Posted on 03/10/2008 7:13:56 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
RPI suspends 'Virtual Jihadi' Exhibit portraying artist as bomber targeting Bush sparks uproar
By MARC PARRY, Staff writer Click byline for more stories by writer. First published: Friday, March 7, 2008
TROY -- RPI has suspended a visiting artist's exhibition because of concerns it suggests violence against President Bush and may be based on the work of terrorists, a top administrator said Thursday. The move capped a chain of events -- including claims the FBI was eyeing the artist -- that began last month when the College Republicans blasted the arts department as "a terrorist safe haven."
The work that provoked that attack is Wafaa Bilal's "Virtual Jihadi." It's the latest piece by a Chicago-based video artist who is testing the limits of academic freedom in a time of war at a Troy school that receives millions in Pentagon research funding.
"It feels like a military camp, not an educational institution," Bilal, 41, said Thursday night.
The origin of his work is a video game called "Quest for Saddam." The game, where players target the ex-Iraqi leader, prompted what RPI's Web site describes as an al-Qaida spin-off called "The Night of Bush Capturing."
Bilal hacked into that game and created a work that puts "his own more nuanced spin on this epic conflict," according to the arts department. In Bilal's version, unveiled at RPI Wednesday, the Iraqi-born artist casts himself as a suicide bomber who gets sent on a mission to assassinate President Bush.
You can kill the President in his game, Bilal said.
Bilal said his brother was killed in the conflict. His exhibit's stated intention is to highlight vulnerability to recruitment by groups like al-Qaida "because of the U.S.'s failed strategy in securing Iraq." It also criticizes "racist generalizations and stereotypes as exhibited in games such as 'Quest for Saddam."'
The College Republicans excoriated RPI for sponsoring the exhibit and encouraged alumni to speak against it. At least one graduate, Christopher Lozaga, voiced his disturbance in an e-mail to RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson.
"So long as RPI sponsors these kinds of events, giving absolutely no consideration to military alumnus, friends and family of the university, I will not contribute a dime to the school," Lozaga wrote.
The controversy intensified Wednesday, when Bilal was scheduled to give a lecture and unveil his exhibit.
That afternoon, RPI students in a class taught by media arts professor Branda Miller were interviewing Bilal when he was pulled out of the room by RPI officials.
"It was very unsettling for me and my students," Miller said. "It would be unfortunate if Wafaa Bilal's art exhibition remains closed. The whole point of art is to encourage dialogue."
The artist claimed that RPI officials, at Jackson's behest, questioned him about the game. He said they also told him that federal agencies, including the FBI, planned to attend his event.
RPI spokesman Jason Gorss would not comment on that claim, and Bilal said he was not questioned by law enforcement officials. Paul Holstein, chief counsel for the FBI's Albany division, could not say whether any agents attended Bilal's lecture.
"I can state that there are situations where it would be appropriate for FBI agents to attend events which are open to the public if the FBI believes that there might be information relevant to national security," he said.
He added, "FBI agents can attend these events even if an investigation is not opened. But they would only report on information which is relevant to a threat to national security."
Bilal's lecture was widely considered "stimulating and thought-provoking," RPI Vice President for Strategic Communications William Walker said in a statement e-mailed to the Times Union Thursday evening. But questions surfaced about the exhibit's "legality" and "consistency with the norms and policies of the institute."
"The university is considering various factors relating to the exhibition, and has suspended it pending a more complete review of its origin, content, and intent," he said. "Rensselaer fully supports academic and artistic freedom. The question under review regards the use of university resources to provide a platform for what may be a product of a terrorist organization or which suggests violence directed toward the President of the United States and his family."
Gorss, the RPI spokesman, said no one would be available to comment beyond the statement.
RPI student body president Julia Leusner argued that it was hypocritical of Bilal to depict the stereotype he was condemning.
"If Bilal was making a point about the vulnerability of Iraqi civilians to the travesties of the current war, I failed to see it, as did every other student I spoke to," Leusner said.
Marc Parry can be reached at 454-5057 or by e-mail at mparry@timesunion.com.
