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| quote: | Mr. Ahmadinejad began: “At the outset, I want to complain a bit about the person who read this political statement against me. In Iran, tradition requires that when we invite a person to be a speaker, we actually respect our students and the professors by allowing them to make their own judgment and we don’t think it’s necessary before the speech is even given to come in with a series of claims…”
The room erupted in applause.
Mr. Ahmadinejad added: “…and to attempt to provide a vaccination of sorts to our faculty and students. The text, more than addressing me, was an insult to the audience here. In a university environment, we must allow people to speak their mind, to allow everyone to talk, so that the truth is eventually revealed by all.”
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I'm sorry, but whether you love him or hate him, he was dead right on this. Mr. Bollinger really insulted the audience by telling them what to believe before the guest speaker even took the stage. It's the popular criticism of the media and it does not belong anywhere near an academic setting where the free exchange of ideas, however controversial or wrong they may be, is the rule and not the exception.
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