Mute/Off (student publication): Difference between revisions

'''Description of Artwork:''' ''Mute/Off'' is a free literary magazine written and produced by the students of Robert Ovetz’s cultural studies class as their final project for the class at the Art Institute of California.  The publication dealt with societal issues, green living, racism, and the cultural effects of video games.  The magazine includes a collage of corporate logos that are overlaid with the words "Organized Crime."  One of the logos was that of Goldman Sachs, which bought the school in 2006.  One of the most controversial pieces in the magazine is a short story entitled ''Homicide'' written by Simone Mitchell, a third-year student who is African American.  Mitchell's story chronicles the criminal exploits of three African American males who call each other "Niggaz" and are stereotyped as thugs.  At the end of the story, it is revealed that they are characters in a video game being played by three wealthy, white suburban boys.      <P>

'''Results of Incident:''' After objecting to the administration's confiscation of the provocative and controversial student magazine, Prof. Ovetz was fired from his teaching position.  Ovetz and the students claim that administration has violated the First Amendment, as well as a state law protecting student publication from censorship by confiscating nearly all 500 copies of the magazine.  In addition, Ovetz and the students say this is not the first time the Art Institute has censored students work restricting freedom of speech and expression.  One student's project was banned in December from a student exhibition on "taboos", and in 2005 a student's alien sculpture was removed from the campus gallery after complaints that it looked like a vagina. <P>