University tramples free speech and artistic liberty:
some lingering questions

Yielding to pressure from right wing political groups, Shirley Anne Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has decided to make permanent the university’s the ban on “Virtual Jihadi,” an exhibition by visiting artist Wafaa Bilal. (See below for earlier developments.) A statement by William Walker, Vice President for Strategic Communications and External Relations, tries to explain:

“The decision was based on numerous concerns, including, in particular two characteristics of the video game in the exhibit, as affirmed by the artist: First, that the video game in the exhibit is derived from the product of a terrorist organization; and second, that the video game is targeted to and suggests the killing of the President of the United States.

Rensselaer fully supports academic and artistic freedom. We respect the rights of all members of the Rensselaer community and their guests to express their opinions and viewpoints. However, as stewards of a private university, we have the right and, indeed, the responsibility to ensure that university resources are used in ways that are in the overall best interests of the institution.”

The exhibit has been moved to the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, a community center where artistic freedom is still revered.

The episode raises several important questions.

1. Do the leaders of Rensselaer recognize the difference between fact and fiction?

The answer is clearly “No.” By the standards articulated in the present ban, if a university theater group ever decides to produce Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the actors could well be arrested for planning and enacting a criminal conspiracy.

2. Does the university recognize the principle of free spelled out in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

Again the answer seems to be “No.” R.P.I. has assumed the power to curtail speech that is protected by the nation’s founding law.

3. Does the phrase “Rensselaer fully supports academic and artistic freedom” have any significance? No. These words are hollow, without any real substance. Something is “full” in the R.P.I. administration, but it is not recognition of academic and artistic freedom.

4. How will the faculty and students respond to this outrageous decision?

Good question. At present widespread torpor on campus is a perfect complement to President Jackson’s autocratic style of so-called “governance.”

5. Given recent the events, what would be an appropriate name for the fabulously costly building -- the “Experimental Media Performing Arts Center” (EMPAC) – the university will soon open?

How about: SMPAC – Sanitized Media Performing Arts Center
Our motto: Guaranteed not to offend, or your money back!

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UPDATE:
Sanctuary shut down by malicious Troy bureaucrats

On the morning following last night's talk by Wafaa Bilal and his dialog with the audience gathered at the Sanctuary for Independent Media, the City of Troy decided to shut the place down. The Sanctuary has been open for several years, so you'd think that issues about building codes would have been addressed in a different context. It's obvious what this abuse of power by city officials is all about.

Here's an excerpt from the Times Union:

Troy shutters site of 'Jihadi' video game
Sanctuary for Independent Media: Doors at issue

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
March 11, 2008

TROY - The controversial "Virtual Jihadi" video game and art exhibit has now had two very short premieres.


Wafaa Bilal's "Virtual Jihadi" video game exhibit that features himself as a suicide bomber on a mission to assassinate President Bush opened last night at the Sanctuary for Independent Media and this morning the city shuttered the building for code violations.

"They put us out of business," Steve Pierce of the Media Alliance said. "They said we had doors that were not up to code."

Pierce said he got a call from city officials this morning telling him to close the building. . . . .

Art Police: the saga continues

Things are heating up around the censorship of artist Waffa Bilal at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (see my first postings on this story below).

There's a good YouTube interview with Bilal on the website of the Project for a New American University, along with an extensive written commentary about the matter by Brian Holmes.

Here's another link to the video:

Tonight, 3/10/08, at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, the banned exhibition will be shown, 6:00 for the reception for Professor Bilal, 7:00 for the exhibition of his work. Here's the announcement from the Sanctuary folks:

"Iraq-born video artist Wafaa Bilal will be on hand for a reception at 6 PM followed at 7 PM by a presentation about his installation "Virtual Jihadi" which will be on display at The Sanctuary for Independent Media through April 4, 2008. Admission is by
donation ($10 suggested, $5 student/low income). Another version of this installation opened on March 5, 2008 at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute but as reported by the Times Union
it was abruptly closed the following day.. . . . A local Republican
operative on the payroll of the City of Troy, Rensselaer County /and/ NY
State called for protests at the Monday, March 10 show opening at the
Sanctuary in an article in the Troy Record."

And this just in.... An unconfirmed report from one of my students indicates that the website of the College Republicans has been taken down by RPI. Irony of ironies. Will they scream "CENSORSHIP!!!!"?

You can't make this stuff up!

(For better or worse, the constitutionally protected web bile issued by the College Republicans has been preserved for posterity, but I won't bother reprinting it here.)

