To the class of 2013, Columbia University’s recent public trials over academic freedom may seem like ancient history, discussed only on occasion in University Writing classrooms or encountered by accident while exploring next semester’s course schedule and Googling professor Joseph Massad. But for faculty and administrators, the debates are indubitably fresh. In 2002, The David Project, an organization dedicated to “educating and inspiring voices for Israel,” produced “Columbia Unbecoming,” a film in which professors from Columbia’s Middle East and Asian languages and cultures department were accused of antagonizing Jewish and Israeli students in class. The film attracted media attention, spurred a number of public figures to publish impassioned articles on the subject (former provost and dean Jonathan Cole and conservative author David Horowitz among them), and even led to political outcry—Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) encouraged University President Lee Bollinger to fire professor Joseph Massad in order to protect free academic inquiry in Columbia classrooms.