<p>1) Technically he didn’t deny the existence of homosexuality in Iran. He specifically said that Iran didn’t “have homosexuals the way you have them in your country [the US].” This is certainly true – while homosexuality is undoubtedly present virtually everywhere, there are relatively few out people in Iran and certainly nothing along the lines of pride parades. (On a side note, the Iranian government considers it perfectly fine to be trans. They’re probably one of the only countries in the world where T is more accepted than LGB. Odd, eh?)</p>
<p>2) The president of Columbia insulted a guest speaker for 10 minutes before he even opened his mouth. That is not making a point, nor is it propagating the truth. It comes across as inviting a guest speaker solely for the sake of attacking him, which is extremely embarrassing for an institution of such standing.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m not picking on Columbia in particular. My own university attempted to do something similar when David Horowitz gave a lecture on campus, and the debacle of the Duke lacrosse case is yet another example. College is a time for learning and thoughtful consideration; we’re all too young to be entirely set in our views yet. ;)</p>