A photo spread published in the Nov. 23 edition of the UWM Post has sparked controversy throughout campus, angering students and faculty and resulting in the destruction of UWM Post property and local news media coverage.

The photo spread was an “art piece” by UWM Post Photo Editor Sara DeKeuster “expressing her sexual feelings,” DeKeuster said.

“She was just expressing her guilt-ridden sexual desire of getting raped, which she knows is frowned upon by social superego,” said UWM Post Arts and Entertainment Editor Diego Costa. “Sara’s point wasn’t to talk about rape as a social malaise.”

Controversial editorial comments written by Costa accompany the photos of a woman, DeKeuster, which illustrate her fantasy of being raped.

But the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee community hasn’t appreciated the what DeKeuster said is the artistic merit of the spread.

Students have been coming in and out of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) expressing “distress” about the photo spread and the editorial content printed alongside it, said Cathy Seasholes, director of the Women’s Resource Center.

“The largest problem with the photo spread is there is no context that it is presented as art,” Seasholes said. “When you’re going into an art gallery, you expect (to see controversial art). It wasn’t removed from the Arts and Entertainment section. It was conjoined with the rest of the paper. Readers had to work to figure it out.”

The UWM Post has received eight letters to the editor — one of which demands an apology — all expressing distaste toward the spread.

Costa said the reaction doesn’t surprise him.

“The reaction is typical of people whose understanding of art is so superficial that the only reaction they can have is this knee-jerk reaction of anger or being offended,” he said. “They’re so unexposed to art in general that they generally have nothing to compare it to. The very fact that some people had this kind of reaction validates the distinct value of the (art) piece.”

Recklessness creates ‘hostile environment’

The decision to publish the photos created a perceived “less-than-safe” campus and “hostile environment” said Sue McCarthy, assistant director of the WRC.

DeKeuster said the photographs are being read into too far.

“They’re self portraits, so they’re about me, about one person,” she said.

But many didn’t see it as only one woman’s story, Seasholes said. She pointed to more than half of UWM’s population being women, many of whom, she said, have been involved in a sexual assault or have a loved one who has. The photo spread, Seasholes said, misrepresents a serious issue women face.

“It wasn’t done out of disrespect to anyone,” DeKeuster said. “It was an art project and should be understood as such.”

The WRC said the UWM Post breached ethics in creating a hostile campus climate rather than reflecting and reporting upon it.

“Anyone who understands anything about sexual assault would say (the photo spread) reflects a lack of understanding about (it),” Seasholes said. “It has nothing to do with regrets or ‘oh, this is nice.’ ”

Seasholes said that whoever made the decision to print the pictures was “reckless” and “irresponsible.” She said that, while not intentional, the published photos were an “active act of harm.”

“It’s not an attack on freedom of speech; it was just a reckless and harmful decision,” she said.

UWM Post editors approved the photographs for publication at an editors meeting on Nov. 18.

UWM campus mobilizes

The campus has mobilized in response to the photo spread to decide how to better respond to sexual assault and rape, officials said. At least seven organizations met Thursday, Dec. 1, to share information regarding “Bedtime Stories,” the title of DeKeuster’s photo spread, and what kind of response needs to occur.

Task forces may be formed and discussions on how to better address the issue on campus are taking place.

“Obviously we struck a chord and we brought up the issue of rape,” Costa said.

The Student Association purchased a discounted full-page ad on page eight of this week’s edition. The ad provides statistics and information on sexual assault and rape. The money from the ad, matched by the UWM Post, will be donated to a Milwaukee-based center that supports and aids survivors of sexual abuse and their families.

Officer Martin Cavan of the UWM Police Department was a parole officer for convicts of sexual assault. He said that many convicts honestly believe the women they assaulted wanted to be raped. The WRC said that’s the largest misrepresentation of the photo spread.

The WRC, located in Union, Room WG93, has a comprehensive list of campus and community resources for victims of sexual assault or individuals with concerns relating to it. Information about sexual assault is on the WRC’s Web site at http://www3.uwm.edu/dept/wrc/interim/assault_info/assault.cfm.

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