Speaker Christine C. Quinn: Hear Me Roar

Speaker Quinn,

I find your comments on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rather uncharacteristic. While Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric does not align with that of many citizens across the world, it is by no means any reason to not allow him to speak.

With the rising pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear activities, the world has made Ahmadinejad more of a global figure than he on his own could have accomplished. It is not as if the words he speaks at the Columbia World Leader’s Forum is automatically going to brainwash anyone who can hear him.

I suggest you take a page out of Mayor Bloomberg’s book when he said, “I think who Columbia invites is up to them and that’s what academic institutions do.” Because I, as an academic and a journalist, would love the opportunity to hear Ahmadinejad speak if for no other reason than to hear the other side of a world we barely know. Columbia’s willingness to host world leaders – regardless of their global reputation – is what distinguishes America’s educated masses from those of, say, places like Iran.