Winthrop University Student Cleared Of Charges After Black Objects Found Hanging From Tree On Campus
ROCK HILL, S.C. — A Winthrop University student was found not responsible for violating two university student conduct codes after her involvement with a controversial art display on campus, according to a news release sent by The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).
Samantha Valdez reportedly helped prepare the art installation which featured more than a dozen black nylon stockings stuffed with dirt and leaves that were seen hanging from nooses in front of Tillman Hall on Winthrop University’s campus.
Police say a marker in front of Tillman Hall was also vandalized with a sign that said “Tillman’s Legacy”.
On November 21, Valdez received a letter from the university threatening her with suspension or expulsion for violating two student conduct codes that prohibit “[b]ehavior that disturbs the public order and peace” and “disorderly conduct.”
Winthrop’s president, Daniel F. Mahony, released the following statement in November immediately after the incident was reported to police, “While we do not know the intent of this display, these images are clearly hurtful and threatening and are contrary to the values of Winthrop University. Actions such as these are not, and will not be, acceptable on this campus. This incident will be fully investigated, and those responsible will be held accountable to the campus judicial system and South Carolina state law.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) wrote to President Mahony on December 8, demanding that the university drop its spurious charges and threats of expulsion or suspension against Valdez.
On December 14, Valdez was found not responsible for violating the two student conduct codes, according The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).
In addition, Samantha and campus administrators have agreed to host a panel to discuss her display, campus civility, and the First Amendment sometime before February 17, 2017.
A group called the Association of Artists for Change released a statement in reference to the display. The group seems to claim responsibility in the statement and reportedly created the display as a protest because the university has not changed the name of Tillman Hall.
Tillman Hall is named after Benjamin Tillman. According to the statement, 18 men were lynched during Tillman’s years in office. Read the full statement here:
“Art challenges one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for truth. Arousing our emotions, expanding our sympathies in directions we may not anticipate and may not want. Tillman’s Legacy, is a work which aims to disrupt the aesthetic veil the building has, eliminating the ability to forget the eighteen men who were lynched during Benjamin Tillman’s years in office.
The beauty of the building tranquilizes the atrocity of the man. Tillman Hall should incite the same rage, sadness and fear the artwork did. One should question, why this artwork is offensive and not the building itself? The building, named Tillman Hall in 1962, in response to the Civil Rights Movement, to incite fear toward prospective students of color. Following traditions of guerilla style tactics in creating Protest Art, the artwork appears without warning to insure pure genuine emotion from the viewer. The strong imagery forces a disruption and makes the truth unavoidable. The work is intended to incorporate the willing and the unwilling into a dialogue about the building and its history.
This work came after the election. The climate made the fear of deportation, detainment and a repeat of history apparent. It coincides with frustration over Winthrop University’s lack of momentum in changing the name and the disrespect toward the artwork depicting of a ship, which Winthrop promised to move to a more suitable location, but instead has hidden.
This work remembers the past, hoping to never repeat it. Though shocking, Tillman’s Legacy has opened an aesthetic dialogue.”
– Association of Artists for Change
No arrests were made. The display was immediately removed by police.
