20070921 Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech

Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech

Friday, September 21st, 2007

Perhaps this is a “whatever?” As much as the things that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has to say are anathematic and loathsome, having him speak is quickly reduced to a freedom of speech issue.

However, the context gets muddy when one takes into consideration that Columbia University has developed a reputation for not being tolerant of conservatives making presentations.

Columbia President Lee Bollinger, was quoted in the article to say, “in announcing Ahmadinejad's upcoming appearance, described the event as part of ‘Columbia's long-standing tradition of serving as a major forum for robust debate.’”

Word on the street indicates that such has historically not been Columbia’s tradition. Rather – it has a tradition of being an inadequate forum for discussion and dialogue as security for conservatives who speak there is so lax that folks avoid the forum.

Columbia’s stated policy is one thing; however, it has proven, de facto, to not be a tolerant or meaningful venue for folks for whom the university appears to be unsympathetic.

In this context, Columbia places itself in an awkward position of being off limits for conservative presenters, yet always willing to go that extra mile for lefty presenters – or in this case, someone who has alleged to be complicit in the deaths of American men and women in uniform.

This of course, lays Columbia open to criticism that it may very well be sympathetic to President Ahmadinejad’s message. And there lies the rub.

Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech: Columbia University said it does not plan to call off a speech by Iran's president despite pressure from critics including the City Council speaker, who said the Ivy League school was providing a forum for "hate-mongering vitriol."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling to New York to address the United Nations' General Assembly. He was scheduled to appear Monday at a question-and-answer session with Columbia faculty and students as part of the school's World Leaders Forum.

The State Department calls Iran a state sponsor of terror, and Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust "a myth" and urged for Israel to be destroyed.

[…]

White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said Friday that Columbia made the decision on inviting Ahmadinejad, "and I don't believe we had any play in it."

"This is a country where people can come and speak their minds," he said, adding, "It would be wonderful if some of the countries that take advantage of that here allowed it for their own citizens there."

[…]

Read the rest of the article here: Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Columbia University were to extend an invitation to all Americans of varying political ideologies the courtesy that it so easily extend to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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On the Net:

Columbia: http://www.columbia.edu/

City Council: http://www.nyccouncil.info/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_re_us/ahmadinejad_columbia