PAST EVENTS
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To foster continuous civic engagement in a flexible environment, the Columbia Political Union launched Fireside Politics, a casual weekly forum designed to break down the most pressing political issues of the day. These virtual events welcomed students of all political persuasions, providing an open, low-stakes arena where lively debate and diverse opinions were explicitly encouraged.
Discussions centered around critical, forward-looking prompts: the appropriate global response to climate change, whether rising nationalism poses an active threat to global democracy, and what the future role of American foreign policy should look like on the world stage. By structuring the meeting around member-driven questions, these forums gave participants an intimate, conversational space to untangle complex geopolitical dynamics, seamlessly complementing CPU's broader mission of making political dialogue accessible and highly relevant to the student body.
On October 13, 2020, the Columbia Political Union partnered with a historic consortium of elite student organizations to co-host an expansive online intercollegiate debate. Brought to life alongside Braver Angels and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), the event united student speakers from Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Fordham, Northwestern, NYU, and Stanford to debate the heavy resolution: "Resolved: American Democracy is in Irreversible Decline."
Departing from rigid, traditional formats, the forum utilized the Braver Angels model, which rejects competitive "winners" and "losers" to prioritize structural empathy instead. Guided student conversations allowed participants from radically opposing viewpoints to challenge one another's ideas with unwavering respect. The massive digital audience watched debaters tackle institutional polarization, trust in public networks, and the resiliency of constitutional norms, proving that collective dialogue can serve as a bridge toward tighter community relationships even on highly polarized topics.
Careers in Corporate Law
CPU is proud to announce our second panel event of the year - Careers in Corporate Law, featuring the chairs of three of the country's most prominent law firms. Our panelists are Brad Karp of Paul, Weiss; Jon Ballis of Kirkland & Ellis, and Evan Chesler of Cravath, Swaine, and Moore.
Our panel is ideal for any students interested in pursuing a career in law, finance, investment banking, private equity, or the intersections between these sectors, as well as for current law students seeking to enter the private sector. Our panelists have negotiated deals between the largest corporations in the country, and have represented private and public actors in the most consequential cases in recent history.
Our panelists will speak about their education and early careers, why they chose corporate law, and how their journey to the highest levels of the legal profession. The event is cosponsored by the Undergraduate Law Review, the Columbia Pre-Law Society, ColumbiaVotes, the Political Science Students Association, and the Law and Business Association of Columbia Law School.
To watch the recording of this event, click the link below:
Pathways to Law School
The Columbia Political Union presents Pathways to Law School - a panel event featuring four of Columbia Law School's student leaders, answering your questions about why they chose law school! Our panelists will discuss their undergraduate experience, their time in between college and law school, their current interests, and the careers they hope to pursue after graduation.
Our event is presented with the generous co-sponsorship of our partner student groups: CU Libertarians, Political Science Students Association, Pi Sigma Alpha, Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, the Athena Pre-Law Society, the Columbia Pre-Law Society, and ColumbiaVotes.
All undergraduates at Columbia are welcome to attend. To receive meeting information, please subscribe to our mailing list at cupolitics.com/subscribe.
In the wake of nationwide protests and a renewed focus on systemic accountability, the Columbia Political Union hosted a vital forum on civil rights and law enforcement reform. Organized alongside the Broadway Democratic Club, this event featured NYS Attorney General Letitia James and civil rights activist Victoria Davis, who entered grassroots advocacy after her brother was killed by police in 2016. Together, the speakers provided a powerful combination of high-level state legal oversight and raw, personal perspective on systemic bias.
The discussion dove into actionable legislative reforms, the mechanics of independent oversight, and the emotional toll on impacted families. Panelists addressed institutional legal barriers like qualified immunity, community-led policy initiatives, and strategies for meaningful accountability within police departments. The well-attended forum gave the Columbia community a direct space to engage with a defining historical moment, successfully fulfilling CPU’s mandate to foster open political dialogue on campus.
The Columbia Political Union
Annual Presidents' Debate
Each year (or sometimes each semester, based on popular demand!) CPU hosts a Presidents' Debate, featuring the presidents of Columbia University's prominent political clubs. This year, we featured Columbia Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and the progressive Roosevelt Institute.
The debate was a success and well-attended. Topics discussed included universal health care, marijuana legalization, prostitution, immigration, and higher education. A lively discussion emerged and our debaters demonstrated an uncanny degree of political knowledge and aptitude.
If your club would like to participate in next year's debate, please send us an email at cpu@columbia.edu! We look forward to continuing our mission of fostering political dialogue and involvement at Columbia.
