http://www.democracynow.org/article..../10/11/1430231

Wednesday, October 11th, 2006
Minuteman Founder Jim Gilchrist Storms Off Democracy Now! Debate With Columbia Student Organizer


The anti-immigration group the Minuteman Project announced yesterday that they are seeking to strip Columbia University of federal funding for what they say are violations of their civil rights. Last week, student demonstrators disrupted a speech by Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist who was invited to the school by the College Republicans. Gilchrist and student organizer Karina Garcia joins us for a debate that ends when Gilchrist abruptly pulls the plug.
The anti-immigration group the Minuteman Project announced yesterday that they are seeking to strip Columbia University of federal funding for what they say are violations of their civil rights. Last week, student demonstrators disrupted a speech by Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist who was invited to the school by the College Republicans.


Over 20 students stormed the stage after Gilchrist came to the microphone and two students unfurled a banner reading “No human being is illegal.” On Friday, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger issued a statement that read in part: “The disruption on Wednesday night that resulted in the termination of an event organized by the Columbia College Republicans in Lerner Hall represents, in my judgment, one of the most serious breaches of academic faith that can occur in a university such as ours.”

Bollinger has vowed to launch an investigation into the student’s actions. But at a press conference on Monday, the students claim that they were assaulted. They point to a video taken by a reporter from Univision. They say it depicts a member of the Minutemen kicking a student in the head.
  • Jim Gilchrist. Founder of the Minuteman Project and co-author of the book “Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders.”

  • Karina Garcia. Political Chair of the Chicano Caucus at Columbia University. Karina is a senior there.


We asked a representative from Columbia to join us as well but they declined our invitation.

AMY GOODMAN: Jim Gilchrist, who was the speaker at the event, joins us now from Irvine, California. He is the founder of the Minuteman Project and the co-author of Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders. Here in studio in New York, I’m joined by Karina Garcia. She is the political chair of the Chicano Caucus at Columbia University. Her group organized the protest outside the Minuteman event. We asked a representative from Columbia University to join us as well, but they declined our invitation.

Let's start with Jim Gilchrist. Can you talk about why you came to Columbia and what your message was?

JIM GILCHRIST: Yes, thanks for having me on your program. We came to Columbia from the invitation of the Republican club, student club at Columbia University, to speak about the book that Dr. Corsi and I wrote -- Dr. Corsi also was scheduled to speak right after I was -- and also about our views on the illegal immigration crisis that the United States is facing. We were there simply to disseminate information, not engage in what we’ve been accused of, as some kind of xenophobic racism. It’s simply a lecture presented by three of us: Marvin Stewart, an African American member of my board of directors, Dr. Jerome Corsi, and myself. AMY GOODMAN: And when you got to the university

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http://www.democracynow.org/article..../10/11/1430231