NATIONAL NEWS REPORTS
LISTEN TO WWW.WGY.COM NOW FOR THE DISCUSSION AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS ON THE AL RONEY PROGRAM
You can't get anything past these admin types. /s
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street | Troy, NY 12180-3590 | Academy Hall
Phone (518) 276-6266 | Fax (518) 276-4839
DEAN OF STUDENTS OFFICE
March 9, 2008 RPI College Republicans Attn: Jill Bryan, Co-Chair Ken Girardin, Co-Chair Rensselaer Union
Dear Ms. Bryan & Mr. Girardin:
The Dean of Students Office has received information that the RPI College Republicans has allegedly violated Rensselaer Electronic Citizenship Policy, specifically Section 3.4 Freedom from harassment (pg. 3), Section 4.1 Common courtesy and respect for others (pg. 3), and Section 4.1.3 Harassment (pg. 4). In addition to alleged violations of the Electronic Citizenship Policy (GDA #17), other Grounds for Disciplinary Action may also prove relevant, specifically, GDA #2, 6 and 9 as stated in The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities, 2006-2008 (pg. 8). As posted on the College Republicans blog, February 22, 2008, the College Republicans' statement that "The Arts Department – A Haven for Terrorists" is slanderous, blatantly untrue, and can be construed to endanger the health, safety and welfare of members of the Rensselaer community. Because these allegations are serious, egregious, and may pose an imminent threat to Rensselaer's educational mission, the College Republicans web site is hereby temporarily suspended on the Rensselaer Computer System, effective March 9, 2008, and remains suspended pending the outcome of a judicial inquiry. Refer to The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities 2006-2008, Pg. 6, Section E, and Pg. 13, Group Disciplinary Action, for additional information on this course of action. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss this matter in more detail. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, Mark Smith Dean of Students
Controversial RPI exhibit finds new home
First published: Saturday, March 8, 2008
TROY — The Sanctuary for Independent Media on Monday will display an exhibition dropped by RPI over concerns it might be based on the work of terrorists.
The university suspended Wafaa Bilal’s “Virtual Jihadi.” In it, Bilal portrays himself as a suicide bomber sent on a mission to assassinate President Bush. Bilal hacked into an al-Qaida online game called “The Night of Bush Capturing” for his exhibit. The game was created as a reaction to a similar online game, called “Quest for Saddam,” where players targeted the late Iraqi dictator.
Bilal told the Times Union Thursday that his exhibit’s intent was to highlight how the Iraq war has increased the vulnerability of people to be recruited as suicide bombers.
The Sanctuary for Independent Media will hold an opening reception featuring Wafaa Bilal from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at 3361 6th Ave. in Troy.
— Staff reports
So, if military recruiters were to give lectures on campus would that be stimulating and thought-provoking too?
“It was very unsettling for me and my students,” Miller said. “It would be unfortunate if Wafaa Bilal’s art exhibition remains closed. The whole point of art is to encourage dialogue.”
If I made a video game where treasonous university Presidents are summarily executed for inviting terrorists to speak on campus, would I be invited to RPI in order to encourage “dialogue”.
BTW, the President of the RPI student republicans is going to be disciplined (possibly expelled) for objecting to this exhibit.
Nope, that is not protected free speech because the PC crowd doesn'tt agree with that kind of speech.
Republicans are only 1/2 men and thus only get 1/2 the amount of free speech. But that's O.K. it's a college campus where only 1/2 the opinions are represented.
Listen here: http://wgy.com/main.html
This guy thinks he has the right to be herd, he doesn’t.
I graduated from RPI in 1968.
The last time I stopped by the 'Tute on my way from a business trip to Vermont, I wandered into the Student Union. Down near the pool tables and bowling alley, I saw lots of people going into an adjacent meeting room. It turned out to be some kind of Islamic Swine Koran reading or something. There were even some babes in hajib getups. I know other schools are also have their "MSAs" but it was particularly disgusting to me to see this going on at my alma mater. I'm sure some of this is the fault of the now president Shirley Ann Jackson. She seems to have turned the place into a bastion of political correctness. Among other evidence I cite the disgraceful invitation to the Commodities Scam Queen to speak at Graduation a couple of years ago.
ML/NJ
Jackson was a Clinton appointee to the NRC.
Free Speech only goes one way.
And the “revolutionaries” always sell revolutionary overthrow of the US government, never support for the US attempts to topple despots like Saddam or Castro.
Forget about a “right” to be heard, there ARE limits on free speech.
You cannot commit perjury, slander, libel, treason, incite people to violence...
Falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater is but one example of speech that is not protected by our Constitution. Treason (aid and comfort to our enemies in a time of war) is explicitly defined in our Constitution.
What a schmuck (schmuckess, really) this Miller is. I wonder what sort of "dialogue" she thinks the Mona Lisa encourages. Do people break out into converstation when Anna Netrebko sings? Or when they look at the Empire State Building? I guess if it's not Piss Christ for Miller it must not be art.
ML/NJ
Agreed, this guy should investigated for treason and citing violence against the President.
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