As the Spec reported earlier , Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, controversial for his views on the United States, Israel, the holocaust, and nuclear weapons, among other things, will be speaking at Columbia on Monday, September 24th, as part of the World Leaders Forum. Apparently, half his time will be spent answering audience questions. UPDATE: Register here. UPDATE II: It’s full.

In anticipation of the controversy, Columbian President Lee Bollinger is also planning to answer audience questions, from a select group of students invited to meet with him at 1:30 pm tomorrow. These “representatives of the student body” will hear him explain his decision to include Ahmadinejad, with a special non-corporate use of Lerner 555 as a meeting place.

The e-mail sent to the students by Bollinger’s chief of staff, Susan Glancy, follows the jump – DHI

Dear Student Leaders,

On Monday, September 24, the President of the Islamic Republic of  Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is scheduled to appear as a speaker on campus.  The event is sponsored by the School of International and Public  Affairs, which has been in contact with the Iranian Mission to the U.N. The  event will be part of the annual World Leaders Forum, the University-wide  initiative intended to further Columbia’s longstanding tradition of

serving as a major forum for robust debate, especially on global issues.

In order to have such a University-wide forum, we have insisted that a number of conditions be met, first and foremost that President Ahmadinejad agree to divide his time evenly between delivering remarks and responding to audience questions.  President Bollinger also  wanted to be sure that President Ahmedinijad and his staff understood that

he himself will introduce the event with a series of sharp challenges to President Ahmadinejad on numerous issues. Today it was confirmed  that President Ahmedinijad’s staff agreed to these conditions.

President Bollinger would now like to turn to you since undoubtedly many students will have concerns with the appearance of President Ahmedinijad on campus. In anticipation of these concerns, President Bollinger  would like to meet with you as representatives of the student body to  discuss the complexities of this event.  Please join him in Lerner Hall,

room 555 tomorrow afternoon, September 20, at 1:30 p.m.

Please RSVP by responding to this e-mail.  Should you not be able to attend and wish to send a representative of your student group,  please contact me by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning with the name of the individual you would like to attend in your place.

Sincerely,

Susan