OPINION
PAGE 4
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017
ART A watchdog for the Temple University community since 1921. Joe Brandt Editor-in-Chief Paige Gross Managing Editor Michaela Winberg Supervising Editor Julie Christie News Editor Jenny Roberts Opinion Editor Emily Scott Features Editor Owen McCue Sports Editor Gillian McGoldrick Asst. News Editor Evan Easterling Asst. Sports Editor Grace Shallow Deputy Features Editor Erin Moran Deputy Features Editor Linh Than Multimedia Editor Abbie Lee Multimedia Editor Tom Lee Web Manager Donna Fanelle Web Designer Brianna Spause Photography Editor Geneva Heffernan Asst. Photography Editor Finnian Saylor Design Editor Courtney Redmon Designer Sasha Lasakow Designer Xiaoye (Spark) Xu Advertising Manager Jeanie Davey Business & Marketing Manager
The Temple News is an editorially independent weekly publication serving the Temple University community. Unsigned editorial content represents the opinion of The Temple News. Adjacent commentary is reflective of their authors, not The Temple News.
Visit us online at temple-news.com. Send submissions to letters@temple-news.com. The Temple News is located at: Student Center, Room 243 1755 N. 13th St. Philadelphia, PA 19122
What I still don’t know The Editor-in-Chief reflects on the unanswered questions he still has from his time reporting at The Temple News. By JOE BRANDT In just a few days, after four years at The Temple News, I’ll graduate. I’ll miss a lot of people here — professors, advisers, classmates, colleagues. I have learned so much, and yet there is so much that I still do not know. It’s not for lack of trying, either, but mostly just because I was told “no.” For instance, how did the Board of Trustees, the pre-eminent decisionmakers here, decide they would schedule a vote to remove former President Neil Theobald from his position this July? Was it truly “unanimous” as Board decisions tend to be? Was it a unanimous decision to cut five sports from the athletic department my freshman year? What has the Board discussed in its executive committee meetings, the minutes for which have not been posted online in 8 years? Can we get some answers? Earlier this year, I learned that trustees who are public government employees might be vulnerable to Pennsylvania’s relatively toothless Right-to-Know law and could be asked to hand over Board records. So I filed a request under this law, asking Lt. Gov. Michael Stack, who has served as a trustee since 2005, for his emails and other correspondence related to the ousting of Theobald. Stack’s office told me no. I appealed. The state Office of Open Records told me no, but in many more pages; basically, Stack serves on the Board as an individual, and when he serves on the Board he magically forgets all the parts of him that are the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and therefore his office cannot be asked for records relating to Temple. I did not get a firm answer as to whether Stack ever corresponded about Temple through his Lieutenant Governor email account. I got a similar rejection when I asked for records from Ronald Donatucci, a trustee who serves as Philadelphia County’s Register of Wills. Anyway, like I said, I was mostly just told “no.” I am proud to be a Temple alumnus, educated here about interviewing, writing and the role of journalism in a democratic society. (I learned many other things too: a friend of Malcolm X taught my race and diversity Gen-Ed, a Freedom Rider taught me about the culture of the 1960s and a founder of Men’s Health magazine taught me about longform storytelling.) But despite the rich experience I have had here, I am nonetheless concerned that a university can wax poetic about democracy in classes and yet be led so
undemocratically. In all the Board meetings I’ve attended, I cannot recall a single time when a trustee voted against a decision on the agenda. Sometimes, a trustee would ask a question and there would be a quick discussion. That was it. Of course, open deliberation and transparency are key parts of a democracy. And they ought to be part of our bureaucratic island in North Philadelphia, too, so that people like me, about to enter the workforce with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, can rest assured that the money we’ll be paying back for the next decade or two is in good hands. So perhaps more discussion of these transparency concerns will help us get there. One of my last acts as Editor-in-Chief was to help nominate the state-related institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania for the Golden Padlock, an “award” from Investigative Reporters and Editors given out each year to the least transparent agency. In our application, we mention how the Right-to-Know law allows us to be denied access to the records of the trustees’ possible conflicts of interest disclosure forms, records that are required to be kept according to the school’s bylaws. “Journalists cannot successfully file RTK requests to obtain basic information that would allow them to complete their jobs as journalists and hold these universities accountable,” we wrote. While I will miss all the friends I’ve made here, I won’t miss the frustrating rejections. The Temple News has always tried to stay ahead of administrative spin and tell the whole truth. This week, we concluded our three-part series on the university’s relationship with the community and found that despite many administrators telling us otherwise, community residents either don’t use the resources available to them here or don’t know they exist. It’s part of a tradition that began my freshman year to spend the spring semester reporting out a big issue and explaining it cohesively in a piece that runs in the final issue. Though my tenure will end here without some key answers, I am happy to have pursued these questions and I’m hopeful that the next generations of watchdogs will continue to hold officials’ feet to the fire.
