It began innocently enough. As in the past eight years, Washburn University’s campus beautification committee selected artworks to be displayed in the Washburn Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition throughout the academic year.
“The committee is made up of community volunteers – artists, patrons, landscape designers and horticulturists,” notes David Monical, executive director of government and university relations at Washburn. “Some are alums, most are not. Their shared interest is the attractiveness and beauty of the campus.”
Artists and art teachers nominated 90 works from 46 artists in 16 states as possible 2003 exhibition choices for the local committee to consider. Five pieces were selected that went on display September 20, 2003. One of them named “Holier Than Thou” was an unflattering bronze statue of a thick-jowled cleric wearing a phallic-looking bishop’s mitre created by Colorado sculptor Jerry Boyle.
Controversy follows
Within weeks of the statue’s installation near Washburn’s student union building, the trouble began. Numerous expressions of outrage from Catholic organizations about “Holier Than Thou” began arriving at Washburn. The president of the national Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the Catholic archbishop of the Archdioceses of Kansas City, the Catholic Campus Center at Washburn and others all urged university officials to remove what they called the “anti-Catholic” sculpture.
“We didn’t set out to offend anyone, nor did we anticipate that it would be offensive to anyone,” says Jerry Farley, Washburn’s president. “The impact at first was a bit of a surprise that offense was taken.”
Nevertheless, there it was. The controversy was thoroughly reported by The Kansas City Star, the Topeka Capital-Journal, and other local and regional newspapers from October 2003 through March 2004. Among the articles was a photo-laden article featuring 100 placard-carrying Catholic priests and parishioners who staged a protest, demonstrating near the university just before Christmas.
The boiling point
Then things got worse. A civil rights lawsuit was filed January 6 in the U.S. District Court in Topeka by the Thomas More Law Center, a not-for-profit public interest law firm that litigates religious freedom cases. The suit was filed on behalf of Dr. Thomas O’Connor, a Catholic professor at Washburn for three decades, and Andrew Strobl, a Catholic student who is president of the Catholic Campus Center.
The suit alleged the university’s display of the statue was a “message of hostility toward Catholics and the Catholic religion,” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and sought the statue’s removal. The following month the Wichita School Board banned Washburn’s admissions staff from recruiting in its public schools, following the lead of that city's Catholic high schools.
Letters and telephone calls from some state representatives urged Washburn to remove the statue. Local newspapers quoted alumni/ae who threatened to cut off donations unless the sculpture was removed from the campus.
“At the apex of the controversy, I’d spend an hour or two a day talking with legislators, people on- and off-campus, staff, the board of regents,” Farley says, revealing the personal strain the controversy engendered. “It was time-consuming, and as a result some other things did not get the attention they deserved. But the time was not by any means wasted. The underlying concepts were well worth debating and discussing.”
Good news for Washburn
The heat of the issue began to wane on February 26 when U.S. District Judge Thomas Van Bebber ruled in favor of the university. "The court cannot conclude that a reasonable observer would perceive the university's display of 'Holier Than Thou' as an attack on Catholics," the judge opined. He added that as a work of art, the statue is subject to a number of different interpretations.
The Wichita School Board ban, imposed on Feb. 23, was rescinded on March 8th. On March 18 the Kansas Board of Regents strongly supported academic freedom and Washburn’s decision not to remove the statue.
Fallout minimal
Now, several months after the federal court decision, Farley sees no noticeable effect on enrollments or donations at Washburn. He also notes that more than $200,000 in scholarships were awarded last year to parochial school students, and he is unaware of any that turned them down.
“We’re unaware that any students withdrew themselves or their applications from the university,” Farley says. “Our enrollment is up again for this fall.” About 100 freshmen from parochial schools enroll at Washburn each year. Overall they number 500 among Washburn’s total of 7,000 students.
“One never knows the short-term effects this might have had on Washburn’s reputation,” Farley notes. “I hope that people who understand the concept of the university respect Washburn for upholding the integrity of the institution.”
Despite the vocal minority who opposed the school’s decisions, Farley expects the long-term outcome will be positive. He reports that his relationship with Dr. O’Connor is cordial, though still a bit strained. Professor O’Connor remains at the school. Strobl, meanwhile, has graduated, and Farley presented him his diploma with a handshake and a hug.
“We’ve all learned that the intensity of peoples’ emotions can have a major impact on campus,” Farley reflects. “But the principles of a campus cannot be compromised. While I looked for a compromise to end the controversy, I was not about to compromise academic integrity and freedom.”
On the plus side
The best news of all, in Farley’s view, was that all the school’s constituencies got a lesson in academic freedom and the true purpose of a university.
“As the issue evolved, the campus began to coalesce behind the concept that it should be a place for the open exchange of ideas,” says Farley. “It wound up being a teaching opportunity. We wanted people to explain their positions. Faculty members took full advantage of it.”
Meanwhile, the lawsuit has not fully been laid to rest. The federal court verdict has been appealed by the plaintiffs to the 10th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. To date, nothing but the notice of appeal has been filed.
“The appeal will be going on long after the sculpture has been rotated off the campus.” notes Monical.