Impeachment Panel
In December 2019, we hosted a special panel event amidst the impeachment trials of President Donald John Trump. We featured two of Columbia Law School's most reputable presidential and governmental jurists, professor Philip Bobbitt and Professor Andrzej Rapaczynski.
Columbia Political Union President Rosie Moss moderated the event, which featured a range of questions curated by our membership as well as an extended audience Q&A period.
Our well-attended audience asked a range of pressing and thoughtful questions. Featuring significantly in the discussion was the conceptualization of impeachment as either a political or legal process - while the Senate is ideally intended to function as an impartial jury, the reality of the modern two-party system changes the game. Our panel offered a rare chance for the Columbia community to view the issue from a highly knowledgeable and analytical perspective, and fulfilled our mission of promoting political dialogue on campus.
The Candidates' Debate
CPU's annual Liberty Gala is an exclusive event for every political and activist group on Columbia's campus. The gala is a chance for individuals from all walks of life and political perspectives to gather for a night of good fun, lively music, and stimulating conversation. The Liberty Gala is a black-tie formal event and continues to be one of CPU's most popular traditions. Our 2019 Liberty Gala was a tremendous success.
The Columbia Political Union and Pi Sigma Alpha hosted a career panel in the Lindsay Rogers Room. The event featured Columbia Professor Robert Shapiro, law associate Emily Cole, investment banking analyst Roma Patel, and analytics consultant Matt Dover.
Panelists discussed their career paths and how political science intersects with the private sector. The session concluded with an audience Q&A, offering students actionable advice for entering competitive professional industries.
One of our top priorities at CPU is making sure our events are uncannily optimized for the rapidly evolving political conversation. In February 2020, at the height of the Democratic primary, CPU hosted our first-ever candidates' debate, featuring student representatives from four Democratic candidates' campaigns. Columbia for Warren, Columbia for Bernie, Columbia for Buttigieg, and a representative for Mike Bloomberg were featured.
The debate followed a format similar to our annual Presidents' debate, with questions focused on different issues intended to highlight differences in each candidates' platform. After opening statements and our own selected questions, we opened the floor to audience questions, of which there were many. The candidates' debate was likely our most popular event of the year, and we will likely host similar events in the future.
Our annual introductory meeting to welcome new students and outline upcoming programming. Executive board members introduced CPU's mission of fostering multi-partisan political dialogue and civic engagement on campus.
Students learned about involvement opportunities across various initiatives, debates, and speaker series committees. The session concluded with an informal mixer for attendees to connect across different political perspectives.
Spring '26 Speaker Series
Professor José Antonio Ocampo joined the Columbia Political Union for a conversation on the future of the global financial system and the institutions that respond to economic crises. Drawing on his experience as Colombia's Finance Minister, a senior United Nations official, and one of the world's leading economists, Professor Ocampo discussed the strengths and shortcomings of today's Global Financial Safety Net.
The discussion covered the IMF, sovereign debt, Special Drawing Rights, regional financial institutions, and the future of multilateral cooperation. Audience questions broader the conversation to shifting U.S. leadership, the growing role of emerging economies, and the challenges facing the global financial architecture.
The event gave students an opportunity to hear firsthand from one of the foremost voices in international economics during a pivotal moment for global economic governance.
CPU was joined by Professor Richard Nephew for a roundtable-style discussion on sanctions and their role in modern foreign policy and global security. As the lead U.S. sanctions expert during the Iran nuclear negotiations, Professor Nephew explored how sanctions are designed, implemented, and evaluated as tools of statecraft.
The conversation focused on Iran, with discussion of Russia, Venezuela, and China, and the broader use of economic pressure in international affairs. Students engaged with questions surrounding the effectiveness of sanctions, humanitarian tradeoffs, evolving geopolitical competition, and the future of American economic influence in an increasingly multipolar world.
The Columbia Political Union welcomed political content creators Harry Sisson and Benjamin Langlois for a conversation on the changing role of social media in American politics. Moderated by CPU leaders, the discussion examined how digital creators shape political engagement, influence public opinion, and communicate with younger audiences.
The panel explored the rise of independent political media, the relationship between creators and political institutions, the responsibilities that come with large online platforms, and the growing importance of digital campaigning. Sisson and Langlois also discussed audience trust, online criticism, platform moderation, and the challenges of producing political content in an increasingly polarized environment.
The conversation featured an energetic exchange of perspectives from across the political spectrum. Audience questions expanded the discussion to topics including political polarization, free expression, political violence, and the experiences of creators operating in today's online environment. The event reflected CPU's longstanding mission of bringing together diverse viewpoints and fostering thoughtful, open political dialogue at Columbia.
