Obama picture is back up on poster at UMSL
A picture of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on a character education poster at UMSL was put back up this afternoon.
Art Leverenz, an UMSL junior, just called me to tell me that Provost Glen Cope sent his class an email today apologizing for the picture’s removal, which was apparently done without a full understanding of how the picture was being used. (I have pasted Cope’s email to the class at the bottom of this post.)
As you might remember, the picture was removed last week after the university received a complaint about it. The poster was one of several made for a class project and that continues to hang in a classroom. Cope ordered Obama’s picture to be removed from the poster because of a university policy that prohibits the use of university resources or facilities to endorse for or against political candidates.
But the students in the class complained about the picture’s removal, arguing that it was not a political poster. Rather, they noted that Obama was being used as one of a couple of examples (Gandhi being another notable one) of good role models and leaders. The poster also includes a quote from Obama about the Civil Rights Movement. (To see a picture of the poster, click here to go to a previous blog post about this topic.)
Finally, here is Cope’s email:
Subject: Character Educaiton Poster Project
Dear Ms. Wiseman, Mr. Harris, and others:
Thank you for the additional information provided about the nature of the class poster project by Mr. Harris and Ms. Wiseman. Based on our investigation of the purpose and intent of the class assignment and the posters that were placed in 219 SCCB, we have concluded that the poster showing Senator Barak Obama and other famous individuals was not intended to be political in nature. Also, the posters were left hanging in the public, shared classroom after the end of the class session at the instructor’s request as part of the class assignment.
As you know, there was a complaint that the poster was political in nature and was placed in the public classroom during the pre-election time period, which caused us to remove the photograph of Senator Obama from the poster, as was explained previously. Since we have now concluded that the poster is not political in nature, the picture of Senator Obama may be replaced on the poster. It is my understanding that the picture was returned to students from the class. It may be replaced in the classroom and remain as part of the class project, as long as the class projects are posted.
We remain concerned about classroom materials remaining in shared, public classrooms, but this is not the concern of the students in this class, who were acting according to their instructor’s directions. We’ll address that in another way.
Please accept our apologies for any disruption caused while we were investigating this issue.
Yours truly,
Glen Hahn Cope, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs University of Missouri-St. Louis
426 Woods Hall
One University Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63121-4400
Kavita Kumar covers higher education for the Post-Dispatch. 
Why are college students making posters of “good role models and leaders” in the first place? Isn’t that a little elementary school-ish for a college assignment?
— Politically Incorrect & Proud
4:59 pm October 13th, 2008
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I think this has something to do with the fact that the average liberal arts college student reads at a 6th grade level, does math at a 3rd grade level (and still can’t balance a checkbook, because apparently decimals and “carrying the one” don’t come into play until the 5th grade), and Socialist Studies has replaced Columbus through Patrick Henry and the real GW - George Washington, with such contemporaries as Stalin, Lenin, Marx, and the Great New Culture.
How sad to think that our schools have become this. THIS.
As a teacher, I am disappointed that the administration caved on this one. I guess the threat of the ACLU always has its weight unfortunately. There are any number of famous persons who could be quoted on the issue of civil rights. We really have to stretch the imagination to believe that this is nothing more than a political statement. There also is no clear reason given for the change of mind. Too bad! Education loses again.
mooselady
OPINIONS …
I hate to to go back and forth with you on this one but:
My question refered to those in LAW SCHOOL and after a thorough search of Wash U’s website, I am hard pressed to find one. The closest thing I come to is “Introduction to Intellectual Property Law.”
So you fail to realize that while you are arguing (most admirably) my point, you are, in fact, proving it.
As you said, med students take “Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology, not as I wrote a class called “INTRO TO MEDICINE.”
So again, I am trying to stress you and all of the bloggers that the issue should not be with what the story was about; i.e the political aspect. MY POINT –(NOT THE PAPER’s) is that the issue we should be addressing is how the College of Education routinely offers up ridiculous projects that have nothing to do with teaching and then bundle it in a pretty little title like “Introduction to Teaching.”
So let me paint it this way—if the poster had been Michael Jordan, no one would have complained and the story would not have been written, correct? I am saying the POST and you and everyone else should be questioning the VALIDITY OF THE ASSIGNMENT with regards to its merit for a teacher.
I am saying we as a society should put our passions in more appropriate places with regards to preparing teachers to actually know what and how to teach and not making posters for elementary, middle or high school. DO YOU GET IT or should I make you a poster?
With the election only a few weeks away, it appears that displaying one of the candidate’s pictures in a classroom is a political statement. If posters of both candidates were in the classroom then it may have appeared to be of some educational value.
As a graduate of the University of Missouri, I am displeased with the behavior of Robin Wiseman and UMSL.