A Different Perspective on Notecards

So Bwog compiled a list of all the statements student groups have been making about Ahmadinejad. For me, one thing stands out. It seems a lot of people are upset because students will not be asking questions directly. Instead, they will be submitting questions on notecards; the moderator will then select questions from this pool and ask them.

The objection stems from the notion that this is a form of censorship, cutting us out of the conversation. The student leaders are using it as evidence that Columbia is not as interested in discourse as it pretends to be. I disagree. I think it's actually an excellent choice for this particular speaker for several reasons:

1. Ahamdinejad is a smooth speaker and spinster. Columbia students, on the other hand, may be incredibly smart, but they're also frequently overly emotional speakers. I remember a few years ago when John Ashcroft came to Columbia. Despite a number of hard questions, he came out looking better than the students because he kept his composure unlike the students who shouted and generally came off as somewhat barbaric. I think Ahmadinejad will inspire feelings significantly more intense than those Ashcroft inspired and it would be a terrible shame if he came out of this as the reasonable one in the debate. Having the moderator ask the questions ensures that they will be posed calmly and that focus will be on the thrust of the question rather than the anger of the questioner.

2. Even though half of the time allotted is reserved for questions, there will undoubtedly be too little time for all the questions people want to ask. I would rather the best questions get asked than those of the students who rush the mics right when they open up. Those will probably be the angriest students, and therefore the ones most likely to pose poorly-thought out questions that are nothing more than thinly-veiled statements of hatred. I'd rather hear from the more contemplative students. Notecards ensure that both get a fair opportunity to have their questions answered, which can only result in better questions.

I'll admit, all of this rests on Columbia being truly devoted to asking the tough questions and really challenging Ahmadinejad, but everything Bollinger's said suggests that he really wants to take Ahmadinejad to the mat. With that goal in mind, posing questions via notecards can only help.