ETSU president resists Congressional pressure, maintains controversial art exhibit depicting Mike Johnson as a Nazi with new 'waiver' requirement for viewing: EXCLUSIVE
East Tennessee State University President refuses to remove art exhibit including swastikas, KKK members, Donald Trump claiming it is protected by state law.
New protocols will be implemented for the remained of the exhibit including a mandatory consent waiver and warning signs for “mature subjects.”
East Tennessee State University President Brian Noland has announced that the Fletcher Exhibit will remain on campus, despite its inclusion of works containing conservative figures alongside swastikas, Hitler, and Ku Klux Klan hoods.
“After consultation with legal counsel, I cannot, in good faith, censor this exhibit because doing so would run counter to the duties of the Office of the President to uphold the laws of the State of Tennessee,” Noland said in a statement obtained by Campus Reform.
Noland suggests he gave “careful consideration” into closing the exhibit due to immense public backlash and the display’s potential to be “construed as hate speech” before deciding to permit it to remain on display.
While the Fletcher Exhibit will stay open until December 6 as originally scheduled, Noland’s statement outlines newly implemented protocols for attendees of this exhibit and similar future exhibitions.
“The exhibit will be partitioned off with warning signs posted that note its handling of disturbing, divisive, sensitive, and mature subjects. Individuals will be allowed to observe the exhibit only after reviewing and signing a waiver,” Noland said.
Noland expressed concern about the exhibit’s impact on the ETSU student body, noting that many students have felt “threatened, persecuted, and offended” by its content.
“The divisive and hateful messages and images present in this exhibit run counter to [the university’s] values, and I personally find some of the ideas expressed to be deeply offensive and simply despicable,” he said.
Noland maintains that the display is protected under The Tennessee Campus Free Speech Protection Act which would allow for the presence of “offensive” and “immoral” works to remain on campus.
Two ETSU students told Campus Reform that when they visited the Reese Museum during normal operating hours on Nov 25 and 26, the exhibit was closed.
The school told Campus Reform that the exhibit was closed temporairly due to an inadequate number of staff during the Thanksgiving holiday “to ensure the exhibit could open safely in light of the controversy some of the works on display have caused.”
Members of Congress, including Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) who represents Tennessee’s second district, and Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), who represents the district encompassing ETSU, have called for the removal of the exhibit, which they have described as a “hateful display” of “extremely dangerous left-wing propaganda.”
Representative Burchett sent a letter to ETSU calling for the removal of the “extremely dangerous left-wing propaganda.”
“I, along with many students at ETSU, find the exhibit disturbing and hateful. As such, I request the exhibit be taken down immediately,” Burchett wrote in a letter to ETSU Dean, Joseph Bidwell.
Representative Harshbarger posted to X that she is “deeply appalled by this hateful display and equally disappointed it has been permitted on the campus of a taxpayer-funded institution.”
I am deeply appalled by this hateful display and equally disappointed it has been permitted on the campus of a taxpayer-funded institution.
It’s an abhorrent mockery of my Christian faith and associates many of my close colleagues with such hateful symbolism.
I feel sorry for… pic.twitter.com/SMshw50vSR— Rep. Diana Harshbarger (@RepHarshbarger) November 23, 2024
The university has pledged to continue reviewing its process for permitting guest speakers and exhibits on campus following the display’s conclusion in December.
“A task force organized by the Provost will provide a report to the university’s Board of Trustees regarding this matter by the close of the year,” Noland said.
Campus Reform has contacted all relevant parties. This article will be updated accordingly.
