In a speech to the Association of the Bar of New York Wednesday, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger highlighted the controversy surrounding allegations of anti-Semitism at Columbia as well as the issue of academic freedom.
The issue came to light after the pro-Israeli David Project released a film in October 2004 in which 14 Jewish Columbia students were interviewed about their negative experiences in classrooms and other campus situations. According to students, pro-Palestinian professors had allegedly harassed and menaced the views of students.
The film, “Columbia Unbecoming,” was initially presented privately to Columbia administrators, but later released when students realized the university would not act. Additionally, the Columbia anti-Semitism issue has opened yet another incidence of an academic-freedom-breach symptom, which is apparent throughout the country.
Bollinger highlighted several incidents, including the recent cases concerning Harvard President Lawrence Summers and University of Colorado ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill.
“Many are joined — even incited — by outside forces, from political pressure groups to the mainstream media to increasingly strident voices on the web,” Bollinger said. “What is called for in times like these is a renewed understanding of what our principles are in theory and what they mean in practice.”
The speech highlighted the delicate framework of how academic freedom has developed in the United States, its implications and the efforts universities are making.
Bollinger also focused on the “very difficult” challenge concerning the alleged bias of pro-Palestinian professors. He said the university would not tolerate intimidation of students nor accept claims of being anti-Semitic or “having a hostile climate for Jewish students and faculty.”
“Columbia is deservedly proud of the strides it has taken over the years as a leading world center of Jewish studies,” Bollinger said.
University of Wisconsin Professor Emeritus Lee Hansen said he thought the speech was excellent and raised many issues, although Bollinger did not offer any real method of dealing with the questions that were raised.
Hansen added the nature of academic freedom has changed since the ’60s, or even the 1980s.
“I think the dividing line between what you can say as a private citizen and what you can say in the classroom has probably gotten fuzzy,” Hansen said.
Hansen suggested students need a forum to voice their own opinions and ideas outside of the classroom, remembering his own experience as a UW student, when individuals could regularly discuss current events and ideas at Memorial Union’s Play Circle.
“That was a good way to get these issues out,” Hansen said. “Maybe there aren’t enough vehicles of that kind.”
