The way that we talk about free speech at Columbia is that you have to put in a — in that situation, the College Republicans had a reservation for the stage [for the Minutemen]. They had a reservation for the stage. That was their corner of the universe that night. And if the students that had the banner wanted to have their corner two hours beforehand, they could have had that. We had some venues open, we could have had an event. We agree in American society that you can describe your event in the way you want to describe your event, and you should not expect to feel and experience physical threat because someone has entered the zone that you have created, in this instance, that stage. That stage, from 7 to 11, was the ground of the College Republicans, and it could easily have been, the next day, the ground of another student group. . . . .

We believe that student groups should be able to have speakers come to campus that will be presenting issues that students want to hear. It is very important. Freedom of Speech is very important. The University values freedom of speech. The University is not disposed to say that there's people that have something to say that can't come to the University. That's not Columbia University.

If Columbia was worried about violence or terrorism, they could have beefed up security. They could have re-evaluated the invitations early enough so that no one was left standing in the rain, or sitting at Port Authority waiting for an earlier Greyhound bus than they had planned on. Chaplain Davis could have sent an email that explained the reversal in policy in a way which would not have satisfied most of us, but would have taken responsiblity for choosing to deny the essence of free speech while providing the shell. (My guess is that this was not her idea, but she could have managed the message more graciously.)

Via LGF, more about Reverend Davis:

WITH little or no fanfare, African-American ministers, male and female, have moved into major leadership roles in the spiritual hierarchies of prestigious Ivy League universities. Five of the eight Ivy League schools--Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania and Yale--have Black university chaplains. . . . . The new ministers are reinterpreting some aspects of traditional theology. They still serve as role models and pastoral counselors; they still conduct chapel and worship services, and offer prayers at commencement and other university functions. They provide counseling and pastoral care, but they are also involved in a range of complex and, as one chaplain says, "contentious local, national and global issues" such as diversity, racism, sexism and conflict between religious and secular values.

. . . Columbia University chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Jewelnel Davis, says there are about 17 different religious life advisors who report to her--including spiritual leaders from the Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. One of the great strengths of the African-American clergy, she and others say, is their experience working with a variety of religious groups.

. . . . THE REV. JEWELNEL DAVIS has been the university chaplain and the director of the Earl Hall Center at Columbia University since 1996. A Baptist minister, Rev. Davis was recently appointed associate provost. She became interested in university chaplaincy while studying Judaism. During her more than two decades in the ministry, she has held several faculty positions, including higher education administrator.

(Please don't send her hate mail, by the way.)

UPDATE: A report from the talk, via the impromptu email list of everyone who was disinvited.