NYCLU and NCAC Condemn Lawmakers’ Threats Against Columbia University

The organizations expressed their dismay in a joint letter to Silver, City Councilman David Weprin, City Councilman James Gennaro, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner and John McArdle, a spokesman for state Senate Republicans. All were quoted in an article Monday in The New York Sun in which Silver suggested the state withhold capital funding and other financial aid from the university.

“Official threats to penalize Columbia for hosting the talk not only make a mockery of the open discussion and debate that distinguish the university setting, but also contravene constitutional imperatives,” the letter says. “The nature of the speech in question is irrelevant. The First Amendment is meaningless if it does not extend to unpopular and controversial speech.”

The letter says Columbia did not endorse Ahmadinejad’s views by hosting him and that punishing the school would confirm any suspicions the Iranian president may harbor about the sincerity of America’s commitment to free speech.

“Government officials who threaten retribution against Columbia for hosting a speech by a global political figure – no matter what his ideas may be – directly undermine the right to free speech, which we champion around the world,” said Joan Bertin, executive director of the NCAC. “It comes as no surprise that critics attack us as hypocrites. In a shining example of how the system is supposed to work, the faculty and students at Columbia demonstrated that free speech remains a cherished American value. The moment, unfortunately, was marred by the spectacle of public officials who chose instead to elevate politics over principle.”

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU, said the lawmakers’ threats were an attack on free speech and academic freedom.

“To challenge Columbia’s right to host a national head of state in an open discussion displays a shocking disregard for the First Amendment,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “Providing a free and open marketplace of ideas is among a university’s most vital functions. Our elected leaders ought to embrace the principles of free speech and academic freedom — not abandon them in favor of politics.”

Click here to read the letter to Speaker Sheldon Silver. (PDF)