Coverage of the Bahá’í Faith in the Columbia Spectator

From the Bahá'í Period of Historical mentions, The Columbia Spectator has an extensive online digitized collection dating back to the late 1800s with few gaps through to 2012, though there is some in Fall 1918 and Spring 1919. Be that as it may, within the limits of OCR scanning and searching, the first mention of the Faith is in 1912. It's live current site is at ColumbiaSpectator.com

Abdu'l-Baha

A review of Abdu'l-Baha's talk on campus is made in April 1912, introduced by Professor A.V. Williams of Indo-European Languages. For more on the speech see Intellectual Investigation into the Mysteries of Outer Phenomena.

Sporadic mention

• Mountfort Mills gave a talk on campus Jan 1923.

• Albert Vail gives a talk Aug 2, 1925 at "the Baha'i Library" off campus, advertised July 31 in the Columbia Spectator.

• The break off and now defunct group "New History Society" has their view on the teachings of the religion in an article.

• A youth symposium is held at the NY Baha'i Center advertised in the Spectator for March 1937.

• Another talk at the NY Baha'i Center is advertised in Feb 1939.

It would be almost 30 years before the religion was next mentioned and then still sporadically.

• Unitarian minister Walter Donald Kring gives a talk "Bahai- Attempt at a Universal Religion" scheduled for Mar 16, 1967, for two times during the day.

• Baha'is Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Jones are interviewed at a Catholic forum in October 1967.

• The first mention of a club on campus is for the 50th anniversary of the Ascension of Abdu'l-Baha, advertised Nov 24, 1971.

• A meeting showing a film is held in Earl Hall Dodge rm across three days in late Feb 1973.

• The next mention is off campus and more than a decade later. There is a note about "Baha'i Society" lectures over at Cambridge in a piece in the Spectator in April 1985.

• A Columbia Universithy Bahai Association is again noted in April 1986 this time sponsoring a talk by Jene Bellows on things in China, held in St Pauls Crypt Lounge. The association next held a meeting in Ear(l) Hall in Nov.

Rise to new scales of coverage

Another lull follows when again a decade later a Baha'i is mentioned joining a committee on campus as reported through the Washington Post in the Spectator for Sept 1996. More often from then on there is activity rather than not, especially after 1999.

An early internet presence of the Faith is refered to in Dec 1996.

There is a brief mention of the Faith in an article about Christian condemnations of Gays and others in April 1997.

The Baha'i club reforms in March 1999 and first profile of the religion published in the Spectator ocurs in April 1999 just after the club's re-organization. Its first meeting was in Barnard Media Library and screened a film on religious conflict in Indian and talk by Philosophy Dept Chair Akeel Bilgrami. Members mnentions include Andra Behrouz, Shiben Banerji (later - below - it is clarified that Banerji is not a Baha'i but supports the goals of the club.) Bilgrami, while noting the importance of the emergence of moderates in conflicts, did, however, take issue wth the Baha'i approach of uniting religions saying "There's a lot of things that are different about each religion. It would be whitewashing religion to say that they're ultimately the same."

There is a brief mention of the Faith amidst noting various forms of persecution in Iran in a piece in Nov 1999.

The club is again noted in Sept 2000. Andra Behrouz and non-Baha'i Shiben Banerji were again mentioned and that there are many non-Baha'i members. Various teachings of the religion summarized, and that the club had focused on interfaith themes. The Club also has weekly meetings, study breaks, and every other week holds a fireside or devotional. Note is also made of a special commemoration of Abdu'l-Baha's visit to Columbia in 1912.

The move of the Jewish center to an upgraded facility in another building opened up space for several religious groups including the Baha'is to have regular meeting space though it is noted that since the religion doesn't have clergy there wont be posted office hours for a chaplain - all this announced in Oct 2000. The Baha'i club is still noted in 2002 and Anisa George is one of them.

The Club hosts Roya Movafegh and her presentation on race relations in America in West Ramp Loung of Lerner Hall in Feb 2001.

The Baha'i club is among those that get some funding in October 2003 and is noted having some 100 members. The club co-sponsored, with the Office of the Chaplain, a two day series of talks in Nov 2003 about "The Evolution of Human Spirituality" with UN speakers and others, while the club still holds weekly meetings and devotions and cooperates with off-campus groups like the Baha'i club at NYU and others.

Baha'i William Hatcher gave a talk on his mathematica/logical proof of God in Feb 2004 on campus. And the Club and Natasha Bruss are mentioned too.

There is a brief list of religion including the "Bahai" in an article about cultural diversity issues most focused on Europe in Dec 2006.

Mary Borovicka covered the Egyptian ID Card Controversiy affecting the Baha'is in Egypt in January 2007.

The club is listed in September 2007. In September 2007 Iranian President Mhamadinejad surprised many by being granted an chance to deliver a talk at Columbia. Mention of the Baha'i Faith was minor at first in a couple articles. Echoes of it - and University President Bollinger's question on the Baha'is - were still being heard a year later, though still mentioning the religion in a small way.

Amin Ghadimi writes autobiographically about the challenges of being "from" many countries as a Baha'i in Nov 2008.

Noting the club was 40 members in Feb 2009, alumni Baha'i Elahé Katarai-Ghadimi, speaks of her perspective on the progress of the awareness of of the Faith and its teachings on campus - she was new on campus in 1972. She goes on to note that Abdu'l-Baha spoke on campus in 1912.

The Baha'i club held a prayer vigil Feb 2009 for arrested Baha'is in Iran who are about to go on trial.

The club was again listed as active in the Fall of 2009.

A brief mention occurs in Jan 2010.

A article by Amin Ghadimi notes that among his other duties, he is secretary of the club in Feb 2010 and this brief summary appears next to stories he publishes. He also covered Roxana Saberi's talk that mentioned the suffering of the Baha'is and others in prison when she was there and his personal visceral reaction to hearing their story.

Again the club is listed in Sept 2010 and briefly as present and defended in Israel. A brief mention in the coordination of many groups cooperating in an Iranian cultural week of activities on campus in April 2011. An October 2011 review of persecutions around the world notes Iran's government and Presiden Ahmadinejad persecution of the Baha'is. A longer review of issues in Iran for Baha'is comes in late October 2011, also noting that the author had personally first encountered the Baha'is in Kenya.

A review of Abdu'l-Baha's speech at Columbia was done by Amin Ghadimi in April 2012 for the centenary of it noting His other engagements around campus and beyond and dwelling on His call for

"The most noble virtue, the most praiseworthy accompishment of man is scientific attainment" (but still called for) "spiritual light… to illuminate this institution".

For more on the centenary see 100th Anniversary Commemoration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Columbia University.

Current site

The current editions website lists two articles beyond the archives. First, when the club was listed among many rising against the tweets of members of the Columbian football team and second in a comments section referring a story about a banner's removal and presence as support or not for Israel in March 2014.

See also

• Coverage of the Baha'i Faith in New York City via the New York Age newspaper
• The Baha'i Faith in the New Yorker
• Bahá'í Period of Historical mentions