MIT President orders book cover suppressed for offensiveness

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

I looked at the picture and I found it far from offensive or suggestive but
more important it is, to me, censorship where we are surposed to form in
our young's mind what the Bill of Rights is all about.


Dave


From: sethf () athena mit edu (Seth Finkelstein)


[Here's a report of an incident that just happened at MIT. Whether or
not it qualifies formally as censorship, it raises very disturbing
questions. While not identical to the "water buffalo" case, I see some
of the same elements. It's another instance of adminstrators coming up
with interpretations that seem far-fetched and extreme to some,
regarding certain expressions as offensive and needing to be suppressed.


        This article is from the MIT newspaper _The Tech_, readable from the
URL http://the-tech.mit.edu:80/The-Tech


        By the way, the suppressed picture in question is available in
the archives of the MIT Student Association for Freedom of Expression,
now available over the network on the World-Wide-Web. In general,
URL http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/safe/home.html, this case is at
URL http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/safe/safe/cases/mit-pic-book/
        Or at least, it will be available until someone get threatened
strongly enough ... :-(]




             PICTURE BOOK COVER CALLED OFFENSIVE, WILL BE REPLACED


   By Hyun Soo Kim
   News Editor




   At the last minute, President Charles M. Vest asked the Technology
   Community Association to stop distribution of its Freshman Picture
   Book, because he felt its cover drawing of a monkey could be perceived
   as racist by African Americans. Publishing the books with new covers
   will delay the delivery of the books until Monday night.


   Lori A. Weldon '95, who was in charge of producing the picture books,
   said that the delay will hurt sales.


   The original cover shows a monkey wearing glasses, dressed in a cap
   and a lab coat with a pocket protector, and holding a calculator. The
   monkey has one arm raised and is asking a question: "What does
   `intuitively obvious' mean?!" [See cover picture, page 8.]


   "The concern about the picture was that the symbolism of a monkey type
   of creature has traditionally been used negatively in a racist manner
   in the United States to depict African Americans," said Susan D.
   Allen, assistant dean for residence and campus activities.


   "The caption added to that [perception]. There are three videos
   produced at MIT that are titled `Intuitively Obvious' done by Black,
   Hispanic, and Asian MIT students respectively on what it is like to be
   a Black, Hispanic, or an Asian at MIT," Allen said.


   The videos were produced in the past two years and they have been
   shown on MIT cable and shown to various student and administrative
   groups, Allen said.


   The TCA, a student-run and funded nonprofit organization, produces the
   Freshman Picture Books. Risa H. Wechsler '96, who helped to design the
   cover for TCA, said that there was no particular reason why the monkey
   was chosen.


   "It was done by a freelance artist. The picture is from an old book of
   fairy tales, and was modified slightly so it would be more relevant to
   MIT. The `intuitively obvious' caption is a general comical expression
   used at MIT. It is a frustrating answer given to students who don't
   understand things," Wechsler said. "It was a relevant comment to MIT
   life."


   Wechsler added that she had not known that MIT produced videos titled
   "Intuitively Obvious."


   Lori A. Weldon '95, who was in charge of producing the picture book,
   said that she was surprised that anyone found the cover offensive.


   Vest, who convened a meeting Tuesday to discuss the cover with TCA,
   did not say who brought up the complaint. "I had received no complaint
   because the pictures had not yet been circulated," he said.


   Wechsler speculated that an administrator pointed out the possibility
   of misinterpretation of the cover.


  VEST TAKES RESPONSIBILITY






   President Vest stopped the distribution of the picture books with the
   original cover because the cover "could be misinterpreted as racially
   derogatory."


   "Experiences on many campuses, including ours, clearly indicate such
   events have caused substantial anguish within the student body and
   community, despite the fact that no ill will was intended," Vest said.




   Weldon said that Vest offered TCA two options. "They said to either
   sell them without the covers or not sell [the Picture Books] at all,"
   she said.


   "I thought - they can't do this. This is censorship, this is wrong,"
   Weldon said. But Weldon suggested a way around the administration's
   stance. "I suggested printing new covers and that the administration
   pay for it," she said.


   Vest took up her suggestion. "I took responsibility for the decision
   to replace the cover before its distribution and offered to pay the
   costs of printing and binding the new cover," he said.


   Weldon said that delaying the selling of the picture books will mean
   that the TCA will take a loss.


   "When freshmen do not see it during registration in the first two days
   of [Residence and Orientation Week], the books don't sell well. The
   only next opportunity to sell them is Activities Midway," she said.


   The new covers of the picture book have a plain white background and a
   black oval centered on the page. Weldon said that she and Wechsler did
   not have enough time to design a more complex cover.
     _________________________________________________________________


   Copyright 1994, The Tech. All rights reserved.
   This story was published on August 26, 1994.
   Volume 114, Number 31.
   The story began on page 1 and jumped to page 8.


   This article may be freely distributed electronically, provided it is
   distributed in its entirety and includes this notice, but may not be
   reprinted without the express written permission of The Tech. Write to
   archive () the-tech mit edu for additional details.





--
Seth Finkelstein                                sethf () mit edu
Disclaimer : I am not the Lorax. I speak only for myself.
(and certainly not for Project Athena, MIT, or anyone else).