Results tagged “lernerhall”

Yesterday, a couple hundred Columbia students walked out to protest the war, and CTV News has video, and you'll see protesters chanting for troops to be removed as they march on and around campus (apparently there was free hot chocolate during the cold day). Interestingly, the Columbia College Democrats removed their support for the walk out "in part because of disagreements over whether to call for divestment," according to the NY Sun.

Yesterday, Columbia University president Lee Bollinger sent a letter explaining the school's response to the incident where student protesters and members of the Minutemen Project got into an unseemly brawl during a College Republican sponsored talk. The full text of the letter is after the jump; here's the pertinent part about punishment:

Third, there has been a comprehensive review of security at student events. In this case, an examination of the facts shows that Columbia University Public Safety personnel (both in uniform and a number in plainclothes) restored order within a few short moments. Still, it is always a sad day for academic freedom when disruption makes speech impossible. For the future, we will accordingly have additional security measures in place. It is, of course, unfortunate that such protective measures are necessary in a campus environment that depends on openness and human connection. Nevertheless, we must strike the balance between an environment that fosters self-regulation of behavior by young adults and the visible security presence necessary to ensure the safety of all participants at student sponsored events.

Continue reading "Bollinger's End of the Term Letter about Columbia's Minutemen Incident"

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.

Continue reading "Columbia Students Vs. Minutemen Free Speech Dispute Continues to Simmer"

Sometimes, your friends really do know best.

I saw Anger Management the other night and while it's incredibly stupid, there were two things that brought down the house for me: