Iowa campus struggles in aftermath of censorship of Ku Klux Klan effigy

The University of Iowa is debating the right to display controversial public art in a public forum on campus known as the Pentacrest. A seven-foot effigy of a robed Ku Klux Klan member covered with headlines and newspaper articles from 1908 to 2010 of riots, murders and racial conflict was erected and stood for almost four hours on December 5. The university removed the figure and also erased chalked statements reacting to the display. A journalism professor said the Pentacrest was a public forum and the university practiced illegal viewpoint discrimination in removing the figure and the chalked words. (The Daily Iowan, December 9, 2014, by Kaitin DeWulf)

A visiting assistant professor  from Turkey admitted he erected the figure, apologized to the black community, saying that he intended to provoke debate on the importance of free speech. He admitted his effort went for naught owing to his  failure to discuss his intent with the black community in advance of the installation. (The Gazette, December 10, 2014, by Vanessa Miller)

The journalism school director said he would ban racist speech following European law and practices. European nations do not have a tradition of a First Amendment criminalize hate speech. In Poland it is a crime to offend religious feeling and in ten European countries it is unlawful to deny the Holocaust. (The College Fix, December 13, 2014, by Dave Huber)

Some in the university community felt the professor attained his goal of stimulating discussion of sensitive issues but others were frustrated by the administration’s  censorship and failure to establish a climate for debate and understanding. “This is a perfect case study of an [botched] opportunity for an educational institution to engage the community in a civil discussion about the importance of freedom of expression,” said Drake school of journalism director Kathleen Richardson. (The Gazette, December 14, 2014, by Vanessa Miller)