4a
Opinion
1.7
Friday, March 2, 2001
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Taxpayer funds shouldn't pay for bigoted art
When President Reagan tried to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts in 1981, it was on the grounds that it wasted taxpayers' money. Plus, nowhere in the Constitution is Congress empowered to spend money on the arts, so not only was it wasteful, it was also unlawful. But facing a constitutionally-literate Democratic Congress, Reagan couldn't marshal enough votes and the plan fizzled.
The abolitionists rose again, however, in 1989 — this time opposing the NEA on moral grounds. The outrage stemmed from the NEA's funding of anti-Christian bigotry like Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ," which depicted a crucifix submerged in urine. But again, attempts to abolish the NEA failed, because of baseless, hysterical cries from the Left that puritanical Republicans were trying to censor artistic expression.
The third act in this sordid, cyclical saga came in 1999 with the "Sensation" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Modern Art, which included Chris Offil's infamous, dung-splattered, porno-littered "Holy Virgin Mary" painting. Called "perverted and disgusting" by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and blasphemous by religious groups, the painting reignited a 20-
John McCool
columnist
option@kansan.com
year-old debate on the role of public money in the arts. Because the museum annually receives $7 million in public funds, should taxpayers have to support such bigotry?
Today's controversy surrounds Renee Cox's quaint contribution to the art world, a photo entitled "Yo Mamma's Last Supper," again displayed at the Brooklyn Museum. Here, a naked Black woman takes the place of Jesus Christ and is surrounded by eleven Black disciples. The 12th is White, and — you guessed it — it's Judas. Cox proudly admits prejudice against the Catholic Church, saying it cares only about money; she even blames Catholics for slavery.
This begs the question: Is there anything so offensive as to be unacceptable for display at the Brooklyn Museum? I wonder if the museum would display a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., splattered with elephant dung. What about featuring an artist who proudly denies the Holocaust?
It seems the only people who can be publicly defamed are Christians, and at taxpayer expense, no less. Not only New Yorkers are footing the bill, either: The NEA has given more than $500,000 to the Brooklyn Museum since 1996.
But haven't we always heard that minority groups are the sole and absolute judges of what is or isn't bigoted? The NAACP says the Confederate flag is racist; it must come down. The homosexual community says the Boy Scouts are homophobic; their funding must be vanked.
So why not remove the "Yo Mamma" exhibit when Catholics nationwide are deeply offended? Why ignore William Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights when he says that "to vulgarize Christ in this manner is unconscionable?" Why, when no civil rights leader's likeness would ever be displayed smeared with excrement, is the Virgin Mary's so defiled?
Those who oppose taxpayer funding of the arts are often called censors, trying to destroy freedom of expression. But why? No one's suggesting that artists be prevented from displaying their work, no matter how offensive — just not at taxpayers' expense.
There are plenty of private museums that would be delighted to showcase such controversial artwork. To hear some arguments, you'd think there was no such thing as art before there were taxpayers to fund it.
But since it's unlikely that government will stop funding the arts, there should be some minimum standards of decency. And I don't think withholding funds from anti-Christian bigots is too much to ask. If burning a cross is brutally racist, then, at the very least, taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for one drowned in urine.
McCool is an Evansville, Ind., graduate student in history.
THE ONE TEST every COLLEGE STUDENT will take.
Graham Moyer/KANSAN
Heard on the Hill
Do you take care of your medical needs in Lawrence or your hometown? Why?
"Lawrence in an emergency.
If the problem is serious, I'll go home."
Brandon Cross
El Dorado senior
"Half and half. I go to the dentist at home, but I get emergency care here."
Erin Brengle
St. Louis senior
"Home. I trust my family doctor. I'd go to Watkins only in an emergency." Micki Prinster St. Charles, Mo., sophomore
"I go home. My dad's a doctor." Jeff Kloch Lexington, Neb., junior
Perspective
Encounter with cops prompts drinking tips
probably read the Kansan fairly regularly, so you probably saw an article a couple of weeks ago about a KU student who was arrested near The Hawk for impeding traffic and attacking a police car. This student was heavily intoxicated and, when approached by the police, he mounted the car horn, began slapping the windshield and yelling obscenities about the KU- Iowa State basketball game.
If you are reading this lame column, you probably read the Konean fanonly story.
I know him. Before I say anything else, let me tell you that this man, whom I will refer to as Mr. Beers, is a pretty regular guy. Contrary to what his actions might indicate, he's not a raving meth addict or PCP junkie. The only odd thing about Mr. Beers is that he really likes KU basketball. After spending a night in jail for his team, Mr. Beers certainly deserves the title "SuperFan."
Besides watching KU basketball, Mr. Beers, like many college students, enjoys drinking. Nothing is wrong with this, but it seems everyday students such as Mr. Beers get in trouble when they've had too much to drink.
Matt Overstreet columnist opinion@kansan.com
If outdoors, especially in the city, do not walk around screaming. As Mr. Beers can testify, this is the quickest way to attract police, and besides, it's just plain rude. This tip especially applies in the area around my apartment.
