Just like macropod told you, it's Widow /Orphan control.



If you want to change it:
Click anywhere in that paragraph (the one that is partially in the first column, partially in the second column), then clcik the paragraph dialog box launcher. Uncheck Widow / Orphan control on the Line and Page Breaks tab.

Of course I did try this but it made no difference in Word97, maybe it's an Office 2007+ thing. Besides, in my converted .doc file from Jamal's .docx file the alignment is fine until after the equation. That's when it goes wrong.