The Columbia University College Republicans have released a new statement unequivocally denying claims that the organization was in the process of inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on campusNotably, this letter has been signed by every CUCR board member.

Yesterday, we responded to the Spectator headline, “CUCR plans to invite Ahmadinejad to campus” with a statement from the club denying any plans or intent to extend said invitation. Spec cited documents including an alleged cost breakdown of the proposal, and a “leaked” invitation to the president which can be found here. Bwog was also a recipient of the supposed invitation on February 14, but instead confirmed it to be false with CUCR upon receipt.

Without further ado, the newest statement from CUCR:

To the Editors of Spectator and Bwog:

The Columbia University College Republicans, as a united Executive Board, would like to take this opportunity to make clear once and for all that our organization has NO intention of inviting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to campus, and we have never intended to do so. At no meeting has Ahmadinejad been floated as a potential speaker; at no meeting has Ahmadinejad been discussed on our board’s agenda; and at no meeting has any vote been taken on the possibility, realistic or otherwise, of inviting Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University.

In the effort of clearing up some facts about current news coverage: CUCR has no connections to private donors in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai. We do not believe that President Ahmadinejad’s appearance would foster a constructive conversation about the role of religion in government. The board does not think that the president’s visit would help bring about a two-state solution in Palestine.

In that vein, CUCR would again request that the Spectator remove or amend its coverage of this issue in the interest of journalistic integrity.

Signed,
The Executive Board of the Columbia University College Republicans

Tyler Trumbach
Executive Director

Taylor Thompson
Communications Director

Kate Christensen
Social Director

David Paszko
Director of Finance

David Bowles
Intergroup Affairs Director

Jesse Eiseman
Creative Director

William Prasifka
President

Thomas Callander
Director of Operations

Rishi Kodali
Public Relations Director

Nashoba Santhanam
Regent Creative Director