Columbia University Set to Host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ready for Protests

Columbia University has not backed down from their controversial invitation to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and have stepped up their security measures for the Monday question-and-answer forum.

Thousands of protestors are expected to rally at the university, angered that the Ivy League school would invite a man who has denied accounts of the Holocaust, called for the destruction of Israel, has ties to supporting international terrorism, and has a track record of suppressing civil rights in his country, most notably those of women.

A statement released by Columbia University president Lee Bollinger defensing the school’s decision read,

“Columbia, as a community dedicated to learning and scholarship, is committed to confronting ideas. On occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs many, most or even all of us will find offensive and even odious.”

"It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas or our naiveté about the very dangers in such ideas."

Bollinger appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and further defended the school’s motives saying, “It's extremely important to know who the leaders are of countries that are your adversaries. To watch them to see how they think, to see how they reason or do not reason. To see whether they're fanatical or to see whether they are sly.”

Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the General Assembly at the United Nations tomorrow.

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