Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Stupidity at another SCSU
Bolles, who is pursuing his master�s degree in creative writing, wrote a satirical poem for his poetry class titled �Professor White.� In it, the protagonist, Juan Diego, becomes sexually involved with the fictional professor�s college-age daughter (named Snow White). Professor White fears that the relationship will corrupt the �purity� of Juan�s Hispanic heritage, and after being accused of racism toward Mexicans, Juan is sent back to his farm in Mexico, his racial and cultural identity thus �saved.�As soon as the piece became public, of course, the administration of that SCSU caved in and returned Mr. Bolles to class. (They of course say it was handled in the usual way.) What was brilliant about this, however, was Mr. Bolles' means of getting publicity. From the first Washington Post article,Bolles, whose political views frequently clashed with those of his professor, wrote the fictional piece as a commentary on globalization, and admits he was poking fun at the �anti-globalist ideology� of his professor, Kelly Ritter. Ritter was so �disturbed� by the poem, which she felt was about her and her daughter (who is three years old), that she called the police after reading it. Bolles arrived at the next meeting of class only to be escorted out of the building by SCSU officials. He was told he could not return to the class until a psychiatrist had evaluated him, allegedly because of the threat of sexual assault that he (vis-�-vis his satirical poem) posed.
Bolles began publicly protesting the university's decision Monday, wearing a "Save Professor White" shirt and handing out fliers on campus.Zoberg reports there were buttons and pens handed out as well.