Not just Columbia students

Brian Dugdale isn’t a student at Columbia, but he’s one of 100 young leaders with a coveted seat for tonight’s speeches by Obama and McCain.

Dugdale is a law student at Georgetown University who was nominated to be a “young leader” at the two-day event for his work in New Orleans. Dugdale worked at the Katrina Clinic at Loyola Marymount helping with health care and community service.

When he was selected to come to the Service Nation event here, it wasn’t to see Obama and McCain. “When I signed up, I didn’t know the candidates were coming here,” Dugdale said, waiting in a line near Alfred Learner Hall at 4 p.m. for clearance by the Secret Service for tickets. “It’s like a bonus.”