For several months, the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps has been the subject of much debate on Ivy League campuses that banned the organization during the Vietnam War.

Should the NROTC be allowed to return – or, should the ban remain?

At Columbia last night, the anti-NROTC groups that heavily favor the instituted ban held a two-hour discussion panel focused on “sexism, classism and racism in the military.” Naturally, many supporters of the organization, as well as students who remain undecided, attended the event to—at the very least—gain some insight into the opposition’s argument.

The BWOG reports:

The event itself was in fact a relatively cordial affair, though by the end of the two hours audience members had clearly begun to chafe at having to stay silent during the Q&A. The panel was introduced by Aditya Mukerjee (CC '12) of the Dems and Ryan Kasdin (CC '09) of EAAH: Professor David Eisenbach, Ph.D. candidate Manuel Schwab, and Washington Heights activist Claudia de la Cruz. All were against the return of NROTC to campus - the panel, to quote its organizers, was designed as "con panel," meant to present a larger number of negative effects if NROTC were to return to campus.

Following the three speakers, the floor opened up to a Q&A session in which pro-NROTC students questioned the many points made by the panel members.

Gauntlets were thrown, and difficult questions were asked.

But, as BWOG editor James Downie put it, the evening “came to a close, with no one persuaded, but maybe some a little more enlightened.”

[Photo Credit: The BWOG]