The protesters to the Minutemen’s speaking in favor of immigration restriction at Columbia last week jumped onto the stage and unfurled a banner that read in both Arabic and English, “No one is ever illegal.” Others chanted ”Si se pudo, si se pudo,” Spanish for “Yes we could!” This seemed to be a victory cry when Minuteman Jim Gilchrist and his fellow speaker Marvin Stewart had to be escorted out. At one point, Stewart was interrupted with a demand that he speak Spanish, and this was met with “thundering applause” and brought the protesters to their feet, according to the New York Sun. Isn’t diversity grand? In remarks to reporters, the students categorized the speakers’ views as racist without even hearing them. The Chicano, African-American, and socialist groups had been planning the protest all week. I guess they couldn’t come up with any reasoned arguments for their position, so they spent their time planning violent protest instead. These students are guilty of assault and should be expelled. Bollinger has a chance to stand up for basic freedom of speech and for civilized discourse. These students do not belong in a university. They are Nazi-like thugs out to destroy the life of the mind, to intimidate anyone who disagrees with them, and to succeed by sheer assertion of power.