At Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy, New York, the fallout continues in the wake of the school's cancellation of a controversial game art exhibit.
As reported by the Albany Times-Union, the College Republicans, who were instrumental in drawing attention to visiting artist Wafaa Bilal's Virtual Jihadi exhibit, have had their website shut down. RPI officials said the action was taken because the College Republican site referred to the RPI Arts Department as "a terrorist safehaven."
With an official disciplinary review pending, Dean of Students Mark Smith ordered the website to be shut down, writing that:
[The terrorist safehaven remark is] slanderous, blatantly untrue, and can be construed to endanger the health, safety and welfare of members of the Rensselaer community.
Ken Girardin, co-chairman of the College Republicans, said:
[School officials] were looking at the term from the strictest interpretation. And we were looking at it with the loosest interpretation.
Ironically, the website shut down was the official RPI College Republican page. The terrorist safehaven comment resided on a separate blog not controlled by the school.
Comments
I think it is interesting. I wish the journalist doing the interview would hold their feet to the fire.
There is one question that I would ask each one of them "Is alright to have a game depicting the assassinating Saddam?"
I want the journalist to ask question on the facts of the matter before they get to the opinions. Make sure the people know what they are talking about before asking their opinion. By just asking for their opinion there is no basis to how they drew their conclusion besides on speculation that they just heard about it and didnt like it.
It is apparent from the interview that people know nothing about the art besides the selective reports. There is showing their ignorants.
How do you think we felt when planes flew into the twin towers? How the hell did you think we felt, when people jumped out of the windows? How do you think we felt, when they where celebrating in the streets passing out candy?
You sit there, and tell me that I'm part of the problem? That some how I make them feel bad? Because I call them terrorists, I'm "discriminatory" against muslims? That was the point of this mod right?
Anything, any racism, they did to them self through all the wars they caused. And let me tell you something, I am calling them what they are. Terrorists, Rats, scum of the earth. Name one thing these people have created? name one! All they have ever done is destroyed. And anyone that was killed by our Army, is on them. They attacked us, unless your one of those idiots who thinks otherwise.
Now feel free to call me a "hate monger" or a "racist" because of what I said.
Theres your freedom of speech.
Understandably they have the ability and the right to shut down a site that is hosted on their servers. We each signed a document explaining our "rights" while using their resources. However, the page involved was one outside of the network and not hosted by RPI itself. There should have been some discourse with the club leaders in my opinion if they found the reference offensive, but shutting down an internal site due to an external one is inappropriate.
Or, *ironically* for a technical college, completely misunderstood where the comments were being stored? ;)
How funny it is to have the tables turned on the bigots at RPI.
From what NASA reports say, it sounds like the universe has been trying, frequently, but it's aim sucks. ;)
Point taken, but do remember humanities stupidity hit rock bottom long ago; and it's still digging.
So they were... what? Only "Figuratively Speaking"?
:: chirp chirp chirp ::
Shut up, I thought it was funny. :P
:)
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Damn you, now where's a cloth to wipe my monitor? Now I need to fetch another cup of coffee... ;)
@Saladin: What's good for the goose...
Is good for the Gander....
Awesome.
I'd rather they just said, "we find your conduct questionable", especially if they were directly related to the whole extended Bob Mirch affair.
The loosest form of "Terrorist Safe Haven" would be "Corporate Law Firm"
Karma is a bee-otch. One one hand, I think they deserve a little taste of their own medicine. On the other, they are now having their own Free Speech rights stifled and I can't let that be.
So here's what needs to happen. The College Republicans need to apologize for attacking and preventing Bilal's exhibit. RPI needs to put the web page back up.
Gotta love it.
They used frames or something to show the blog in question through their on-campus page. I can't for the life of me find the original blog (found it last night), but someone snapped a pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zulma/2323052674/
Agreed. Karma may be a cruel mistress, but it still doesn't make RPI's actions in EITHER case right. RPI admin should really be ashamed of themselves right now.
Thats the problem I have with the school shutting down their page. It was not made on the school run site, it was done on another site. This to me is a case of the school school stifling their right to free speech by trying to control comments made in a place where the school has no authority. If the comment was made on a school site then I would understand, but it was not so although the name calling was distasteful, the school should not be punishing them for it.
So that means I'm not allowed to hate David Uwe? (that his last name?) or seek a ban of him making any more REALLY REALLY bad movies?
Hate him? That's allowed. :D Seeking a ban. Nope. Not forking up the $10 to watch his movie? Absolutely. Telling a theatre they can't show the film because you hate him? Negatory. Calling the local building inspectors in to measure the doors because the theatre didn't listen? Oooo, now you're in trouble. :p
I still don't think he has the right to produce really really bad movies that use the "unlimited ammo" cheat.
I still think it's "Corporate Law Firm"
While the statement is very different from Mr. Bilal's exhibit in that one is fiery rhetoric crafted to manipulate people's fears, and the other is an art piece meant to show the impacts of US foreign policy, the same basic principle applies: Are they tasteful? Maybe not, but do they deserve to be suppressed?
What do they say? Turn about is fair game?
It is funny that I had feeling that if they got a taste of their own medicine they would cry censorship.
These people where bringing light to a serious issue, that the school is a terrorist safe haven, and that the people there are "republaphobic". I demand that the whole quote be shown and then it would be considered Poetry. We then should turn it into a mod ware there are terrorists at the school, and you have to stop them. This will bring further light to the issue.
Ok, really now. I don't think making a mod about killing the president is on par with this but hey, what do I know? I think it was sort of strange for them to call it what they did. I mean they did stop the mod from being displayed and then the kid was banned from school or something right? Does not seem like to much of a terrorist safe haven.
But they shutdown the whole site because one guy made a comment on a blog? That seems...stupid. Thats like shutting down the whole art (word escapes me) thing just because of that mod.....
Sounds more like a case of "It's okay if we say it but it's not okay at all if they say it."
Oy, narrow-minded thinking.
Read the article. It wasn't a student, it was an artist from the Institute of Chicago who was invited to show his exhibit (I think that's the word you were looking for at the end there) at RPI. There was full disclosure; they knew the topic and content of the presentation beforehand, and okayed it.
Then the CRs found out and raised a stink because it was "un-American" and, accused the art department of being a "terrorist safe haven" for allowing Bilal to present on campus. As a result of this, and letters (including threats to withdraw funding) from other republican alumni, RPI suspended the exhibit indefinitely; essentially, they shut him down and told him to GTFO.
Now, they've shut down the CRs' website because of it's connection to another blog that had the "terrorist safe haven" quote posted. Which could be pretty sketchy, depending upon how tenuous the link is between their official page and the blog that had the quote posted. Since their page is down now, it's hard to verify, unfortunately.
But when it happens to me, its not.
Double standard?
I wonder if they are crying Censorship now.
Hmm terrorist safe heaven hmm I wonder if other people were to blow it out of proportion.
"RPI is a terrorist safe heaven, there students are promoting propagandist material. Anyone and everyone that is Associated with RPI should be shot. They are un-American. Even there own Young Republicans are calling themselves terrorist. They are funding the terrorist as well. I want them to be shut down. I dont care what their defense is. They are un-American and for that they should be killed."
For over-reacting to a very minor situation with the aforementioned draconian punishments (both the republicans and the art exhibit), I wave my fist at thee.
For going about a serious issue so blindly that you negatively affect innocent people and ignore the real 'problem' I cringe at the very sight of you.
For responding to criticism not through discourse or counter criticism or even explanation but rather heavy handed censorship I spit in your direction and I wish you bad luck.
You make me sick.
We are so effing doomed.