Received from Dean Enwezor on April 2, 2009 in response to Students' informing administration and Board of Trustees about violations of Free Speech rights at SFAI campus. See also-file of original pdf in 'files' page.
April 2, 2009
To: Student Action Group
From: Okwui Enwezor, Dean of Academic Affairs
The San Francisco Art Institute is fundamentally committed to freedom of expression.
SFAI provides many venues, official and unofficial, for students to voice their concerns.
This includes meeting spaces, bulletin boards, sites for postings, murals, and student
exhibition spaces; and a commitment by senior administration to address student concerns
directly in meetings with students. In the case of school mailboxes, however, these are
reserved for official SFAI business only. Furthermore, SFAI will not tolerate damage to
school property, threats to any member of the community, or disruption of the educational
experience. The following sections from the Student Handbook “Rules of Conduct” (p 92)
explicitly prohibit such conduct:
“C. Attempted or actual (…) graffiti on, defacement of, or other willful damage to or destruction
of, any property of SFAI (…)
D. Obstruction or disruption of teaching, exhibition, studio work, research, administrative work
(…) or other SFAI functions.
E. Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion or other conduct or
activities in person, writing, or electronic communication which injures, threatens, or endangers
the health or safety of any person on SFAI property or in connection with any official SFAI
function.”
What follows is the full quote from "Freedom of Expression", again from the Student
Handbook (p 86):
“SFAI’s mission is to encourage imagination, investigation, and personal growth; to inspire art that is
experimental, diverse, and expressive; and to expose students to the broadest possible range of
artistic and intellectual approaches. Academic, artistic, and expressive freedoms are critical to that
mission. Presentations of art are essential to our purpose. They educate the community, advance the
understanding of art, foster the exchange of ideas, and expand our public service. SFAI encourages
the widest variety of personal and artistic expressions possible, knowing they may occasionally be
controversial or offensive. Sometimes the expression of art may come into conflict with the
responsibility of SFAI to provide a safe educational environment for all members of the SFAI
community. Every effort will be made to ensure that responsible and respectful dialogue on issues
within the art world and the education arena remain open. Since the Board of Trustees, faculty, and
staff have the duty to preserve the stability, integrity, and mission of SFAI; to uphold the law; to
protect persons from injury or harm; and to protect personal and institutional property, limitations
on freedom of expression this basis may be enacted.”
SFAI values free expression and, to that end, SFAI provides many avenues for free and
thoughtful discussion and dialogue. We encourage all members in our community to utilize
such appropriate channels.
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