I'm looking forward to tonight's art program. Let's hope that people on all sides remain cool, respectful and non-violent, despite their disagreements.

- Langdon

Art Police Shut Down Exhibit at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Invade Classroom

Stories in the Washington Post, Newsday and Times Union describe the sad tale of a university responding to political pressure to close an exhibit by controversial artist Wafaa Bilal. Here are excerpts from the Post:

"In the video game that Wafaa Bilal created, his avatar is steely-eyed and hooded, with an automatic rifle at his side, an ammunition belt around his waist, a fuse in his hand and the mien of a knightly suicide-bomber. He is the "Virtual Jihadi." ...

"His work was briefly exhibited Thursday night at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. The game was projected on a giant screen so that one viewer at a time could play -- until administrators shut down the show Friday morning. The institute needed time to review the show's "origin, content and intent," said William N. Walker, a vice president." ....

* * * * *

The fracas included an unfortunate incident, one that casts a shadow over acdemic fredom at Rensselaer. From the Times Union:

"The controversy intensified Wednesday, when Bilal was scheduled to give a lecture and unveil his exhibit.

That afternoon, RPI students in a class taught by media arts professor Branda Miller were interviewing Bilal when he was pulled out of the room by RPI officials.

"It was very unsettling for me and my students," Miller said. "It would be unfortunate if Wafaa Bilal's art exhibition remains closed. The whole point of art is to encourage dialogue." ....

* * * *
The origin of the controversy arose from protests by the College Republicans on the campus, a group interested in works of art, at least the ones they think require censorship.

Fortunately, Bilal's exhibit will be shown off campus at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, a wonderful place where artists, writers and everyday folks gather to exhibit their works and exchange ideas, realizing the promise of the First Amendment freedoms, a project evidently too risky for the university to abide.

Another dimension of the story is that RPI is about to open a enormously costly "Experimental Media Performing Arts Center." The Bilal incident raises serious questions about how "experimental" the Center's offerings will be and who decides.

UPDATES:

A colleague in the Arts Department passed along the news that this morning, March 8, faculty in the Arts Department found themselves locked out of the building where they work because security was under orders (according to the posted guards) to prevent Wafaa from getting into the building!

Meanwhile a message from the RPI administration offered these chilling words of reassurance:

March 8, 2008

To the Rensselaer Community:

You may have seen coverage in the news media of actions taken by the
university regarding a visiting artist on campus. This is to provide
more information on this situation.

After becoming aware of and discussing concerns expressed by some
members of the Rensselaer community about a lecture and associated
exhibit by digital media artist Wafaa Bilal, the university decided to
allow his March 5 lecture to go forward. Most observers agreed that he
presented a stimulating and thought-provoking lecture.

We are pleased to have Mr. Bilal among us to contribute to the
intellectual and artistic life of the Institute, and we look forward
to his continued presence in our classrooms and studios as a visiting
artist.

During the unveiling of the artist's video game exhibition, "Virtual
Jihadi," important concerns surfaced that the work may be based on a
product of Al Qaeda, and questions were raised regarding its legality
and its consistency with the norms and policies of the Institute. The
university is considering various factors relating to the exhibition,
and has suspended it pending a more complete review of its origin,
content, and intent.

Rensselaer fully supports academic and artistic freedom. The question
under review regards the use of university resources to provide a
platform for what may be a product of a terrorist organization or
which suggests violence directed toward the President of the United
States and his family.

William N. Walker
Vice President for Strategic Communications and External Relations

* * * * * *

What could be more "thought-provoking" than censoring an art exhibit and blocking access to a university building?

Support the troops with censorship: military brass unplugs MySpace and YouTube

The military has taken another brilliant move in Iraq. From Wired:

"Fresh from its battle against blogs, the U.S. military now appears to be going after video and social networking sites (at least those it doesn't control). Effective Monday, U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be allowed access to websites like MySpace and YouTube using military networks, Stars and Stripes reports."

The demise of community radio

It has been sad to watch the demise of WRPI, the once great college/community radio station. The Albany Times Union has the lamentable story. (Note the pungent political metaphors, something the university might worry about showing up on Google.) Here are some excerpts:

* * * * * *

Operating on different wavelengths
Host's departure latest sign of conflict between WRPI's student leaders, community

By MARC PARRY, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Monday, April 9, 2007
TROY -- One of the country's oldest college FM radio stations is approaching its 50th anniversary racked by static between students who run the station and community members who host many shows.

The upheaval at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute station, WRPI (91.5), has driven at least five community members off the air, including a 19-year station veteran who was ousted last month.

