The controversy began last week when, according to the Daily Collegian,

…the university cancelled his [Stulman’s] 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.

…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.

There is some controversy about the underlying facts of this case; it has been argued that the exhibit was cancelled not because of its actual content but because its sponsorship by Hillel made it ineligable for display as a “commercial” exhibit.

However, Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said in an e-mail message yesterday that the exhibit was canceled initially because Penn State Hillel sponsored it.

Garoian said in an e-mail message Friday that the School of Visual Art is reserved for work created by classes within the school, while having a sponsor moves the work into “the commercial realm.”

In response to a flurry of complaints from outraged Penn State alumni and others, Steve MacCarthy,
Vice President for University Relations, replied that “in no way is Penn State blocking the presentation of his work because of its content” and said that the exhibit could be displayed. Penn State’s President, Graham Spanier, was quick to confirm this:

Penn State President Graham Spanier said yesterday that Penn State student Josh Stulman could display his Portraits of Terror art exhibit as early as this semester.

“That exhibit is going to go up,” he said at the University Faculty Senate meeting. “The offer has been extended and may be displayed this spring or not until the fall.”

Despite the controversy over the actual reason for the exhibit’s initial cancellation, there is no doubting the bottom line. The President of the Pennsylvania State University had to use his valuable time and prestige to prevent the actions of subordinates– whether of Garoian and/or others– from damaging Penn State’s national image as well as its relations with its alumni. Penn Staters are not Berkeleyites so they might well be
inclined to cut their support for a university that enforces politically-correct speech codes for fear of offending terrorists and their sympathizers. (In case anyone forgets, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania and killed all the innocent passengers aboard because of the kind of conduct that Mr. Stulman’s artwork condemns.)

Professor Garoian’s formal apology to Mr. Stulman should have ended the controversy but the Muslim Student Association has chosen to behave, well, like militant “Muslims.”

Muslim Student Association Vice President Heather Barton wrote that it was legally wrong to cancel the exhibit, but she thought Garoian should not suffer “any enormous consequences.”

“I personally feel very hurt and threatened by this exhibit, and I know that a lot of other Muslim and International students do too,” she wrote. “I definitely feel that this exhibit [threw] gasoline on the already burning fire of hate and ignorance towards Muslims and peoples of Middle Eastern origin.”

First of all, I am not sure why Ms. Barton feels “hurt and threatened” by an exhibit that condemns terrorism unless she sympathizes with terrorists. If the dirty nightshirt and turban fit, though, she will have to wear them. We personally feel that the passengers on United Flight 93 felt “hurt and threatened” by militant Islamic behavior on September 11 2001, which brings us to our next idea.

At politically-correct universities, students who are found guilty of violating politically-correct speech codes similar to Penn State’s Policy AD42: “Statement on Nondiscrimination and Harassment and Penn State’s Zero Tolerance Policy for Hate” are often ordered to attend [Michael Savage whining tone] sensitivity [/Michael Savage whining tone] training sessions. Our recommendation is that Professor Garoian and Heather Barton attend a movie that is playing in State College this weekend:

http://statecollege.com/movies/
Premiere Theater - Premiere Drive, State College, 861-5006
United 93 (R) Daily: 5:00, 7:30, 9:50pm Fri-Sun, Thurs: 12:00, 2:30pm