Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, is to arrive in New York tomorrow, Sunday, September 23. He also will be speaking at Columbia University the following day. The invitation from the university has been widely criticized, but the president of the university, Lee Bollinger has said he will "introduce the talk himself with a series of tough questions on topics including Ahmadinejad's views on the Holocaust, his call for the destruction of the state of Israel and his government's alleged support of terrorism" (nytimes.com).

An article in the New York Times called "Extremist Speakers a Dilemma at Colleges" discusses whether college campuses are appropriate places for all views to be aired. It seems reasonable enough. Students attend universities to learn and gain insight beyond their own. What I find questionable about allowing Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia is whether or not he will bring valuable insight to those in attendance.

The article explains that with past controversial guest speakers, more anger has been provoked than thought. Some of these speakers include Ward Churchill who was initially invited to Hamilton College but then later canceled as a speaker, and Ann Coulter who was hit with a pie during a University of Arizona appearance in 2004.

I think that we hear enough of what these political and controversial figures have to say by way of mainstream media, and I do not anticipate the sentiment toward them will change if you simply move their comments to a university setting. In fact, their comments will probably be on the mild side, especially in the case of Ahmadinejad, and we will be exposed to a unrealistic view of the man. Where is the opportunity of gaining knowledge in that?

One part of the article that struck me as being a little ridiculous was a comment by Harvey Silverglate, a civil rights attorney who has criticized higher education for failing to support free speech on campus. He said, "...one of the things we really lacked in this country was sufficient contact with Nazis to realize what they are up to...that you're going to take really awful people and not listen to them is really suicidal for any society." I'm not quite sure what engaging in a debate with a "really awful" person will do to broaden the views of not "really awful" people, but I bet that Ahmadinejad would agree with that comment.

Click here to read the rest of "Extremist Speakers a Dilemma at Colleges"

Click here to watch Ann Coulter's "pie incident"