Why the POTUS Project deserves your support

When then-Senator Barack Obama, CC ’83, was campaigning for the presidency in 2008, he promised Lee Bollinger that, if elected, he would speak at Columbia as president. Two years later, that promise remains unfulfilled.

Sean Udell, the senior class president, hopes that the third time’s the charm. About a month ago, Udell and CCSC 2011 launched the POTUS Project—the council’s “banner initiative” designed to convince Mr. Obama to deliver this year’s commencement address. But, since the roll-out, things have been slow going. Over lunch earlier this week, Udell admitted that CCSC has had a tougher time getting students and groups excited than he originally expected.

The lukewarm response to the Project may be due to a persistent, lingering skepticism that any amount of effort will ever convince the president to speak at Columbia. And as long as this pessimism holds sway, it will be extraordinarily difficult for student leaders to organize the sorts of community service projects necessary to attract Mr. Obama’s attention. Thus, on this issue, passive support will never be enough. That’s why every Columbia student who wants to see the president come home to Morningside Heights should take the time to get involved with the POTUS Project.

The merits of the Project are clear—while a commencement address by a sitting president would be a big deal in itself, the opportunity to hear a sitting president who happens to be an alumnus would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If the president does choose to speak at Columbia, Udell hopes that the administration will consider opening Baker Field as a venue for any Columbia affiliates to watch the address. Those kinds of moments—the ones that bring the entire Columbia community together—are much too rare, and we should do everything we can to encourage more of them.

But before any of that becomes possible, Columbia students will need to impress the White House. The first two years of the Obama administration have indicated that the president and the first lady prefer to give commencement addresses as rewards for significant, sustained community service. Thus, the POTUS Project’s primary goal is to organize these types of projects in Morningside Heights. Alas, achieving this goal will require much more than students’ passionless endorsements—simply joining the Project’s Facebook group isn’t going to get it done. Success will require real, in-person activism—collaborative community service, letter writing, and personalized projects that highlight the very best of Columbia.

As a political science major, my mind is never far from politics. When I spoke with Udell, I raised the possibility that the president may be hesitant to speak at Columbia now that the midterm elections have passed. In the era of the constant campaigning, Mr. Obama is already running for re-election, and his advisors may argue that a visit to Columbia is simply not worth the negative media attention that it would likely attract. If Obama does deliver our commencement address, eager Fox News pundits will be delighted to label him an elitist. They will call Columbia a liberal institution, they will roll stock footage of Ahmadinejad speaking in Lerner Hall, and they will remind their viewers of the 1968 protests. But none of that means it’s not worth trying. Even if the president doesn’t choose to come to Columbia this year, participants in the POTUS Project will be playing a part in a long-term movement. That movement, in turn, may contribute toward bringing the president here next year, or the year after that.

Udell hopes that interest in the POTUS Project will continue to grow, and he has complete confidence that CCSC can overcome the Project’s “loss of momentum” by relaunching it after winter break. CCSC’s final push will come early next year, when it will combine with other campus groups to hold a POTUS Project “awareness month.” But, even before the relaunch, Columbia students can make a huge difference. Hand-writing a letter takes 10 minutes and adds a personal touch to the campaign. Organizing a community service project is an even better idea—this strategy has been proven to command the attention of the White House, and has merits that extend well beyond the short-term goals of the POTUS Project.

This May’s commencement address will be the 257th in Columbia’s history, and my great hope is that it will be the first of those 257 to be delivered by a sitting president who graduated from the College. When Mr. Obama takes the stage in front of Alma Mater on May 18, it will have been well worth the wait.

James Dawson is a Columbia College senior majoring in political science. He is a Columbia University tour guide. Low Politics runs alternate Tuesdays.