University comments on flyers

Tuesday, scores of flyers entitled “Manifesto #1” were posted around campus. These anonymous flyers contained violent language and were splattered with red paint suggesting blood. The flyers criticized the current state of the art world, the Department of Telecommunications, the School of Fine Arts and student media groups, including the Indiana Daily Student.

Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson, in a statement released Wednesday, said IU supports the free expression of ideas, even controversial and potentially offensive ones.

“At the same time,” the statement continued, “the University cannot ignore potential threats of violence, particularly given the recent experiences of violence on college campuses and in our greater communities.”

IU Police Department Chief Keith Cash said the students involved have come forward.

"They wrote the manifesto with no intention of threat of physical violence; they meant the manifesto as an act of artistic provocation," Cash said in an e-mail.

He said the students realize they exercised extremely poor judgment and that they will be referred to IU's internal judicial process.