Colombia Univ students protest Iran Prez visit

Sarah Jacob
Saturday, September 22, 2007 (New York)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling to New York to address the United Nations' General Assembly this week and his trip has already run into controversy.President Ahmadinejad's request to visit Ground Zero was denied by the New York Police Department and now his scheduled address to Columbia University students and faculty as part of the school's World Leaders Forum on Monday has created a furore on campus.A law student Aviva Robbin is one of nearly a 100 students who have united on Facebook and have planned to protest against Ahmadinejad speaking on their campus.''While we do value academic debate and freedom of speech we do not feel that it would be a violation of these values not to have the President of Iran on our campus. He is a known state sponsor of terrorism and he has many human rights violations on his record and by having him here it seems as if Columbia is legitimising what he has to say and endorsing his views in the public opinion,'' said Aviva Robin.Nuclear concernsColumbia President President Lee Bollinger has justified the invitation saying the university is a place of learning. In a statement Bollinger said, ''Columbia, as a community dedicated to learning and scholarship, is committed to confronting ideas''.According to the University, a Q&A session with Ahmadinejad will address concerns about Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and challenge Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and his calls for the destruction of Israel.The President of Iran, which the US government calls a state sponsor of terror, was also scheduled to speak at Columbia last year but the university dropped the plan citing security and logistical problems.''Last year the President of Iran was invited by the School of International Public Affairs. This year he has a different invitation from the World Leaders Forum and there are leaders who come here from countries all over the world and that gives students a place to hear interesting global leaders here,'' said Prof Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia School of Journalism.''No speaker is without controversy. Our role as professors is to bring opportunities for our students to meet dynamic, compelling, off-putting people but if they are influential then we have an obligation to give our students a chance to listen to them,'' he added.Freedom of speech and expression is one of the cornerstones of the constitution of the United States of America.But the controversy over the invitation to the President of Iran to address the students at one of the most prestigious Institutes of higher education in the country has yet again underscored the challenges faced in transferring that thought into action.