Ashley Powell, a (black) fine arts graduate student, had hung “White Only” and “Black Only” signs above some bathroom doors at the College of Arts and Sciences building at U. Buffalo … as part of a visual arts project.
Uh oh.
Because, as Reason’s Robby Soave reports, “even with the knowledge that they had been deployed as deliberate social commentary,” students were outraged at the signs — one even going so far as to tweet that the signs were a “hate crime” and “an act of terrorism.”
From the article:
Others called the police.
According to Campus Reform … [o]ver 100 students appeared at the Black Student Union’s weekly meeting later in the day, where Powell admitted to posting the signs. The UB Spectrum reports that some of the participants left the meeting crying.
Micah Oliver, president of the Black Student Union, said the signs evoked, “a past our generation has never seen which I think is why it was so shocking for us to see.” One student called the signs “sickening” and that the project “entices a fear no one should ever experience.”
Powell apologized for hurting people but defended the project as a work of art.
Powell did not clear the project with the university before posting the signs. Posting on campus is limited to designated bulletin boards, and university policy states that “exceptional situations and/or unique material” require special permission from the Office of Student Affairs.
That’s fair enough, certainly. But a hate crime … and terrorism? For an art project?
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