You can hear it in the air... it's the calm before the storm. President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes to campus this Monday.

And the beauty of this? As a club (maybe not as individuals), the Asian American Alliance just doesn't care. The political tsunami descending in two days upon this campus, in this particular instance, means little for us. We see the controversy surrounding the presence of Ahmadinejad an issue based in international politics, with few ramifications for Asian Americans.

We do invite Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans - also Asian Americans - to voice their thoughts about how this event impacts them.

It might be ironic that the brunt of our work is typically battling what we see as apathy and ignorance on campus. While trying to break the stereotypes of the politically apathetic Asian American student, we try to encourage participation and engagement from our peers in the issues unraveling around us.

But at what point do our politics meet that of our peers? If all communities (especially communities of color) have unique issues important to them, is this one out of our reach? Or are we indeed expected to make this issue relevant to us?

Last October when the Minutemen protests turned into a political incident, AAA had a pretty obvious stance. Our natural concern with issues of immigration necessitated a stance against the presence of Jim Gilchrist. Our ties to the students in protest reinforced our position. This weekend, we cannot say the same for Ahmadinejad's arrival on campus.

This does not mean that we'll have nothing to say. (Seeing a Middle Eastern woman rip down flyers near Low Library yesterday made a powerful impression on us.) What we will say, however, will probably concern more the reactions of our own peers than the objections to the presence of this Iranian president.

So keep posted. If your reaction to Ahmadinejad is indeed closely meshed with your identity or your views as an Asian American, feel free to share in the comments. We'll also do our part to make pertinent observations about this campus in the few days ahead of us.

Apathy is never a great thing, but sometimes it's the only thing that makes sense.

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Below is our statement about Mahmoud's coming:

On Thursday, September 20th, a representative from the Asian American Alliance participated in a discussion with members of the administration (including President Bollinger) over Ahmadinejad's arrival at Columbia on Monday. The discussion examined the impact that his presence would have on the student body and on many student groups that AAA has worked with in the past.

As a result, AAA sees the need to inform students who care about this issue of what their options are:

If you would like more information on this event, to be informed on what's been going on, or to view this event via webcast, please e-mail the AAA chair at: aaachair@gmail.com.

If you wish to submit questions to Mr. Ahmadinejad in advance of the forum on Monday, please e-mail: worldleaders@columbia.edu. A few of these questions will be randomly selected and asked among questions from audience members during the forum.

If you feel more strongly about this issue and are planning to personally attend this event on Monday (whether it be inside during Ahmadinejad's speech or outside at the rally) and would like to be fully informed of your options as supporters or as protestors, you can also email the AAA chair at: aaachair@gmail.com

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WHY ARE WE TELLING YOU THIS?

AAA recognizes that there historically exists a great disconnect between the Columbia administration and students. We observe the administration's not hearing students' demands when large campus events are programmed. The ways in which this problem manifests itself are evident in many groups' current struggles: the Manhattanville expansion, ethnic studies, racial profiling, and financial aid -- AAA recognizes that these issues affect the students of the general body.

Since it is important that the students' voices are not lost or ignored when greater matters are involved, the aforementioned disconnect was brought up prominently in Thursday's discussion with President Bollinger. The administration's is improving its ability to listen to the student body, which is a step towards bettering relations by opening up lines of communication between you, us, and the administration during this momentous event.