I mentioned this case in class yesterday, although I had it a bit wrong. The President of William and Mary was either fired or forced out, depending on your interpretation of matters, in a dispute over a) an art show he allowed to take place on campus and b) the relocation of a cross from a prominent campus meeting space.
Is this a free speech case? Does it raise First Amendment religion clause issues? Would it be different if it had happened at a public university? Is Jon Stewart the most famous alum of William and Mary? Should alumni or outside groups have anything to say about what happens on a campus or the decisions made by university presidents?
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2 comments:
First, the cross was removed from a chapel. The cross had been there for decades, yet is removed because one person complained.If a person is "uncomfortable" looking at a cross in a chapel, then maybe they are not strong enough to be in a college classroom or environment. If I am offended by the seal of the University of Toledo, should I go running to the powers that be in order to get that seal removed? I'd be ridiculed and embarrassed beyond belief.
Second, money talks and William and Mary lost millions when they removed that cross. I know the President says he was acting with the best of intentions, but sometimes the worst things happen when people believe they are acting with good intentions. The college is after all still a business and this school lost millions of precious dollars because of this man's supposed good intentions.
I guess it depends on a person's point of view, but in reading about the "art show", it sounded more like a sex exhibition. The show was being put on by sex workers, such as those who work in the adult film industry, prostitutes and strippers. To me, there is a big difference between painting or photograping a nude man or woman, and a public display on how to use a vibrator, which was part of this show. That is one of the tamer parts of this show, which had already been banned on another college campus in Virginia. This school also receives public, a.k.a. my tax dollars, and as far as I know nudity and sex in public is prohibited. So I wonder what would happen if I would have told the powers that be at William and Mary that I was offended by the sex show? Would they stop or cancel the show because i was the only one offended...I highly doubt that. I would be told to be more open minded and enjoy diversity in all its forms. But one person complains about a cross, in a chapel no less, and they're catered to within hours. So much for being open-minded and inclusive.
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