By NANCY HUEMER
Nancy Huemer is a guest blogger for Future Majority. She is a
currently a student at Barnard College and Media Director of the Roosevelt Institution at Columbia University.
Today, the youth of Columbia University and every other institution of higher learning in America will have the opportunity to forge a bond with the youth of Iran that could prove to be indispensable in future relations with Iran. President Ahmadinejad will be addressing students and other members of the campus community in an honest, challenged environment. University President Lee C. Bollinger’s choice to invite the Iranian executive to speak has generated countless debates, both on campus and off, and it is the right to even hold these discussions that those defending the decision are uplifting.
While Ahmadinejad has made some deeply disturbing statements, the right to free speech in our country should always prevail. Our first amendment right is one that is so often misused by those who attempt to silence only certain members of our society. It is one of the fundamental principles on which our country was founded; yet it is easy to forget that not all members of the world community have this same privilege. The students at Iranian universities will not ever have the opportunity to engage the president of their own country in the way that students at Columbia will on Monday. It is up to the Columbia community to use this chance to connect with the students of Iran.
The importance of this occasion is amplified by the current population make-up of Iran. Two-thirds of the population is under thirty, giving Iran an extremely young demographic. While the United States has been making an effort to deal with Iran in a diplomatic way recently, our tenuous relationship with the country in the past quarter century has been strained. The young population of Iran could be deeply affected by the discussion that will occur today and if the students at Columbia University can prove themselves able to contest President Ahmadinejad’s views in a constructive manner, it can open the door to the possibility for a less strained relationship in the future. The students at Columbia are some of the future leaders of America, and the large young population in Iran holds the future leaders of Iran. It is imperative that these groups are able to make a connection through this event.
Making a real attempt to open up the pathway to future progress is particularly pertinent in the Middle East. Our moral standing has been marred by our ruthless invasion of the region and there is only one way that we can have any chance for the recovery of our relationships with so many countries, including Iran. We absolutely must engage them in a civilized, diplomatic manner. It is closed minded and foolish to think that the only way to prevent countries like Iran, where our relationship with them is fragile, from becoming our enemies, is through force or threats. We can never hope to improve our desperately poor global standing if we are not willing to engage all countries and their leaders in constructive, thoughtful conversation.
Ahmadinejad is a dangerous radical man, but is a major world leader nonetheless. We must acknowledge this fact and make a more determined attempt to open up a real dialogue with Iran. At Columbia University today, students have a chance to begin this process by simply being willing to question Ahmadinejad in a diplomatic manner. This event is too significant to let pass by with out utilizing it to its full potential. I genuinely hope that the students at Columbia who have the opportunity to, can challenge Ahmadinejad in an intelligent way, and force him to respond to what we, the future leaders of the United States have to say.
