Posted on 04/21/2006 10:46:17 AM PDT by Happy Valley Dude
For Penn State student Josh Stulman, years of hard work ended in disappointment yesterday when the university cancelled his upcoming art exhibit for violation of Penn State's policies on nondiscrimination, harassment and hate.
Three days before his 10-piece exhibit -- Portraits of Terror -- was scheduled to open at the Patterson Building, Stulman (senior-painting and anthropology) received an e-mail message from the School of Visual Arts that said his exhibit on images of terrorism "did not promote cultural diversity" or "opportunities for democratic dialogue" and the display would be cancelled.
The exhibit, Stulman said, which is based mainly on the conflict in Palestinian territories, raises questions concerning the destruction of Jewish religious shrines, anti-Semitic propaganda and cartoons in Palestinian newspapers, the disregard for rules of engagement and treatment of prisoners, and the indoctrination of youth into terrorist acts.
"I'm being censored and the reason for censoring me doesn't make sense," Stulman said.
Charles Garoian, professor and director of the School of Visual Arts, said Stulman's controversial images did not mesh with the university's educational mission.
The decision to cancel the exhibit came after reviewing Penn State's Policy AD42: Statement on Nondiscrimination and Harassment and Penn State's Zero Tolerance Policy for Hate, he wrote.
Garoian could not be reached by The Daily Collegian for further comment by press time yesterday.
Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon wrote in an e-mail message that "there are other issues involved in the display that has caused a problem, issues that have nothing to do with the content of the painting." Mahon wrote that he did not know all the details.
"We always encourage those who are offended by free speech to use their own constitutional right to free speech to make their concerns known," Mahon wrote. "This is an educational institution and people should embrace opportunities to inform one another and the public. ... We don't have a right to hide art."
Stulman said the exhibit, which is sponsored by Penn State Hillel, aims to create awareness on campus about the senselessness of terrorism and drew inspiration from images that have appeared in the public through newspapers and television.
He said he was shocked at the university's decision to cancel the exhibit and that he has tried to meet with Garoian on numerous occasions to discuss his artwork.
"It's not about hate. I don't hate Muslims. This is not about Islam," Stulman said. "This is about terrorism impacting the Palestinian way of life and Israel way of life."
Stulman said advertisements for the event were defaced in the Patterson and School of Visual Arts buildings, one of which had a large swastika on it.
Stulman, who is Jewish, said he felt threatened and abused by the Nazi symbol and is concerned for his artwork and his personal well-being.
Garoian also wrote that exhibit space in the School of Visual Arts is reserved for students and faculty, not groups with a particular agenda.
Stulman said he created his paintings on his own and he approached Penn State Hillel in February to help with advertising costs and food for the opening. He said the School of Visual Arts did not object to his earlier exhibit, also sponsored by Hillel.
Tuvia Abramson, director of Penn State Hillel, said while Hillel sponsored the Stulman's exhibit, the group had nothing to do with his message or content.
"We don't have a political agenda except to support the voice of Jewish students," he said.
Abramson said Hillel is exploring other venues for Stulman's exhibits to ensure his message does not go unnoticed.
"It's about opening eyes and challenging viewpoints," Abramson said. "Artistic expression is the basis for creativity -- but here, it was blocked."
--Collegian staff writers Meaghan Haugh and Devon Lash contributed to this article.
Josh Stulman examines his artwork, previously scheduled for an art exhibit that was canceled by Penn State. The painting to the right, by Stulman, is titled “Our Greatest Hero” and depicts Hag Amin Al-Husseini, who was hailed as the greatest Palestinian hero by Yasir Arafat. Other works by Stulman address terrorism toward Jews.
I bet you could pee on the virgin mary and they would display it*
The Left continues to use the word "tolerance" as the justification for much of their intolerance.
Penn State was probably too scared that some crazy Muslim would try to blow up the exhibit. When you come right down to it, most academics nowdays are complete panty-wearing cowards.
So Picasso's Guernica would be not be exhibited either? It showed the Luftwaffe terrorizing farmers and animals and had no 'cultural diversity' value.
The exhibit, Stulman said, which is based mainly on the conflict in Palestinian territories, raises questions concerning the destruction of Jewish religious shrines, anti-Semitic propaganda and cartoons in Palestinian newspapers, the disregard for rules of engagement and treatment of prisoners, and the indoctrination of youth into terrorist acts.
So they were upset that his exhibit included antisemitic images? Or that the Palestinian USE of antisemitic images reflected poorly on the Palestians?
Three days before his 10-piece exhibit -- Portraits of Terror -- was scheduled to open at the Patterson Building, Stulman received an e-mail message from the School of Visual Arts that said his exhibit on images of terrorism "did not promote cultural diversity" or "opportunities for democratic dialog" and the display would be canceled.
Josh can now add an eleventh piece to his exhibit, Charles Garoian and Penn State's anti-Semitism and support of Palestinian terrorism.
I theink what they are doing to him is legally and morrally wrong. They suck
I dodged a number of "bullets" decades ago when I got rejected by Penn, Cornell, Duke...
"The Left continues to use the word "tolerance" as the justification for much of their intolerance."
More like an excuse for being gutless.
The university is correct. Religious fanatics promoting political change based solely on their adopted religious dogma should not be able to use the good name of the university, at a university sponsored event, as cover for their treacherous misconduct.
Why censor it when you can let a nutty English professor encourage her students to destroy it?
The really sad part is that it is highly probable that Josh Stulman and his backers at Penn State Hillel will blindly vote Democratic in the next election.
You're accusing the Left of being gutless? How intolerant of you!! /Sarcasm off
I got accepted to Penn, but decided to go elsewhere...
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Geez. I wonder which one of these is depicted in the one piece of artwork they showed above.
cultural diversity IS a religion to most colleges as is global warming. watch all the earth worshippers come out of their caves on "earth day".
I think diversitarians think diversity is the be all and end all . That's how you end up with Taliban Man at Yale.
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