At one level, the problem is a narrow clash of personalities and competing interests. But the conflict also raises broader questions about the role of college radio.

And its impact is supercharged by the 10,000-watt signal -- stronger than many commercial stations -- that lets WRPI broadcast to listeners over a 75-mile radius that touches New York, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Over the past few months, critics have accused the young leaders of WRPI, a student club, of muzzling diverse voices and targeting older community hosts who help fill air time by broadcasting as their guests. In a published newspaper interview, one went so far as to compare the students to Nazis.

Some of the most recent drama at WRPI's sticker-splattered basement studios began March 1. That's when the seven-student Executive Committee that manages the station, known as the "E-Comm," revoked the membership of 19-year veteran Mickie Lynn.

The self-described retired environmental educator, Reiki practitioner and peace activist from Delmar said the program she produced, a feminist music show called "Face the Music," has since left the airwaves after nearly 29 years.

Lynn's banishment led another community host, human rights activist Judith Brink, to deliver a March 18 resignation speech that opened with these words: "To remain silent is to be complicit."

"I don't know why community members are being picked off one by one," Brink, 67, said in an interview. "I don't understand what's going on. And I don't understand why the atmosphere in the station was making me sick."

WRPI President Trent Gillaspie called Brink's comments a misunderstanding of the situation.

Yes, Gillaspie said, his No. 1 goal is increasing participation and listenership among the Troy institute's 7,400 students. But student leaders are not -- repeat, not -- targeting non-student broadcasters.

When members have been kicked out, the RPI junior said, it was for legitimate policy violations. Lynn's ouster arose from "a persistent lack of cooperation with the E-Comm," both in disrespecting students and trying to manipulate time slots behind their backs, he said.

"If any of these things we've kicked out community members for in the past had been done by students or an E-Comm member, the same actions would be taken," Gillaspie, 21, said in an e-mail. "We're not targeting community members, that's just where the problem has shown because of ongoing conflict."

Though the particular circumstances of WRPI and the Albany-area radio market are unique, in general conflicts over radio time are not. There just aren't that many independent, community-centered radio stations today, said Eric Klinenberg, a New York University sociologist and author of a book about media consolidation called "Fighting for Air."

"One trend I've observed in cities across the country is that, as those kinds of stations have become rare -- as air time for locally engaged programming has diminished -- that leaves a lot of people and groups fighting for what remains," Klinenberg said. "Sadly, I think that the structure of the radio industry today makes it more likely that groups whose interests are probably very similar wind up going after each other. This is a fairly familiar phenomenon." . . . .

Its money comes both from RPI's student union and a nonprofit group that raises funds on its behalf. Its reach is huge. It has turned over more of its air time to community hosts -- about 28 shows right now -- who have kept the station going when student interest has waned. And it's gained a following for airing progressive shows like "Democracy Now!"

Gillaspie says managing WRPI has taught him more than attending RPI. His grasp of its details was evident on a recent tour of the basement station.

Moving through its 11 rooms, the former College Republican rattled off figures about everything from the cost of the soundproof carpeting to the height of the wood-paneled console.

Gillaspie carried a black binder that laid out his 21 station goals. The mission: "To increase recognition of and participation in WRPI by the student membership of RPI."

"This is a student-run radio station, so we're primarily here for the student participation," he said. "The community members have done such a phenomenal job in helping when we're in times of need, and they've added a lot of diversity to our station."

That diversity has eroded over the past two years. Student interest has surged, while conflicts have pushed out community hosts.

Elonge Ekalele, a Cameroon native who hosted the call-in talk show "Africa in Motion," was kicked out. So was Dennis Karius of "The Portside." Judith Brink of "Voices from the Prison Action Network" and Bonnie Hoag of "Necessary Radio" both quit.

All of this worries people like RPI media arts professor Branda Miller. She feels devaluing the community role in WRPI is wasting a tremendous resource.

"I think that WRPI not only gives this incredible real-world experience for the students, but it also serves as an important outreach opportunity for Rensselaer, a real bridge between town and gown," she said.

That bridge was damaged late last year, when a Metroland article about WRPI quoted Hoag comparing the E-Comm to "Brownshirts," a reference to Nazi storm troopers. The executive board of the student union subsequently issued guidelines that, by May 15, non-RPI-affiliated members should amount to no more than 30 percent of station membership.

* * * * * *

The idea that these developments stem from a misunderstanding is ludicrous. While the students have a legal right to run the station, the pattern of recent decisions is clear. Folks from the community who are women, activists and people of color are being drummed out.