GotZoom
Senior Member
I bet if an African-American college had a flier with a person hanging from a tree - no one would say a word.
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Members of a Colorado State University student group said Tuesday they never intended to offend anyone when they used an image of a person hanging from a tree to advertise a political forum.
The image - which prompted complaints from people who said it resembled a racially motivated lynching - was meant to be "in the spirit of Halloween," Collegiate Farm Bureau Secretary Jenny Freeborn said.
"At this time of year, you see skeletons all over in peoples' yards," the CSU senior said. "It just didn't dawn on any of us. We just didn't see the harm in it."
The figure appeared on the front of a flier promoting a forum on Referendums C and D. Above the image were the words: "Does CSU's Future Hang on Refs C and D?"
Freeborn said the Collegiate Farm Bureau wanted to educate students about the importance of the Nov. 1 ballot measure. It used its own funds to plan and promote the forum, which drew a crowd of about 50 to the CSU campus Thursday night.
Prior to the event, the group posted fliers around campus. Some may also have been e-mailed, Freeborn said.
Members of the Collegiate Farm Bureau, including an African- American and faculty adviser Dana Hoag, all saw the brochure before it was sent out, Freeborn said.
When another Collegiate Farm Bureau member received an angry phone call about the image soon after the forum, she said, the group was "completely caught off guard."
By Monday, CSU officials had received at least a dozen complaints, university spokesman Brad Bohlander said.
CSU President Larry Penley issued a campus-wide e-mail denouncing the image and stating action may be taken against the group's faculty adviser.
While faculty have the right to express themselves, Penley wrote, they also have "special obligations with the understanding that the public may judge the profession or the institution by his or her actions."
Late Tuesday, Bohlander said university officials were confident the students meant no malice and that they likely learned "a valuable lesson" from the incident.
He also said no decision had been made as to whether Hoag should be punished.
Hoag, a professor in the college of agricultural sciences, declined to comment Tuesday, saying his job may be "on the line."
"I just can't talk to you," he said. "I'm sorry."
Freeborn said she talked to Hoag and that he feels "horrible" about the flier and that students have taken heat for it.
She described him as a caring professor, adding she decided not to transfer from CSU after taking one of his agricultural policy classes.
"There's a lot of concern among students about him," Freeborn said. "He's a good teacher and a good man."
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4187015,00.html
-----
Members of a Colorado State University student group said Tuesday they never intended to offend anyone when they used an image of a person hanging from a tree to advertise a political forum.
The image - which prompted complaints from people who said it resembled a racially motivated lynching - was meant to be "in the spirit of Halloween," Collegiate Farm Bureau Secretary Jenny Freeborn said.
"At this time of year, you see skeletons all over in peoples' yards," the CSU senior said. "It just didn't dawn on any of us. We just didn't see the harm in it."
The figure appeared on the front of a flier promoting a forum on Referendums C and D. Above the image were the words: "Does CSU's Future Hang on Refs C and D?"
Freeborn said the Collegiate Farm Bureau wanted to educate students about the importance of the Nov. 1 ballot measure. It used its own funds to plan and promote the forum, which drew a crowd of about 50 to the CSU campus Thursday night.
Prior to the event, the group posted fliers around campus. Some may also have been e-mailed, Freeborn said.
Members of the Collegiate Farm Bureau, including an African- American and faculty adviser Dana Hoag, all saw the brochure before it was sent out, Freeborn said.
When another Collegiate Farm Bureau member received an angry phone call about the image soon after the forum, she said, the group was "completely caught off guard."
By Monday, CSU officials had received at least a dozen complaints, university spokesman Brad Bohlander said.
CSU President Larry Penley issued a campus-wide e-mail denouncing the image and stating action may be taken against the group's faculty adviser.
While faculty have the right to express themselves, Penley wrote, they also have "special obligations with the understanding that the public may judge the profession or the institution by his or her actions."
Late Tuesday, Bohlander said university officials were confident the students meant no malice and that they likely learned "a valuable lesson" from the incident.
He also said no decision had been made as to whether Hoag should be punished.
Hoag, a professor in the college of agricultural sciences, declined to comment Tuesday, saying his job may be "on the line."
"I just can't talk to you," he said. "I'm sorry."
Freeborn said she talked to Hoag and that he feels "horrible" about the flier and that students have taken heat for it.
She described him as a caring professor, adding she decided not to transfer from CSU after taking one of his agricultural policy classes.
"There's a lot of concern among students about him," Freeborn said. "He's a good teacher and a good man."
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4187015,00.html
