Later, it emerged that he had not really written an official thesis at all: students were not required to do so at the time, and what was considered his "thesis" was really a long seminar paper. Sources first differed on whether he wrote his senior thesis on Soviet nuclear disarmament or the North-South debate on trade and the "new international economic order". Despite this, Obama continually declines requests to release his Columbia transcript. Baron said he was one of the top one or two students in his class. Obama's professors and classmates, including former international politics professor Michael Baron and current MTV president Michael Wolf, confirm that he was a brilliant, standout student and that he was an active participant in seminars. Boehner confirmed that Obama found Said's focus on theory tedious and that both would have preferred to be reading Shakespeare. He also took classes in other disciplines, including a class with famed literary theorist Edward Said. He majored in PoliSci, and concentrated in "International Relations," (now International Politics - this is a subfield of the PoliSci major and should not be confused with a " concentration," the Columbia term that substitutes for what most schools term a "minor"). Still, he had time for the occasional beer, and enjoyed watching sports. He also took up jogging (around Central Park) and "stopped getting high". When he was on campus, Obama concentrated on academic work, spending most of his time in Butler Library "like a monk", and made few friends. 94th St., in Yorkville, where he would "chat with his Puerto Rican neighbors about.the sound of gunfire at night". He eventually moved into a walkup at #6A, 339 E. Īfter their first semester, Obama tried to find a better apartment for himself and his friend, but was only able to locate a studio. They frequently hosted guests from their Occidental days, and Obama was reportedly a gracious host, doing grocery shopping and making chicken curry (which he'd learned to cook from Pakistani friend Sohale Siddiqi). Their hot water was also irregular, and they often made use of the Columbia gym showers. At other times, the two roommates read their books under blankets. The heating frequently failed, one of the reasons Obama wound up spending so much time in Butler Library. It had a walkthrough layout, and Boerner had to walk through Obama's room to get to his own. Boerner, who remained Obama's friend throughout his college years, describes the apartment as a third story walkup with a railroad layout and a missing doorbell. The next day he moved into the apartment with fellow Occidental College transfer Phil Boerner. 109th St., between Amsterdam and Columbus. He claims to have spent his first night sleeping in an alley near the corner of 109th and Amsterdam Avenue and washing with the homeless next to an open fire hydrant, as he had arrived too late to be let in to the apartment he had found, #3E, 142 W. He hoped the move to New York, where the cold weather would force him to stay inside and read, would put him on a more serious track.Ĭolumbia at that time barred transfer students from its limited supply of campus housing, so Obama lived off campus. At Occidental, Obama wrote, he had been into partying and drugs. Obama transferred to CC from Occidental College, which is even more rarely mentioned by the President, in the fall of 1981. Obama gets a visit from his grandparents during his Columbia years
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