Photos Censored Without Reason

Academic freedom at Harvard allows each professor to direct his or her own research. It allows each department to determine the content of its class. And it should allow each professor to determine what material is appropriate for the class's sourcebook. Copyright officer William G. Witt's decision to omit several photos of naked men from a Core sourcebook is a reprehensible violation of this principle.

Professors of Fine Arts Norman Bryson and Irene J. Winter selected Kobena Mercer's article, "Skin Head Sex Thing," as part of the Literature and Arts B-10 sourcebook readings on photography as an art form. Among its 12 illustrations, Mercer's article includes photos by Robert Mapplethorpe and other artists depicting naked black men in homoerotic poses.

Bryson and Winter asked Witt to reproduce the article in the sourcebook, yet he told them that it would be difficult to obtain copyrights to the photos in time for the start of the semester. The article appeared in the sourcebook, yet none of the photos were reproduced.

That, unfortunately, was not the entire story. Witt's decision to exclude the photos was influenced by a desire to avoid the controversy that might have arisen over the printing of sexually explicit material. "The one thing I do not want to have is the Peninsula and parents calling me and raving at me and saying, 'Why is the sourcebook office publishing pornography?'" Witt said.

Witt has the right to be uncomfortable in looking at the photos. Mapplethorpe's photos may have been intended to stretch the boundaries of decency. Witt said black students might be offended by the material, and that parents might not want their children to purchase the sourcebooks. His concern for the sensibilities of black students may have been well-intentioned but was also misguided.

Witt's decision was as gutless as it was wrong because it was not his decision to make. Witt's responsibility is not to avoid controversy or to make editorial decisions on the content of the sourcebook. His position as copyright officer is to secure the requisite permission for reproductions and to produce the sourcebook for the professors. The professors, and not a Harvard bureaucrat, must decide what is fitting for classroom discussion.

Had Bryson or Winter decided to omit the photos on the grounds of obscenity, they would have been within their rights. But instead they decided that the photos cited in the Mercer article were relevant to their students' education.

Bryson has said he expects to include the article in the sourcebook next year--this time providing Witt adequate time to obtain copyright permission. We expect that Harvard will listen to its professors and not repeat this foolish censorship.