To the Editor:

Eric Knibbs appears not to know the difference between having an opinion and actively doing evil (“Students’ ideologies should not play role in admissions decisions,” 2/28).

Hashemi did not merely hold the “view” that the “ideology” of the Taliban was praiseworthy. He was a highly placed official in one of the vilest regimes of the twentieth century. The Taliban, for those who have forgotten the horror of it, not only supported al Qaida, it beheaded Afghans for such “crimes” as apostasy and teaching females.

In America, we do not “police political orthodoxy” by beheading people for apostasy. The question is whether admission to Yale is the proper reward for an individual who enabled such a government by serving it as second foreign secretary.

Diana Appelbaum

February 28, 2006