Presidents
The African Studies deficit no one talks about at Columbia
The African Studies deficit no one talks about at Columbia
Barnard’s first-year course restrictions reveal a deeper imbalance
Barnard’s first-year course restrictions reveal a deeper imbalance
In search of effective leadership: Spectator Editorial Board on Columbia’s next president
In search of effective leadership: Spectator Editorial Board on Columbia’s next president
Young voters aren’t politically apathetic, they’re fed up
Young voters aren’t politically apathetic, they’re fed up
A Game of Debt
A Game of Debt
Mamdani’s mandate: What the mayor-elect owes young New Yorkers and what his supporters owe him
Mamdani’s mandate: What the mayor-elect owes young New Yorkers and what his supporters owe him
771 Days
771 Days
Letter to the Editor: Democratic revival must be progressive
Letter to the Editor: Democratic revival must be progressive
You have no taste
You have no taste
The case for a Columbia tenants’ union
The case for a Columbia tenants’ union
Letter to the Editor: AI is not inevitable
Letter to the Editor: AI is not inevitable
The collapse of imaginative spheres of political discourse at Columbia
The collapse of imaginative spheres of political discourse at Columbia
Freedom of speech is not a mindset
Freedom of speech is not a mindset
What’s going on with College Walk?
What’s going on with College Walk?
What belonging at Columbia means when you’re Black, female, and nontraditional
What belonging at Columbia means when you’re Black, female, and nontraditional
The Tinder of politics is coming to New York City just in time for the mayoral election—and democracy needs it
The Tinder of politics is coming to New York City just in time for the mayoral election—and democracy needs it
AI is here to stay. What does that mean for Columbia?
AI is here to stay. What does that mean for Columbia?
No student is safe: How Columbia’s statute changes impact us all
No student is safe: How Columbia’s statute changes impact us all
Fascism is not a looming threat. It is upon us now.
Fascism is not a looming threat. It is upon us now.
To Columbia, I’ll steal
To Columbia, I’ll steal
I’m a progressive, and I’m proud that María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize
I’m a progressive, and I’m proud that María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize
Falling in and out of love with an institution
Falling in and out of love with an institution
We recognize in the case of Rutgers historian Mark Bray a threat to us all
We recognize in the case of Rutgers historian Mark Bray a threat to us all
Columbia must now show courage and empathy
Columbia must now show courage and empathy
Yes, there is space for shared governance at Columbia
Yes, there is space for shared governance at Columbia
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the future is in your hands, and mine
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the future is in your hands, and mine
Letter to the Editor: Spectator needs to write obituaries
Letter to the Editor: Spectator needs to write obituaries
Why Columbia needs Free Speech 101
Why Columbia needs Free Speech 101
Equality and global leadership: A 21st-century vision for Columbia
Equality and global leadership: A 21st-century vision for Columbia
Letter from the Editor: With the media in crisis, the editorial page matters more than ever
Letter from the Editor: With the media in crisis, the editorial page matters more than ever
At Columbia, political engagement has become unavoidable
At Columbia, political engagement has become unavoidable
Letter to the Editor: In defense of the HEALS survey
Letter to the Editor: In defense of the HEALS survey
The Ivy League experience: Genocide and the ivory tower
The Ivy League experience: Genocide and the ivory tower
Call for fall columnists
Call for fall columnists
Barnard’s silence on financial aid is failing low-income students
Barnard’s silence on financial aid is failing low-income students
New chapter, preserved mission
New chapter, preserved mission
No, Zionism doesn’t mean whatever you say it does
No, Zionism doesn’t mean whatever you say it does
Anti-Zionism versus antisemitism: A primer
Anti-Zionism versus antisemitism: A primer
Letter to the Editor: Columbia, Harvard, and the weaponization of antisemitism
Letter to the Editor: Columbia, Harvard, and the weaponization of antisemitism
Spectator’s editorial board endorses Zohran Mamdani as top pick for mayoral primary, urges against ranking Cuomo
Spectator’s editorial board endorses Zohran Mamdani as top pick for mayoral primary, urges against ranking Cuomo
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