Campus art unsettles

IU has artwork scattered throughout campus to enhance the natural beauty of its environment. Showalter Fountain, the paintings in the Indiana Memorial Union and the sculptures in front of the Musical Arts Center are examples of fine art decorating the campus. Most classroom buildings on campus have art in them as well.\nThe art in Woodburn Hall is causing some concern, however, and some students are tired of looking at it. \nIn Woodburn 100, there are two pieces of a series of murals on Indiana's history. The piece raising concern is a mural depicting a group of Ku Klux Klan members burning a cross in front of a church. The depiction is in the center of the mural, which also has an American flag, steelworkers and other elements of the late 1920s.\nA town hall meeting was held Monday by the Black Student Union to discuss this issue, as well as the swastikas in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation buildings. Both pieces of art have been hotly contested topics for a long time. \nIn 1997, IU released a video to address the concerns about the mural in Woodburn, and a plaque has been affixed to the wall explaining the swastikas in the floor tiling at the HPER. The video, designed to inform viewers about the history behind the artwork, was intended to be shown by professors holding classes in Woodburn 100. Most students in the audience Monday had never heard about the video until the town hall meeting. \nAt the meeting, the IU-produced video was shown. A counter-video was then shown, produced by students. The IU video spoke of the historical reference the mural makes, and that it is actually a part of a series of 25 sequential works showing the history of Indiana from its statehood charter until 1933. The majority of the panels are in the lobby ceiling of the IU Auditorium or in storage. \nThe student video referenced the incident at Auburn University last fall, where members of a white fraternity took pictures dressed in blackface and with ropes around their necks, simulating a lynching. The student concern is that similar events could happen at IU with the "readily available racist influences on the walls."\nReactions to the videos were offered by audience members and a panel of representatives from the IU Office of the Chancellor, Racial Incidents Team and the Afro-American Studies Department.\nA heated exchange followed the videos. Students said they did not want their tuition dollars going to support a school that has racist symbols adorning its classrooms. \nSenior Cherie Wardell, executive director of the Central Neighborhood Black Student Union, believes IU is not making her money count. \n"Someone else's dollars are making the decisions," Wardell said. "Our voice is not being heard."\nDr. Valerie Grim, panelist and professor of Afro-American Studies, attempted to put the money issue in a larger context. \n"Somewhere, there are rich people, IU alums, who like that picture, and their dollars help to keep it there," Grim said.\nPam Freeman, associate dean of students, said a contingent of students and faculty had been formed in the past to discuss possible resolutions for the mural problem. The study group had African-American student representatives on it. \nAfter a fact-finding study, the group determined that the video was a suitable remedy for the problem, because moving the mural would destroy it, and covering it up was an issue of censorship, which most universities shy away from. \n"Students had a major voice in the decisions on the mural," Freeman said. "Obviously a lot of people are concerned about it, but it is not just as simple as (taking) it out."\nFreeman is also the director of the Racial Incidents Team, another important resource that many students present Monday had never known about.\n"(Since 1997), we have only received three complaints," Freeman said. "Two of them were about the swastikas in the HPER."\nVice Chancellor Ray Smith, representative for Sharon Brehm, expressed concern over the effectiveness of the students' arguments. \n"What do you do with the argument for freedom of expression?" Smith said. "How do you counter that? If you're going to take on the administration on this, you have to take on the counter arguments."\nGrim voiced concern over the placement of the mural. \n"The mural is out of place, like a fish out of water, Grim said. "...It's not an issue on whether or not the mural should exist, (but) where it should exist." \nDean Freeman said she will continue to press the issue to the administration through the Racial Incidents Team.\n"I think it's time to revisit this issue," Freeman said.\nBlack Student Union members said they plan to go en masse to Dean Freeman's office and file an official complaint with the Racial Incidents Team.