LAST WEEK, quite a controversial speaker came to the University with very little actual controversy. Khatami, president of Iran from 1997 until 2005, spoke in the exclusivity of the Rotunda's Dome Room to an invite-only crowd. His presence on Grounds required dozens of state police officers and security guards, as well as snipers positioned on top of the Rotunda. While I, and several other University students, stood outside the Rotunda passing out fliers and talking to anyone who would listen, I was first struck by students' ignorance of the occasion and their tolerance of such a speaker. It became clear to me that our tolerance levels have trumped our good judgment. By hosting Khatami in such protection and privilege, the University sends the message that we prefer mild mannered open mindedness and tolerance to sound principle.
The lead editorial on Sept 8 ("Welcoming Khatami") said, "The University values a fair competition of ideas -- a dialogue that Khatami's visit will strengthen rather than weaken." But the point is that, contrary to modern belief, not all ideas are acceptable. For example the ideas that lie behind the brutal execution of gay people, the ideas that permit the attack of free thinking university students during the Student Uprising of 1999, or the ideas that motivate a state to harbor terrorists are not ideas in which we should engage or dignify. Those ideas should not be welcome in the free market of intellectual debate. Some people may object that Khatami was not completely responsible for the attacks on freedom that occurred during his terms. However, his position as head of state holds him in part responsible for the atrocities that occurred in Iran during his presidency.
Allowing Khatami the privilege of speaking in Mr. Jefferson's Rotunda not only shows tolerance of his brutalideas. But the invitation also honors those ideas and gives Khatami a prestigious, comfortable soap box from which to deceive. In plain language, the Iranian pro-democracy group, Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran, said about Khatami's "good will" tour of the United States, "The Presence of Khatami in the United States and his vain slogans of dialogue among civilizations
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