A captivated audience listened largely in silence as the president of Iran responded to students' questions and a scathing critique from the president of Columbia University during a controversial appearance on the university's Manhattan campus today.

Calling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "petty and cruel dictator," Lee Bollinger spent the first 15 minutes of the event posing questions to the Iranian president on his country's support of terrorist groups, pursuit of enriched uranium and record of human rights violations, as well as his denial of the Holocaust.

Citing Columbia's close ties to Israel and Ahmadinejad's previous comments condemning the Jewish state, Bollinger asked, "Do you plan on wiping us off the map, too?"

The event, held as part of the School of International and Public Affairs' World Leaders Forum, filled the university's 600-seat Roone Arledge Auditorium to capacity. Inside the campus gates at 116th Street and Broadway, the walls of the student center were plastered with posters protesting the event and photos of Iranians being hung to death. Columbia's main pedestrian thoroughfare was closed off by campus security, but hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Broadway.

The speech was simultaneously broadcast to a lively crowd of thousands gathered outside on Columbia's South Lawn to watch what many students said was likely to be the most memorable event they would experience during their time at the university. Students squinted in the sunlight and craned their necks trying to see the image of Ahmadinejad projected on a mammoth screen bordered by huge loudspeakers.

In the days leading up to today's event, Bollinger has faced widespread criticism over the decision to invite the Iranian president. He defended the invitation as a celebration of free speech and academic freedom, as well as an opportunity to pose tough questions.

Vigorous applause greeted Bollinger's closing remark, when he said, "Today I feel the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express their revulsion at what you stand for."


Before addressing questions taken from the audience read by John Coatsworth, acting dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, Ahmadinejad spoke at length about the value of science and academic freedom. He also accused Bollinger of imparting his preconceived notions on to the audience.

Ahmadinejad said he was taken aback by the unfriendly treatment, unfounded accusations, and the "wave of insults" issued to him by the university's president who called Ahmadinejad "either dangerously provocative or brazenly uneducated."

Perhaps the most provocative of Ahmadinejad's remarks came in response to a question posed by a student about Iran's public execution of homosexuals. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," he said. "In Iran we don't have this phenomenon. I don't know who told you that we have it."

The statement was greeted by gasps, boos, and in some cases, laughter.

Opposition to Ahmadinejad's visited centered around Iran's human rights violations and his denial of the Holocaust.

Lyubov Bistreff stood alone outside the gates, holding a sign that read "Second Generation Holocaust Survivor." She was 11 years old, she said, when she fled the Holocaust with her mother, two siblings, and one suitcase. "How can he deny it?" she asked. "I'm a witness. I remember everything."

"Death to Ahmadin-jihad, the Hitler of Iran," shouted Mordechai Levy, founder and head of the Jewish Defense Organization, a militant offshoot of the Jewish Defense League, as he handed out fliers at the 116th Street entrance to the campus.

At rallies both inside and outside the campus gates, some students cautiously supported Ahmadinejad's visit.

"I am not against him speaking unless he spews hate speech," said Sheena Shirakhon, 20, a senior who was colorfully clad in a silver bikini and blue shorts with the words "NO WAR" written on the top and "ON IRAN" on the rear. "The only way we can ensure democracy for our own people is if we extend it to others."

Benjamin Shalva, a fifth-year student at The Jewish Theological Seminary, an affiliate of the university, disagreed. "I'm a strong proponent of free speech, but I don't think this is a free speech issue," said Shalva. "I feel abandoned by this institution."

As a band comprised of freshmen gathered in the center of the campus and sang "This Land is Your Land" and "When the Saints go Marching In" accompanied by a trumpet, harmonica, banjo and trash can drums, Alana Sivin, 19, a sophomore, said she was pleasantly surprised at how many students showed up on the university's manicured lawn.

For her, it's a signal that students are engaged and ready to tread on challenging terrain. "If they weren't here," she said, "what would that say about us?"