Controversy should fuel discussion A painting in Anderson Hall shouldn’t be censored because some are offended.
O
n the second floor of Anderson Hall there is a painting of Black and white girls arranged in a circular pattern. The Black girls have sad expressions on their faces, with large exaggerated physical features. On their backs, in addition to rinds of watermelon, are fully-clothed white, blue-eyed, blonde-haired girls imagined as angels. This wall painting, titled “D e m o n i z at i o n of Black Girls and CIERRA WILLIAMS Women,” was created in October 2016 by the AfricanAmerican artist Jennifer Cruté, who said her work heavily mirrors her own experiences. The painting is part of the Intellectual Heritage Program’s exhibit “A Cosmic Injustice,” which explores white supremacy and the plunder of Black bodies. “You have to put a jester hat on any oppressor,” Cruté told Bitch Media. “I feel that the skill of dark humor … helps me draw a funny image with a message that may disturb, but will most certainly inform and hopefully educate.” But now Professor and chair Molefi Asante from the Africology and African American studies department is adamant about the removal of the work. He said faculty members and students in his department were upset by it. “The piece may have had different intentions, but in the context of these times it was very insensitive to
cierra.williams@temple.edu
Working hard and getting nowhere
I
A student reflects on her lifelong experience with sexism.
’ve spent a lot of time trying to prove my worth throughout the years. I’ve pushed myself to hone my skills as an artist and a student, and I’m usually proud of the work I produce. Despite that, I have this constant, nagging fear that I won’t be able to succeed in life. What other way should I feel? I’m a woman, after all. I was the only girl growing up in my neighborhood. This meant that I spent the majority of my formative years around boys, thinking I was their equal — one of them. I can remember the precise moment I realized that wasn’t the case I had just learned to ride a bike. I rode it down to the intersection where all the neighborhood boys congregated. Immediately, they be-
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In fact, if this painting makes people feel uncomfortable, that is a good thing. Dealing with subjects like racial oppression should make people feel unsettled. And hopefully, people will speak out when they see others misrepresented or dehumanized. Some students, however, still maintain that the artwork is offensive, expressing their frustrations on social media. Unique Ratcliff, a junior journalism major, visited “Demonization of Black Girls and Women” for herself after she saw her friend post a picture of it on Snapchat. “I feel like they had no business posting it in the first place because the piece is very offensive and definitely needs an explanation from the department,” Ratcliff said. “What was the purpose even hanging it up?” Douglas Greenfield, associate director of the Intellectual Heritage Program, does not want to see the painting taken down. “I see this as an issue of artistic freedom,” Greenfield said. “I think it’s a problem to demand the suppression of an artistic statement.” Art is meant to push boundaries and make people step out of their comfort zones. So, it seems as though the piece is serving its purpose. In the upcoming weeks, there will be a meeting among leaders of the Intellectual Heritage Program and Africology and African American studies department alongside Provost JoAnne Epps to discuss the fate of the work. I maintain that the artwork must remain up to safeguard artistic expression and to continue to provoke discussion. After all, that’s exactly its purpose.
