Ruffling my green & gold feathers

My inbox has of late been flooded with different emails generated from Williamsburg regarding the resignation of current President of the College of William and Mary. They trouble me. And the more I read from Williamsburg and even outside, the more troubled I become.

I won't even try to give a chronology of events, because it's difficult to find any account that isn't colored by one side or the other. So instead, here is what troubles me specifically, but in no particular order.

1. UCAB - the student programming group tried to bring a touring show - The Sex Workers Art Show - to the College. As many as 20 student groups joined in to host. The idea was to use art to dialogue about the practice of prostitution. Since I haven't seen the show, I can't say what it looks like. But the BOV and some administrators sought to either prevent or severely censor it because it involved sexuality. So students were prevented from spending their own money on something they wanted. A violation of First Amendment rights.
   
2. Censorship in general, but especially of art, scares the bejezus out of me. Art is a personal expression of reality. It can be a commentary. Theatre (including performance art) takes a point of view. The idea is to make people think, as well as be aesthetically affected. As an artist, I take responsibility for my own agenda, but also for my opportunity to have one. To me, this is right up there with book burning.
3. As an academic, I appreciate that academia is an environment for learning, experimentation. A safe place for discourse. But this action effectively politicizes and poisons the environment, because it limits discourse.
4. The BOV and the Virginia House of Delegates have used this to target William and Mary, and its funding. Even though this very same show has been hosted at other public universities in the Commonwealth. Why is William and Mary being targeted?
5. The President of the College was told that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the year, so he resigned. Given the timing, and the fact that he advocated other controversial events (Wren Cross), I can't help but see this as ideological. He was offered hush money by the Commonwealth to not speak candidly about this. Yikes!

• a subset to this: many students and faculty have staged protests. But faculty were told explicitly that if they participated in any kind of strike that they would be terminated!
• my spin on the Wren Cross - the beauty of the Wren Chapel isn't specifically it's religiosity as much as its wood paneled history and quiet. To which anyone should feel welcome. It's not like he destroyed the cross, he just said that groups could request for it to be displayed or not based on their event.
  

I need to start writing letters. But I thought I would practice here first.

Call me a blazing liberal artist, but, to quote Grey's Anatomy, "SERIOUSLY?!"

Hark (loudly) upon the gale (of political interference)!

on Pandora: "Falter" - Heather Derby