Though they speak of lofty ideals and with high-minded self righteousness, the administration and faculty of Columbia University have welcomed the devil, himself, to their campus in the name of so-called academic freedom.

The devil is most amused.

The applause that members of the audience mounted loudly and often for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will echo through the annals of history in perpetuity alongside the anguished cries of Ahmadinejad's victims.

The deed is done.

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Acting Dean John H. Coatsworth have sealed their fates, too.  Regardless of what they have done before or may yet achieve in their careers, they will never -- never -- be able to wash this stain from their souls.