The student group that published homoerotic images of Jesus in its March newspaper could be sanctioned by student government tonight after one official asks for support in condemning the newspaper and possibly trimming its budget for what he’s calling malicious, vulgar and pornographic content.
The Insurgent, a student fee-funded publication that prides itself on fighting class, gender, ethnic and racial oppression, published an image of Jesus nailed to the cross with an erection and another of him kissing a man, among other drawings and written commentaries satirizing Christianity.
Campus community members have filed complaints with student government, state newspapers have published editorials and columns criticizing the content and national Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly has said University President Dave Frohnmayer should be fired for not censoring the publication.
Student government dismissed the complaints and Frohnmayer decided not to act because the publication didn’t violate University or ASUO rules, they said.
Now two months into the debate, the Student Senate will hear one senator’sresolution proposal, which calls for sanctions against the group.
Student Senator Dallas Brown states in his resolution that the content published by The Insurgent goes beyond being offensive. He states that the publication may have resulted in a decline of alumni donations, athletic event ticket sales and enrollment.
He noted that the images, which he labeled pornographic, are distributed in public. They are also malicious and vulgar and are meant to offend, not educate, he states. No one can argue that the content of the publication contributes to the cultural and physical development of campus, a requirement for receiving student fees, he states.
Brown is requesting a formal apology, an educational criterion for The Insurgent’s future publications and the Senate’s support in condemning the group. If the apology and educational criterion are not followed, the resolution calls on the Senate to recommend cutting the group’s 2007-08 budget by at least half of the amount it will receive next year.
The Insurgent will receive $20,296 in student money next year.
PFC Chairman Jared Axelrod, also the Senate ombudsman and the ASUO president-elect, said in an interview that the resolution is unlikely to pass because it’s not viewpoint-neutral.
The Senate Rules Committee, which must handle resolutions before they are sent to the full Senate, isn’t likely to meet again until fall term, he said.
Ian Spencer, editor in chief of the Oregon Commentator, a libertarian journal of opinion on campus that is also funded with student fees, said Brown’s resolution is eerily reminiscent of the PFC hearings last year in which some committee members tried to defund the group because of its content.
According to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, student fees must be dispersed through a viewpoint-neutral process. Spencer said the resolution would violate that decision.
“This is – I don’t even know what to say – I’m really surprised by this,” Spencer said.
In an interview, Brown said he isn’t trying to limit free speech on campus, he is simply trying to ensure student money is spent for the physical and cultural development of campus, a standard set by the courts and followed on campus. When The Insurgent admitted it printed the cartoons simply to piss people off, the publication admitted it wasn’t meeting those requirements, he said.
The Insurgent’s admission also shows the cover image of Jesus on the cross with an erection wasn’t meant as art, making it clear to him that it could be considered pornography, which is not protected, he said.
“I’m pretty sure that most of the judges in the country would view that as being pornography,” he said.
Brown said he’s asking the publication only to apologize for printing what he called porn on the cover.
The Student Senate voted on Feb. 1 to create rules requiring senators to remain bipartisan and withhold their personal biases while deciding student groups’ budgets or other allocations of the incidental fee.
Brown was 1 of 16 sitting senators to vote against the rule changes. He said people already hold certain views that are impossible to ignore.
The Senate will meet in the EMU Fir Room beginning at 7 p.m., but The Insurgent resolution debate won’t likely take place until 8 p.m. or later.
Senators can be reached by phone at 541-346-3749 or via e-mail at [email protected].
News editor Jared Paben contributed to this report