Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York is sure going to be a doozey. He may have decided not to visit Ground Zero anymore, but his appearance at Columbia University, to participate in a World Leaders Forum, has many people upset. more ›

Just a day after it was announced that Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minuteman Project, could be returning to speak at Columbia University, the Columbia Political Union voted against having him back when it learned that there would be no counter-point speaker. Gilchrist's 2006 appearance at Columbia sparked protests that got out of hand as demonstrators rushed the stage where he was speaking and participants got physical. Eight students were disciplined following the altercation. more ›

Columbia security, get that riot gear ready! Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, the pseudo-militia that patrols the border, tells the Columbia Spectator that, yes, he's up for a repeat appearance. more ›

Almost six months after a group of Columbia students rushed the stage when Minutemen Project leader Jim Gilchrist was speaking, the university has imposed sentences against the protesting students. The Columbia Spectator reports the students received "disciplinary warnings" which will be on their transcripts until the end of 2008. Monique Dols, a General Studies student who spoke to the media last fall, said, "It's a light punishment, it's a slap on the wrist. It's a victory for free-speech and anti-racism." more ›

Yesterday, the NY Times looked at Columbia President - and First Amendement scholar - Lee Bollinger's free speech stance given this incident as well as many other instances at the the school were speech seems to have been shut down. And did you see Jim Gilchrist on The Colbert Report? Stephen Colbert didn't run across the stage from his desk to the interview area - it was probably in Gilchrist's rider that no one approach him suddenly before speaking. more ›

Wednesday night's clash between immigration "watchdog" group the Minutemen and Columbia University student protesters has even pulled Mayor Bloomberg into the frazy. During his radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said university president Lee Bollinger has "got to get his hands around this. There are too many incidents at the same school where people get censored." Case in point: School of International Affairs needing to uninvite President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from speaking because the school couldn't coordinate security logistics in time. Of course, it is interesting that Bollinger's specialty is free speech. Anyway, Bollinger released a university-wide statement:

Columbia University has always been, and will always be, a place where students and faculty engage directly with important public issues. We are justifiably proud of the traditions here of intellectual inquiry and vigorous debate. The disruption on Wednesday night that resulted in the termination of an event organized by the Columbia College Republicans in Lerner Hall represents, in my judgment, one of the most serious breaches of academic faith that can occur in a university such as ours. more ›

Protest is alive and well at Columbia, though it's still a far cry from 1968. Yesterday evening, Jim Gilchrist, head of the Minutemen, the "citizens' vigilance operation" that patrols the Mexican border in California, was invited to speak at Columbia University. But pretty much as soon as he got on stage, a group of student got on stage and protested - and then all hell broke loose. The Bwog liveblogged the event, and here's an excerpt:

Finally the Minuteman himself enters. "Now who're you calling racist?" he shouts, putting his arm around [Minutemen boardmember Marvin] Stewart, who is black. "I love the First Amendment. As soon as you graduate, you'll all be investment bankers. I've been where you at. I know you hate yourselves." more ›