ACLU Reflects on Media Reaction to Ahmadinejad

A small but impassioned group of students reflected on issues of free speech and the danger of misconstrued language at a forum held last night in Hamilton Hall.

The event, put on by the Columbia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, was organized to give students who listened to Ahmadinejad’s speech an opportunity to debrief on how the event characterized free speech. There, many students expressed that they were concerned by what they felt was the misrepresentation of the Iranian president’s words in the media.

“None of the things I saw or read portray it as I remember it happening,” Kate Chapman, BC ’09, said, adding that she felt Ahmadinejad’s best points were ignored in media portrayals.

“The New York Times took the two most ridiculous things he [Ahmadinejad] said and put it in one sentence,” Amy Nazer, CC ’09 and president of Columbia’s ACLU chapter president, said.

Students agreed that being so close to the action made them uniquely placed to represent Ahmadinejad’s speech in the correct context.

“The way we remember this day forever will not be the same as anybody else does,” Chapman said. “We were there. I’m always going to feel that the context, as transmitted, was missed. People’s observations were very wrong, and that’s a hugely scary thing.”

While Ahmadinejad’s statements were discussed, University President Lee Bollinger’s condemnation of the Iranian head of state was given an even greater focus.

“A lot of people were disillusioned by Bollinger’s remarks,” Imani Brown, CC ’10 and vice president of the Columbia ACLU, said. “I thought it was inappropriate for the president of a university to be addressing a guest in that manner and it was an un-intellectual thing to say.”

While those in attendance were largely in agreement, the tone of Bollinger’s address was a contested issue, with some arguing that he went too far and others claiming that the address was Bollinger’s own exercise of free speech.

“It’s our responsibility as listeners to apply very strict and rigorous thought to everything said [by Bollinger and Ahmadinejad], because there’s so much politics behind it,” Brendan Charney, CC ’08 and ACLU spokseman said. “There’s sincerity there, but you have to peel away the layers.”

“There’s so much energy booming on campus,” Nazer said. “We need to find a way to channel it into debate and discussion on world issues.”