Columbia
Recently, Columbia University has been the object of a great deal of
attention as regards the question of academic freedom. A coalition of
groups and individuals from Columbia as well as from outside the
university have made claims regarding the alleged "intimidation" a
nd "harassment" of students who voice strong support for Israeli
government policy. It is in part the purpose of Censoring Thought to
shed light on recent events at Columbia and to reveal the truth behind
the drama. In so doing, we will demonstrate that this campaign, though
dressed in the garb of freedom, is indeed not only hopelessly
misguided, but politically motivated, disingenuous, and profoundly
dangerous to free thought and legitimate, honest scholarship.
It is also the purpose Censoring Thought to spur the Columbia
University administration into a principled defense of its professors.
To date, Columbia’s administration, led timidly by President Bollinger
and Provost Brinkley, have failed to stand up to those who seek to
control Columbia’s Middle East Studies curriculum in the service of a
narrow political agenda. In so doing, they have lent support to the
movement behind the film Columbia Unbecoming and utterly
neglected their duty to their faculty and to the independence of one
of the world’s great academic institutions.
