Speak up and Lock Down

As soon as University President Lee Bollinger announced that Columbia had invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak, the University began planning campus security measures for the event in cooperation with NYPD and the Secret Service. The public safety regulations will be rigorous—the John Jay, Carman, and 115th and Broadway gates will be closed, and a University ID card will be required to enter from any other entrance. Street closings are also planned to accommodate the more than 10,000 protesters expected at the event. However, despite the enormous challenges students will undoubtedly face, University officials have chosen not to cancel classes. If Columbia intends to carry on business as usual, it must ensure that students are able to move safely and freely through out from classes to dorms and food.

In the past, Bollinger has canceled class due to snow—it would have been advisable for Columbia to cancel classes for such a momentous and controversial occasion as this one. The short notice has made it difficult for professors to reschedule classes should they wish to do so. The concerns are greatest for students who must walk through the protests on Broadway to attend class.

In the absence of a University-wide cancellation, it is important for students and teachers to be mindful of their own security. Professors should be more lenient with attendance policies and assignment due dates and encourage students to trust their instincts in avoiding potentially tumultuous encounters with protesters. Students who live in dorms nearby, but off the main campus, must be given extra protection, even if personal escorts prove necessary. In planning for Ahmadinejad's speech, the University should have realized that this is a once -in-a-lifetime opportunity that will surely make it difficult for students to go about their daily business. Students should have the right either to participate or to avoid the experience entirely without academic or personal consequences.