Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University yesterday afternoon. Many were appalled, offended, and angry. But don't be so quick to judge. Because as it turns out, Columbia has tact (when they aren't torturing animals...check PETA.com for further details).
Many schools would have welcomed the opportunity simply for political reasons. What's more, is that it's easy for academic institutions to do so and hide comfortably under the blanket of freedom of speech, so the political enhancement combined with the media attention would certainly be worth it. Not the case with Columbia.
While Columbia permitted Ahmadinejad (a former professor of engineering) to speak, he was publicly challenged and criticized by the University's President, Lee Bollinger (a former professor of medicine and biochemistry) from the moment Bollinger introduced him. As president of the University, Bollinger undoubtedly represents Columbia when he speaks. Bollinger made his hostile feelings for Ahmadinejad and his reign of terror known- a position the University should take if in fact they allow Ahmadinejad to speak.
While an academic institution should nurture an environment where all voices can be heard (much of Bollinger’s own academic career focused on first amendment issues), it should NOT suppress its own viewpoints and standards. Particularly in circumstances such as this one in which the speaker in question is a holocaust denier, a terrorist, and a cold-blooded killer. The only tactful way to provide Ahmadinejad with a platform is to have someone like Bollinger at the podium exposing him as the insane and cruel dictator he is.
