Yale's new freshman

IU, like most universities, can't help but look to the Ivy League for ideas -- new ways of teaching, new fundraising schemes, the latest intellectual trends, knick-knacks to draw the attention of prospective students, etc. But, over at Yale, there's a new fashion trend that I'm not quite sure we can get behind.\nSayed Rahmatullah Hashemi has been admitted to Yale as a special student. Hashemi also happens to be former ambassador-at-large for the Taliban. \nAs in, you know, the TALIBAN -- one of the world's most brutal regimes until it was overthrown by U.S., Afghan and coalition forces. The TALIBAN -- who carried out genocidal attacks against the Hazaras and other civilians not belonging to their Pashtun ethnic group, leaving mass graves in their wake. The TALIBAN -- who mandated that women were not allowed to go to school, hold jobs, leave the house or go uncloaked by burqas; and who tortured or murdered them if they refused. The TALIBAN -- who demolished the more-than-1,500-year-old Buddhas of Bamiyan, statues regarded not only as sacred to Buddhism, but significant works of the world's cultural heritage. The TALIBAN -- who terrorized the people of Afghanistan, imprisoning, torturing, or executing them if they spoke out, or refused to grow beards, or flew kites, or listened to music. And, yes, the TALIBAN -- happy hosts of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, who still plot to kill thousands of innocents in their quest for a new Caliphate, a global, theocratic, totalitarian empire. \nAnd Hashemi is a bit of a movie star as well, having appeared in Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." If you've seen the film, you might remember the scene -- at a press conference, a female protester speaks out against the Taliban's abuse of women, and Hashemi replies: "I'm really sorry to your husband. He must have a very tough time with you."\nAnd, yet, instead of being in Guantanamo Bay or -- better yet -- facing justice at the hands of the Taliban's former subjects -- he's being feted at Yale. Why? Because as Richard Shaw, Yale's former dean of undergraduate admissions told the New York Times, he had "personal accomplishments that had significant impact" and because, to quote the Wall Street Journal, "Yale had another foreigner of Mr. Hashemi's caliber apply but 'we lost him to Harvard' (Shaw said) and 'I didn't want that to happen again.'" So, apparently, dictators' toadies are in great demand among the smart set.\nClearly we at IU must have the wrong idea. Ever since the aftermath of World War II, when Herman B Wells led the University to take a key role in post-war reconstruction, IU has been working to support democracy and human rights around the world -- whether by supporting Tibet's government-in-exile, hosting refugees from Burma's vicious military junta, or establishing programs to help foster democracy in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. \nBut perhaps that's passé. Is there any of the Khmer Rouge left that we \ncould admit?