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An article that ran on April 25 on Page 2, with the headline “TSG begins process to change constitution, bylaws,” misstated who appoints the Elections Commissioner. The Parliamentarian and Auditor General make this appointment. The TSG constitution contained an error regarding who makes this appointment, but it has since been fixed. Accuracy is our business, so when a mistake is made, we’ll correct it as soon as possible. Anyone with inquiries about content in this newspaper can contact incoming Editor-in-Chief Michaela Winberg at editor@templenews.com or 215-204-6737.
African people and African-American students and particularly to women,” Asante said. “Some students asked us why were they paying tuition to Temple to be mistreated like that.” While I understand that some may be upset by the work, I find it powerful. It provides a visualization of the unsettling effects of white supremacy. And regardless of whether you like the work, it’s important to remember that freedom of expression is a necessary right that should not be restricted just because some viewers are offended. Taking down this artwork would set an unfavorable precedent that would allow for departments and the university administration to censor expression in other ways on Main Campus. “I’m opposed to the concept of censorship,” said Gerald Silk, a modern and contemporary art professor. “Artists should be allowed to express themselves.” “If you oppose one type of work then what’s to prevent you from opposing another type,” Silk added. “When a work moves into the public and produces difficulty, the best way to deal with it is to have a constructive discussion.” Instead of just calling for the work to be taken down, opponents of the piece should join with the Intellectual Heritage Program and host a forum for students to discuss their concerns. This discussion should be not only about the artwork, but also about how to address white supremacy and the stereotypes of Black women and girls. I also think it’s concerning that some want to censor art made by Cruté, who is a Black woman herself. Just because the artwork may make some people uncomfortable, this doesn’t mean Cruté’s thoughts and experiences should be dismissed with the removal of her art.
COURTNEY REDMON | THE TEMPLE NEWS
By COURTNEY REDMON gan pestering me, jesting and jeering that I couldn’t really ride a bike because I was a girl. I can remember how the word came out, sounding like a slur. I asserted I could and showed them, riding around in circles. They shook their heads and laughed. “If you can really ride that bike, prove it. Race us.” I can still feel the adrenaline, the heat radiating from inside my chest. My cheeks were hot, my brow furrowed in determination. “Fine, I will.” And so we raced around in a circle. I pushed myself, my legs burning and shaking and cramping up. I won by a sizable stretch of meters, but apparently that wasn’t enough. “You cheated,” they accused. “You didn’t actually win.” I was dumbfounded — how could I have cheated when I kept with their pace, neck-and-neck, in plain sight? How could a 9-year-old cheat at riding a bike? Looking back, the situation all makes sense. In their minds, girls just couldn’t do the things that boys could do. Now I’m 22 years old, and I still encounter people who think this way. I regularly experience this same old sexism, just in different ways — it’s subtler and a lot more destructive. Throug h out my entire
college career, I have yet to experience a class when a man hasn’t questioned my intelligence in some way. Recently, a male classmate in my Multimedia Storytelling class questioned my knowledge of Adobe Premier, a video-editing system with which I have experience. When he realized I knew what I was doing, he had to concede, “Oh, you know what, I think maybe she’s right.” But why did he feel the need to challenge my knowledge in the first place? Even the simple act of moving and existing in public spaces reminds me I’m not seen as an equal. Walking on the street, I have to step out of the way of men who are walking toward me. They surely won’t be the first to move, and there’s simply no way I could ever physically stand my ground. They’re usually twice my size. So I move. I move, and I deflect, and I push myself forward. All women do. What other choice do we have? These small, yet consistent incidents in the classroom and in public spaces undermine my value simply because of my gender. And they remind me of that bike race so many years ago. As women, we are constantly underestimated, undervalued and overworked. Many of us are conditioned to accept this as the status quo, and that’s what concerns me most. Being a woman is a lot like competing in a fixed race — no matter what you do, no matter what you accomplish, somehow you always lose. courtney.redmon@temple.edu
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