EVENTS
Like our Facebook page to get live updates on our upcoming events, and refer to this page for information about our upcoming and most recent events!
Careers in Corporate Law
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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.
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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.
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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.
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To watch the recording of this event, click the link below:
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Pathways to Law School​
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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.
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Racial Justice In Policing
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Featuring New York State Attorney General Letitia James, as well as activist Victoria Davis, and in collaboration with the Broadway Democratic Club.
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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.
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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.
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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
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.
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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.
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.