This prompted me to create a list of drinking tips that will come in handy for my friend Mr. Beers and all other students who might grab a case of cold ones this weekend.
Don't allow yourself to be photographed.
The Internet is full of candid photos of drunks
vomiting, naked or engaging in "odd" behavior. I know because I have a large collection of them on my roommate's computer. Please save your mom the pain of checking her e-mail one day and finding a picture of her pride and joy passed out naked in the bathroom of a Denny's.
passes offaked in the barn soon or a bounty. "Don't buy pills of any sort from anyone. I've noticed a whole industry of scary looking guys who sell cough drops to drunken freshmen and try to pass them off as Ecstasy. A good rule to remember is that if a pill has Benedryl written on its side, it's probably not worth 30 bucks.
Don't be destructive either to yourself, other people or property. Many drunk people enjoy smashing things; this is rarely a good idea. I learned this lesson the hard way when I threw my Nintendo from the window of my dorm room. Although fun at the time, this was a mistake, as is most drunken destruction of property.
- Keep your clothes on. If you're a girl, chances are that the guys in the bar chancing "take it off" don't have your best interest in mind. If you're a guy, it's a good bet nobody wants to see your fat beer belly. I don't know how many pairs of khaki I have lost to the "I-mo-sexy, I don't-need-pants" syndrome while drunk.
- Be nice to the police. In every drunken crowd, one person always insists on yelling expletive-laced rap lyrics at every passing police car. Don't be that person. If the police catch you, they will treat you as you have treated them.
I hope everyone keeps at least some of these tips in mind as they head out this weekend. If you do, you'll probably be a lot happier when you wake up Sunday afternoon. If you don't, and tonight you find yourself naked from the waist down, punching the windshield of a police car and being videotaped by Inside Edition, don't say I didn't try to stop you.
Overstreet is an Augusta junior in political science.
Editorial Strict rules are necessary for financing religious clubs
Providing money to groups is fair if funds are not for religious activities.
Student Senate allocated $387 to the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics Feb. 15. Since then, there has been considerable debate surrounding a new bill that would allow Student Senate to also finance religious organizations in a "viewpoint-neutral fashion," meaning that Senate could not deny funds to a group based only on the group's religious viewpoint.
So long as this guideline is enforced and money is allocated to religious groups only for general expenses — such as advertising and office supplies — the new rules are a good idea.
The reasoning behind this stipulation is the constitutional doctrine of the separation of church and state, which maintains that religious and government institutions must remain separate. This new bill states that Senate cannot grant money for unique partisan activities or to a religious organization that fosters only one viewpoint. For example, Senate could not finance a minister's speech to a strictly Catholic group.
Instead, the new bill proposes dual funding, which would allow funds for a speaker who would discuss viewpoints that encompass several groups.
However, the bill's downfall could be vague language. There is no established definition for what constitutes a religious or a partisan group. Ben Walker, student body president, said this was why the bill was pulled from Senate's agenda Feb. 21.
This by no means suggests that the bill has died. Marlon Marshall, student body vice president, and Lisa Braun, finance committee chairwoman, are working on a new draft of the bill to clarify the guidelines.
One way those rules could be enforced would be to require strict bookkeeping to track how the allocated money is spent.
Student Senate should not discriminate against any student group based on their religious or political views. However, a state institution allocating funds to any sort of religious group must closely examine how that money is used.
Justin Henning for the editorial board
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Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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Whoever's genius idea it was to fill those potholes with dirt should probably go out and do it again because it worked really well.
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If I remember correctly, the article about the Big 12 BSU conference actually focused on how the fight didn't throw it off the focus. It actually focused on the positive aspects of it. Whoever wrote that comment needs to go back and read that story.
I was so glad to see you guys did a story on the closing of the Disney Call Center. I'm one of those people who's going to be out of a job now, and I want everyone to know how lousy Disney is.
Sheri Martin's ignorance is displayed most clearly in her "Christianity fails ..." article when she says that the Bible says that sex is dirty and women who have sex are dirty. I don't know if she's ever read the Bible.
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Do some people think saying that Quin Snyder wears panties is an appropriate insult because they are sexist or are they just homophobes?
The Kansan failed to publish any criticism of Matt Cox's abortion article, and yet spends time publishing Free for All calls about how we should wave pants at Quin Snyder. Apparently, the Free for All is selected only for sexist comments.
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Hey, I'd just like to say thanks to the senior staff writer Clay McCuistion for writing that article, "Uncompromising Queer." That was a great article, and everyone should read it.
I just wanted to thank the Kanan for writing very good articles about student parents and childcare. As a parent myself, it's nice to see other parents like me going to school.
Why does the UDK have an entire sextion with seven pages comprised of 13 stories just about sports, which is in the interest of only a small faction of the population, whereas the rest of the paper has 21 stories, which is supposed to cover other topics?
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I'd just like to say that Erica Hawthrone is an awesome RA. She's also an awesome writer.
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Affirmative action is unfair to employers, who should have the ability to choose the person most qualified for the job.
I just wanted to say thank you to all the KU maintenance workers that were scraping the stairs today, because without them, there would have been a lot of people on their butts.
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