Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.
Columbia University said yesterday that it had notified students involved in disrupting a talk-show program in early October that they were being charged with violating university rules of demonstrations. The university did not disclose the number of students charged with violations.
Columbia's president, Lee C. Bollinger, announced the disciplinary proceedings in a letter to the university community yesterday that was also released publicly. But he said he would not provide further details because of federal rules governing student privacy.
The charges will be heard next semester by the deans of the individual schools that the students are enrolled in. Possible sanctions include disciplinary warning, censure, suspension and dismissal.
Mr. Bollinger noted that as president, he is also the "final avenue of appeal for those found to be in violation of University Rules".
The disrupted program was sponsored by a campus Republican group on Oct. 4. Its speakers were from the Minuteman Project, which opposes illegal immigration and has mounted civilian border patrols.
Protesters unfurled a banner on stage during one speech, and were then attacked by the speaker's supporters, including some from outside Columbia. The melee(混战) was broken up by Columbia security officers.
Mr. Bollinger said the university would tighten rules governing all student events, and require advance agreements about how events will be staged and who from outside Columbia will be allowed to attend. Mr. Bollinger also said that several of the outsiders involved in the melee had been notified that they would no longer be allowed on campus.
Eva Fortes, a sophomore who plans to major in comparative literature and society and to minor in linguistics, expressed concern about the light sanctions for the non-Columbia people who were involved in the scuffle.
"It kind of upset me," she said, "that people not affiliated with Columbia and who came and breached university policy, they're just getting told, 'Don't come back', when they were involved in physical assaults."
Which of the following words best describes the tone of the article?
A. Indifferent.
B. Sarcastic.
C. Informative.
D. Pessimistic.