Constitution v. Institution: Our Free Speech Dilemma, Part II

When the College Republicans invited Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist to speak on campus, University President Lee Bollinger defended the controversial figure's right to speak.

"Students have the right as organizations to invite whomever they want to campus," he said.

The right of students to invite whomever they want to campus and protest those they don't like will remain inalienable, officials said. But this principle has fallen under scrutiny in recent weeks as student leaders and administrators reconsider how the University handles visits to Columbia.

Students said the official policy may run against logistical roadblocks-different speakers cost groups different amounts, face different standards when organizing protests, and follow the rules of different governing groups.

Most students said the University has been helpful when groups try to organize speakers, speeches, or protests.

"Unless you are going to take over a building or something absolutely unnecessary like that, the administration is going to be helpful," said Columbia College Student Council President Seth Flaxman, CC '07.

One exception is the Columbia University Marching Band, which must have all of its scripts for football games reviewed by the Athletic Department, said CUMB President John Shekitka, CC '07. The University does not review CUMB's Orgo Night scripts.

"Their cuts have a lot more to do with tone than with exactly what you say," Shekitka said. In general the changes are not a problem, he said.

Other students said that no one has prohibited them from inviting certain people to speak, but logistical problems and security costs may make it harder for groups to bring certain guests to campus.

The College Republicans "are treated differently," said Chris Kulawik, CC '08, president of the club, and Spectator columnist. "You can't deny it."

The problem, Kulawik said, is not that the University is opposed to what the Republicans want to accomplish, but that being a minority group on campus means the group's events attract more attention and require more security-which drives the cost up.

Omar Siddiqi, CC '09 and president of the Muslim Students Association, said his group dealt with added security when they brought Norman Finkelstein to campus last year.

"The reaction on campus ... put a lot of added pressure" on the event, he said, but he did not blame the Student Governing Board for the additional requirements.

Raquel Whittaker, an adviser to SGB, which funds political, activist, and religious groups on campus, said the board plays no favorites.

"We only have two advisers, and we need assistance in working with Public Safety and Events Management," she said. "It's not always easy."

Still, some groups said they face more examination than others.

"We're scrutinized more than other groups," said Victor Cocchia, GS and president of the Columbia College Conservative Club. But he added that "at the end of the day, we were able to do the things we needed to do."

Another difference lies in which boards oversee each group. Many groups get their funding from the Activities Board at Columbia, Barnard's Student Government Association, or SGB, all of which said they have never asked a group not to bring a speaker and have never cut funding because of a speech issue.

"Student groups can invite anybody to campus," said ABC President Keith Hernandez, CC '06. "It's a question of where the money comes from."

Hernandez said he could not imagine that ABC would prevent a group from bringing a speaker to campus. But he did say that he might ask SGB to fund them.

"In an instance where someone wants to bring an activist, we'd suggest that they bring him using SGB money because SGB exists purposely for activist groups," he said. The SGB and SGA heads also affirmed that they would not cut funding for free speech issues.

Leaders from the four undergraduate student councils have come together in recent weeks to draft a statement on competing issues of free speech and a culture of tolerance on campus.

But some students said the University is not solely responsible for maintaining free speech on campus.

"I don't think anybody should shy away from big controversy," Siddiqi said. "But student groups in our climate need to consider very carefully what speakers they invite."

Leora Falk contributed to this article.