Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speaks at Columbia University

Recently the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was invited to speak at Columbia University amid much controversy. He made many ridiculous remarks, among them reasserting his belief that the Holocaust never happened, claiming that the country of Iran has no homosexuals, and affirming that Iranian women are the freest in the world. There were laughs and jeers from the crowd, especially when Ahmadinejad made his comments about homosexuals in Iran.

I would not be able to write this story without bias. I think my feelings towards Ahmadinejad’s ludicrous statements would create a story that was more about making fun of him rather than an actual news story.

In this article by the New York Times, I feel the writer was mostly unbiased, and offered more insight to other comments made by the president that were not covered in other news stories, whether it was because they weren’t as “exciting” as his more audacious comments or because the other authors didn’t feel they were important. Although his diction tends to be mostly unbiased, words like “bewildering thoughts” and “verbal assault” show his bias, he balances it with thoughts from students protesting on both sides. Overall, I feel the author did a good job of remaining as unbiased as possible.