| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Dean Enwezor's Response to Freedom of Speech Violations

Page history last edited by Jeremy 14 years, 12 months ago

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. 

  

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.