Where does artwork belong?

We've all been there before: bored in class. You chew on your pen attempting to relieve hunger cramps, and the instructor's voice parallels the muted trombone sound of the teacher from "Peanuts." You glance out the window a few times and suddenly you notice a giant swastika on the wall. Are you offended?\nTake a walk through the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building, and you'll see multiple swastikas adorning the tiles on the walls. \nAlthough the swastika was once a symbol for luck, power, and strength, it now carries negative connotations closely connected with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. In 1920, Hitler adopted the swastika as an insignia for the Nazi flag. Suddenly the meaning was transformed from luck to hate, from power to violence, and from strength to murder. Today the symbol has a tendency to evoke strong emotions in many Jewish people.\nI am not Jewish but the artwork still upsets me because I spotted the symbols while walking through a public IU building, not a Holocaust museum. Artwork in general is a solid depiction of our history. It should be preserved and kept in buildings intended for art where people of their own free will can choose to visit. \nIU designates areas on campus for freedom of speech. We learned this last semester when Evangelist Jim Gilles was forced to move his show from Ballantine Hall to Dunn Meadow because of the campus demonstrations, picketing and assembly ground policy. The administration enforced this policy to protect the students. But just like IU places limitations on freedom of speech, the administration should also designate areas for its own freedom of potentially offensive expression. \nThe swastikas aren't the extent of it. A 50-foot mural containing depictions of the Klu Klux Klan wraps around Woodburn Hall 100. I studied the mural every Tuesday and Thursday of my first semester at IU. I had class in Woodburn 100, and my eyes would often wander to the large display of material. I'm not surprised the mural offends people. I didn't enjoy being reminded of the dark side of history during class. \nLast year the Black Student Union fought to have the murals removed from the classroom. The University said no. This decision confuses me because I thought the administration cares about the voice of the students. I thought it encourages diversity and acceptance of all races and all religions. But it seems as though their decision disregarded a very valid concern made by the same people who keep this university afloat: the students.\nThe Black Student Union used a solid argument from the Code of Students Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct. In section 5.a.1 the code states "A student has the right to be free from racial harassment in any building or any location on any university property." The code discourages the creation of "an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment."\n There were many students who were "offended" due to the display in a public classroom. Some of them probably had trouble concentrating due to the content of the display. Others might have felt "intimidated" by the large portrayal of racial hatred. And so they took it to the administration. They tried to bring about change and they were turned away. The Black Student Union wasn't asking for anyone to destroy the artwork, they were simply requesting for it to be moved to a museum. \nWhether it's a picture or a person, it's still the Klu Klux Klan. Whether it's a symbol on an arm band, or a tile on the wall, it's still Hitler and his followers. Just because it's history doesn't make it right for display in public learning spaces.