Following days of media outrage, Iranian officials rescinded an invitation to Columbia University international relations students to have dinner with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday night. But other students still planned on attending, according the Columbia Spectator.
Ahmadinejad is in New York City for the UN General Assembly and was scheduled to dine with 15 student members of the Columbia International Relations Council and Association.The dinner plans were heavily criticized by some conservatives and Jewish groups, who object to the Iranian president’s past statements on Israel, homosexuality, and other issues.
Neither CIRCA students nor Bollinger attended the event. Other students from the School of International and Public Affairs, however, planned to dine with Ahmadinejad.
This is not the first time Columbia has attracted controversy for its dealings with Ahmadinejad. In 2007, Bollinger invited him to speak on campus. Members of the university who support such activities maintain that any interactions with Ahmadinejad are purely educational and do not imply support for his positions.
*Updated at 1:14 p.m. to remove report that Columbia President Lee Bollinger was invited and planned on attending the dinner originally. According to the Spectator, Bollinger was never invited to the event.
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