Lauren RabainoThe improvisational troupe Smile and Nod is no longer smiling after an allegedly racist image on a promotional flyer resulted in the suspension of the group’s remaining fall performances, with one exception, theatre department officials announced.
The performances were originally cancelled until the beginning of winter quarter, but officials agreed to allow one more fall show on Nov. 3 for the new members.
“We know they didn’t intend to do this, but anytime you’re dealing with a hot-button item that can be construed as racist, you’ve got to be sensitive to the other side,” said theatre department chair and associate professor Tim Dugan.
“We can’t deny that the minorities on campus are truly that – minorities. So it falls to us to be more sensitive to this kind of situation.”
The image of a black man’s face donning a straw hat and missing teeth was enough to incite enough controversy last year as well, when the group used it as part of a promotional flyer for an off-campus show.
Smile and Nod member Sean Michetti, 23, who created the new flyer, said he was unaware of the controversy.
The new flyers were posted campuswide Oct. 2 to promote the group’s show on the following Saturday.
Theatre department heads noticed the images on the following Wednesday and began pulling them down, Dugan said. But the damage was already done.
Many students and faculty members had already seen the flyers, some began to protest and the theatre department decided to take action.
The group was first asked to remove existing posters, send a formal apology to all students via the Mustang Daily, and participate in a sensitivity meeting with faculty and staff from the theatre department and the ethnic studies department.
Finally, officials in the theatre department agreed that noticeable and clear action had to be taken to display the seriousness of the offense, Dugan said.
“We’re looking at a short-term punishment to maintain the long-term stability of the organization,” said Josh Machemer, a theatre professor and the club’s advisor.
“In terms of how we see larger issues like this, being a very visual medium, we have to be very responsible for those images we put out there.”
Smile and Nod is an improvisational club on campus that has been around for about 10 years. With 16 members, the group performs every Saturday night. As a promotional effort, members create flyers with humorous images and no text.
The controversial image was chosen by journalism senior Sean Michetti, who had no idea that the flyer would provoke the response that it did, he said.
“It was a picture of a man who was laughing,” Michetti said, adding that he found the image on his roommate’s computer.
“I thought it was appropriate because we do comedy.”
But the image is much more than that to many. Ethnic studies professor and department chair Victor Valle said that the image’s history must be discussed for those who may not be aware of its negative meaning.
“The connotations of the image are historical and date back to the 1820s,” Valle said. He explained that the image was first used in American theatre.
“It was used by white men imitating blacks in order to convey the idea that blacks loved slavery. (The flyers) caused quite a stir from the ethnic studies department.”
Ethnic studies professor Jane Lehr said she was surprised and angry to see the image after a student of hers pointed it out.
The flyer was posted on a bulletin board outside her Race, Culture and Politics in the United States class.
“My first thought was how and when to have a discussion with my students as a class about the flyer,” Lehr said.
“In my classes, I want to encourage my students to explore how a white person can work against racism as a system of advantage and disadvantage. Calling attention to racist images and jokes is one small everyday action that can have a large impact.”
In addition to discussing the image with her students, Lehr posted a flyer on her door with a one-page description of ethnic notions and an essay on the history and meaning of the ‘coon’ image of blacks.
The flyer was meant to draw attention to the history and open a discussion on the meaning of the image, she said. The flyer had been ripped down on Monday.
“I would like to see Smile and Nod serve as a model for the rest of the university in acknowledging and exploring issues of race and diversity on this campus as part of their mission,” Lehr said.
After discussions with both members of the ethnic studies department and the theatre department, Valle suggested that everyone look at this as a learning opportunity.
He said that he hopes some good will come out of this situation.
“The main point of the punishment was for us to be aware that it was racist and hurtful, but it was not meant to be racist or hurtful,” Smile and Nod member and theatre senior Duncan Calladine said.
While the club’s members understand the offensive implication of using the image, some members still think that the punishment was disproportionate to the offense.
“I felt that the punishment was excessive because it was a first-time offense and we weren’t intending to promote the ‘coon’ stereotype – their words, not mine,” Michetti said.
He added that the theatre department did not protect Smile and Nod as well as they should have.
“But I also felt that they did a good job squelching the anger from the ethnic studies department,” he said.
Lee Barats, 21, the president of Smile and Nod, said that he was told about the flyers before he actually saw them.
“I initially thought that the show cancellations were a little harsh, but the group made a plea and turned in a formal proposal.” They requested that the theatre department allow the group to put on one more show to allow the new club members to perform, he said.
The show will take place in the HP Davidson Music Center, room 212, on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 8 and 10 p.m. The ordeal has brought the team closer together, Barats said.
“I believe that the punishment was unfair, but that the theatre department was fair,” Barats said.
“They were not unreasonable about handling the punishment, but showed some willingness to compromise.”
The theatre department is taking steps to ensure that something like this never happens again.
“We will have posters sent to us weekly to ensure that checks and balances occur, and to ensure that negligence doesn’t happen again,” Dugan said.
“Through all of this, they will become stronger because they will start to think about things a little bit differently.”