Hereís a riddle: What do controversial filmmaker John Waters and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have in common?

The answer is that both of them have recently spoken at American universities, raising the ire of conservatives who question the validity of their perspectivesí being heard.

When Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University on Sept. 24, many critics of the Iranian regime blasted the school for allowing him such a public forum. Apparently, Columbia President Lee Bollingerís introduction of the speaker as a ìcruel and petty dictatorî was not sufficient to assuage some criticsí concerns.

Locally, the author of a recent letter to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times had similarly harsh words for UNC Asheville for hosting Waters, whose films are noted for their offensive humor and low-brow raunchiness.

The letter writer, who said his son would ìnever attend UNCA after this,î also argued that Watersí film ìPink Flamingosî should be banned in the U.S.

While we donít neccesarily condone either the rhetoric of Iranís theocratic dictatorship or the crass stylings of Watersí films, we commend these schools for having the guts and academic integrity to present speakers who pose challenging views to their students.

Academic discourse, and democratic society in general, require that all perspectives be aired and examined. To censor ìundesirableî points of view denies students the opportunity to determine for themselves whether those postitions have merit.

After all, freedom of speech is one of the core values that distinguish free societies from countries like Iran.