Post Criticizes Protest

New York Post columnist John Podhoretz and editor Bob McManus accused Columbia of limiting freedom of speech on campus and strongly defended the war in Iraq in an open discussion with Columbia history professor David Eisenbach, held at Faculty House last night.

This discussion was part of the "Friendly Fire" series organized as an attempt to answer the growing concern among some that Columbia University is limiting freedom of speech. The issue has surfaced multiple times during the tenure of University President Lee Bollinger, most recently after a speech given by Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist was interrupted last October when student protesters rushed the stage and the University rescinded an invitation to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on campus.

With reference to the Minuteman Project protest, Podhoretz accused Columbia University of not behaving as an educational institution should. "Universities should allow the expression of unpopular thought," he said, adding that the University administration's responses to both the Minuteman protest and the Ahmadinejad event show a "nascent totalitarianism."

Podhoretz encouraged the University's administration to "act with conviction" in addressing issues such as the prospect of the Iranian president visiting Columbia University despite the potential loss of alumni contributions.

The discussion quickly turned political after Eisenbach raised the question of why the New York Post and other tabloid newspapers have exhibited a limited focus regarding the war in Iraq. McManus responded by saying that the journalism industry is "going through a metamorphosis" and that "people do not lack information" on issues such as the Iraq war because "they can find it everywhere."

The topic of debate switched to the Bush administration as both Podhoretz and McManus declared support for the current U.S. foreign policy including the war in Iraq. McManus said, "Removing Saddam Hussein was a means of placing some sort of balance of power in the region."

Podhortz took a different approach in claiming that the U.S. would have gone to war in 2006 had it not done so in 2003. He addressed the current political situation, saying, "If the surge does not succeed, then the war is fundamentally lost."

During a question-and-answer session following the panel, Aaron Welt, CC '10, asked the Post staff why the media failed to acknowledge the possibility of a failure in Iraq. "We have faith in our institutions," McManus said in response. "Most of them are decent folk that want to do the right thing."

"It was a great opportunity to hear a really open debate," Welt said after the event. "It was provocative because we as the audience have to defend the liberal stance that is present here at Columbia."

Eiren Jacobson, CC '10, said that it was good to hear a non-traditional perspective, though she said Podhoretz's and McManus's tones were "flippant, particularly about world conflicts."