Surprisingly, no issue this semester has sparked as much dialogue, in print or on InsideVandy.com, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's lecture at Columbia University. The debate began as, and has generally focused on, the hypothetical question of whether or not Ahmadinejad should be allowed to speak at Vanderbilt. Ultimately, Vanderbilt is not located in the same city as the United Nations and cannot invite someone like Ahmadinejad to stop by our university when he happens in the country, so this particular lecture will never happen here. However, it does raise the interesting matter of what we should look for in guest speakers at our university, and as a co-chair of Vanderbilt University Speakers Committee, I would like to share my thoughts on the issue.

Many students recently attended VUSC's first event of the year, a lecture with Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of popular ice cream manufacturing company Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc. While Cohen and Greenfield did provide free ice cream for everyone in attendance, which is a fun bonus that does not accompany most speaking events, they were not brought for this purpose. Cohen and Greenfield managed to create an incredibly successful business as committed to environmental protection and community development as it was to making a profit. By bringing to Vanderbilt the most knowledgeable people on how to implement this radical business philosophy, VUSC provided an event that was informative, entertaining, memorable and relevant to a broad population of students, whether they are interested in business, environmentalism, community activism, ice cream or all of the above.

This is what we should look for in guest speakers at our university. Honestly, I personally believe Ahmadinejad would fulfill most of the criteria in that he is one of the most knowledgeable figures on relations between United States and Iran and would definitely be memorable and relevant. However, radically extreme speakers of this nature are often predictable in their content and only exacerbate pre-existing divisions on campus, hindering their ability to convey information to students. For example, three years ago, Ann Coulter and Al Sharpton came to Vanderbilt together and put on quite a show, but nobody in attendance really learned anything. The best speaker will have in-depth experience with an issue as well as the capability to share their views in a civil forum. It is only this last point in which I think Ahmadinejad may be lacking.
At the same time, students should not refuse to attend speakers simply because they anticipate that the views expressed will not affirm or correspond to their own, nor should they misunderstand the purpose of these events. The act of inviting an individual to speak on campus does not necessarily legitimize their views; it merely recognizes their position with regards to a certain issue is worthy of discussion and evaluation by the student body. Columbia University president Lee Bollinger failed to realize this important point, which is why he frantically and rudely sought to delegitimize Ahmadinejad in his introduction, thus destroying any value the event may have had before it even began.

While Ahemedinejad's leadership can, and should, certainly be questioned and scrutinized, his opinion in the realm of world politics is certainly important and worth knowing. However, there are other issues in the world besides Iranian relations. Cohen and Greenfield, for example, provided insight into the issue of corporate social responsibility in a way few other individuals could. VUSC will continue to strive to bring individuals with firsthand experience of a wide range of important social issues that can express themselves in interesting and, hopefully, entertaining ways. Ahmadinejad will certainly not be among them, if for no other reason than the logistics of getting this particular speaker here are so impossible the time and energy are much better spent pursuing other options.

Reeve Hamilton
Senior, College of Arts and Science