USING THE N-WORD at Columbia University.
UPDATE: A statement from Columbia President Lee Bollinger. Plus, this email from reader Ian Jay:
Just wanted to point out a note regarding the link you put up to the News Alert article, which went on to link to a Fox News transcript, where Marvin Stewart of the Minutemen stated that the protesters used “the n-word”. I wasn’t there, and I haven’t seen video, so I obviously can’t comment on whether that’s correct or incorrect.
But, it’s worth bearing in mind that Marvin Stewart later in that interview proves himself to not be the most reliable narrator of the evening. He went on to say that, with regards to the banner that was unfurled by the protesters, he “was informed that the Arabic writing stated that the holocaust did not happen.” According to the Blue and White, a Columbia blog which has been covering the issue, this isn’t quite true. Or really, isn’t true at all.
So in general, I’m suspicious of the way he recaps the evening, just as I’m suspicious of the anecdotes coming from the other side that claim they “peacefully” went on to the stage and were “attacked”.
On a related note, I’m not planning on really taking sides here, but I do want to emphasize that the protestors who rushed the stage were absolutely not representative of “the viewpoint of Columbia University” (which is the way this story seems to be headed), any more so than the Minuteman speakers were. The people who rushed the stage were, according to reports I’ve read, members of the local branch of the International Socialist Organization, which at last count had about 30-40 student members, out of a Columbia student body of about 20,000. Their actions are absolutely condemnable, but it’s disconcerting to read things that seem to indicate a belief that the viewpoint of those who rushed the stage is shared by Columbia students in general. We should denounce the protestors, but I’d be wary of denouncing Columbia as an institution along with them.
This was far longer than I had expected it to be. Either way, have a great weekend.
I will. And how Columbia as an institution looks depends on how Columbia as an institution acts. So far it looks hopeful, but we’ll see.
Here’s a report from the New York Sun.