From: kadie@herodotus.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: U. of Illinois may remove non"pleasant" art from vistor's center
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 21:37:13 GMT

[This is a policy statement from the American Association of
University Professors. The statement was endorsed by AAUP's Committee
A on Academic Freedom and Tenure and by its Council at their meetings
in June 1990. As with all AAUP policy statements, it is in the public
domain. For a comprehensive collection of AAUP statements see _Policy
Documents & Reports_ by the American Association of University
Professors]

Academic Freedom and Artistic Expression

Attempts to curtail artistic presentations at academic institutions on
grounds that the works are offensive to some members of the campus
community and general public occur with disturbing frequency. Those
who support restrictions argue that works presented to the public
rather than in the classroom or other entirely intramural settings
should conform to their view of the prevailing community standard
rather than to standards of academic freedom.  We believe that
"essential as freedom is for the relation and judgment of facts, it is
even more indispensable to the imagination."[1] In our judgment
academic freedom in the creation and presentation of works in the
visual and performing arts, by ensuring greater opportunity for
imaginative exploration and expression, best serves the public and the
academy.

The following proposed policies are designed to assist institutions to
respond to the issues that may arise from the presentation of artistic
works to the public in a manner which preserves academic freedom:

l) Academic Freedom in Artistic Expression. Faculty and students
engaged in the creation and presentation of works of the visual and
the performing arts are engaged in pursuing the mission of the
university as much as are those who write, teach, and study in other
academic disciplines. Works of the visual and performing arts are
important both in their own right and because they can enhance our
experience and understanding of social institutions and the human
condition. Artistic expression in the classroom, studio, and workshop
therefore merits the same assurance of academic freedom that is
accorded to other scholarly and teaching activities.  Since faculty
and student artistic presentations to the public are integral to their
teaching, learning, and scholarship, these presentations no less merit
protection. Educational and artistic criteria should be used by all
who participate in the selection and presentation of artistic works.
Reasonable content-neutral regulation of the "time, place, and manner"
of presentations should be developed and maintained. Academic
institutions are obliged to ensure that regulations and procedures do
not impair freedom of expression or discourage creativity by
subjecting work to tests of propriety or ideology.

2) Accountability. Academic institutions provide artistic performances
and exhibits to encourage artistic creativity, expression, learning,
and appreciation.  The institutions do not thereby endorse the
specific artistic presentations nor do the presentations necessarily
represent the institution. This principle of institutional neutrality
does not relieve institutions of general responsibility for
maintaining professional and educational standards, but it does mean
that institutions are not responsible for the views or attitudes
expressed in specific artistic works any more than they would be for
the content of other instruction, publication, or invited speeches.
Correspondingly, those who present artistic work should not represent
themselves or their work as speaking for the institution and should
otherwise fulfill their educational and professional responsibilities.

3) The Audience. When academic institutions offer exhibitions or
performances to the public, they should ensure that the rights of the
presenters and the audience are not impaired by a "heckler's veto"
from those who may be offended by the presentation. Academic
institutions should ensure that those who choose to view or attend may
do so without interference. Mere presentation in a public place does
not create a "captive audience."  Institutions may reasonably
designate specific places as generally available or unavailable for
exhibitions or performances.

4) Public Funding. Public funding for artistic presentations and for
academic institutions does not diminish (and indeed may heighten) the
responsibility of the university community to ensure academic freedom
and of the public to respect the integrity of academic institutions.
Government imposition on artistic expression of a test of propriety,
ideology, or religion is an act of censorship which impermissibly
denies the academic freedom to explore, teach, and learn.

[1] Helen C. White, "Our Most Urgent Professional Task," AAUP Bulletin
45 (March 1959), 282.


--
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Xref: sparky alt.censorship:7009 alt.society.civil-liberty:5590 misc.legal:16159 rec.arts.fine:610