The Columbia School of Hate

Submitted by Arlinda DeAngelis (United States), Apr 6, 2003 at 11:59

Columbia's mission statement in part states, "In carrying out Columbia’s great educational mission, today’s faculty must answer many of the same questions that have always confronted outstanding teachers and scholars. What would we have our students know? What bodies of knowledge what sets of methodologies, what world views should our graduates take away with their degrees?"

"As we approach the twenty-first century, the University is committed to preserving the quest for knowledge as more than simply a practical pursuit. ". . . Columbia provides students from the United States and around the world with the depth of understanding and intellectual flexibility they need to respond to the challenges we all will face in the years to come."

Mr. DeGenova is unworthy to teach at an institution that has within its power the ability to shape and influence world affairs. Terrorists, influenced and molded on the kind of hatred for America espoused by DeGenova, came to our country on September 11 and slaughtered three thousand people.

When an institution has the power and influence that Columbia University exerts, it must exercise that power for the common good. As a New Yorker, I have always been proud of Columbia's contribution to America and the world. Today, I feel betrayed by an institution that was the keeper of the public trust. It no longer has mine.

In carrying out Columbia’s great educational mission, today’s faculty must answer many of the same questions that have
always confronted outstanding teachers and scholars. What would we have our students know? What bodies of knowledge,
what sets of methodologies, what world views should our graduates take away with their degrees?

The Royal Charter formally establishing King’s College in 1754 defined the institution’s goal as "the Instruction and
Education of Youth in the Learned Languages and Liberal Arts and Sciences." This mandate has not essentially changed,
even with the transformation of King’s College into Columbia, one of the world’s foremost research universities.

Columbia’s undergraduate curriculum combines the breadth of learning provided by general education courses with the
solid mastery of a discipline achieved through a major. And, because Columbia is a great research university as well as a
small liberal arts college, students with the will and ability to pursue their majors to the highest levels of scholarly
sophistication are free to do so.

Lionel Trilling, the eminent literary critic and a member of Columbia’s faculty for 44 years, spoke for many at the
University when he said, "There is a certain minimum of our intellectual and spiritual tradition which one must experience
and understand to be called educated." Through the years, Columbia has resolutely upheld this high standard.

As we approach the twenty-first century, the University is committed to preserving the quest for knowledge as more than
simply a practical pursuit. Through its broad range of innovative multidisciplinary programs, and through the earnest
exploration of difficult questions, Columbia provides students from the United States and around the world with the depth
of understanding and intellectual flexibility they need to respond to the challenges we all will face in the years to come.

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