BSU unsatisfied with mural aftermath

Chances are you've watched it. If you haven't watched it, you know someone who has or at the very least have heard someone discuss it. Every student who has any class ranging from H106 to A110 in Woodburn Hall 100 begins each semester with a short informational video on the controversial Thomas Hart Benton Murals. \nThe video, put together by members of the Black Student Union in 2001, is part of the One for Diversity Fund, a program started by former IU-Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm to keep the two mural panels in Woodburn Hall. \nThe fund was created by Brehm as an initiative to get more multicultural visual art displayed around campus, said BSU President Crystal Brown.\n"This initative started out well, but it has sputtered since," she said. "It has taken over two years, and not much has been done."\nBrown said she is disappointed with the few additions of multicultural art around campus. Since the Benton mural controversy, a portrait of Herman C. Hudson, a celebrated black professor of African-American studies, was added to Woodburn Hall 100. Paintings from multicultural artists are also scheduled to be added to the fourth floor of Ballantine Hall, but Brown considers both of these actions a "cop-out."\n"Who goes to the fourth floor of Ballantine?" she asked.\nHowever, she has been satisfied to see more acts at the IU Auditorium with black performers like Bill Cosby and Dave Chappelle in the last few years.\nWhile Brown isn't completely satisfied with the One for Diversity initative, one program is making progress and educating students on race relations. \nAs part of One for Diversity, each class in Woodburn 100 is shown the short film that describes the history of the Benton Mural, which visualizes the history of Indiana from the time of the Native Americans until 1933, when it was painted for the Chicago World Fair. The video is a more in-depth look at the controversy around the mural since 2001 and one panel in particular. The most controversial and most talked about panel displayed in Woodburn Hall, titled "Parks, the Circus, the Klan, the Press," depicts a rally of the Ku Klux Klan. \nStudents, faculty and staff have discussed the images of burning crosses, marching and ceremonial white robes and whether they belong in a classroom. \nAs part of One for Diversity, Eric Love, director of diversity education for academic support and diversity, shows the video and opens the floor for a class discussion. Love said the discussions give students the opportunity to express themselves and their opinions of the mural. \n"I think (students) should engage in the conversation about the mural," Love said. "They should realize Indiana's history, but they also should reflect today, on where we're at today as far as race relations go and equality... where do we stand today in our tolerance of (those) who are different from us?"\nWhile the 10-minute documentary shown at the beginning of each semester is important to see, a problem has been that many students are viewing the film multiple times because they have more than one class falling in the room multiple semesters. \nSociology Professor Tom Gieryn attempted to show the film to his S101 class Thursday and allowed students who have seen it once before to leave. Sophomore Britain Jorgensen was one of the students to leave class a few minutes early.\n"I would be pretty bored if I had to sit through it again," Jorgensen said.\nSome professors, however, don't give that option. Adjunct assistant professor of folklore Alan Burdette, required his students to watch the film and participate in the discussion afterwards, despite realizing that some may have in previous years. \n"I have a mixed group with seniors and freshmen, but I think that it is important for this class to discuss this mural," Burdette said. "It's important that we talk about culture and diversity because a university is not just a place for going to class."\n-- Contact staff writer Benjames Derrick bderrick@indiana.edu and managing editor Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.