Columbia University's sponsorship of a visit this week by the president of Iran is an example of a public exchange of viewpoints that can only take place in a country where people are free to speak their minds.

Critics of the university's invitation to allow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak felt it was a slap in the face to Americans - especially Jews - to give a platform to the leader of a country rife with human rights abuses and a man who disputes the well-documented fact that millions of Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

The speaker of the New York City Council said it was wrong to give “a hatemonger an open stage.”

Nobody involved suggested that Ahmadinejad's invitation was somehow akin to honoring or celebrating the man or what he stands for.

Indeed, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger pulled no punches while introducing his guest, calling him a “cruel dictator” and saying he hoped to be able to articulate the civilized world's “revulsion at what you stand for.”

In support of Ahmadinejad's visit, the university pointed out that the event was all about public discourse, the exchange of ideas, philosophies and ideologies that make great American universities places of real learning.

The freedom of speech guaranteed to American citizens does not apply to Ahmadinejad, but it does apply to the students and faculty of Columbia. The university's decision to allow the president of Iran a forum to air his views - no matter how flawed - garnered so much media attention that the speech, itself, and the commentary that came before and after it, became a learning experience for millions.

President Bush said the event at Columbia “speaks volumes about ... the greatness of America.”

We don't have to agree with what a person says to find some value in listening to him - and listening to those who oppose him.