The UH Young Republicans evoked mixed responses from students Tuesday after placing posters around campus showing acts of terrorism.
Sociology senior Heidi Alaswad said the posters neglected to illustrate terrorist attacks conducted by other ethnic or religious groups.
"All this was done by Muslims – it’s a little biased in that regard," she said when pointing to the displays photos. "Why did they choose six? There’s so much more."
The posters were placed at the University Center, Agnes Arnold Hall and Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall – some of UH’s most trafficked areas.
"It’s putting something in my eyes that I don’t want to think about right now," history junior Bridget Martin said.
The poster displayed six terrorist-related images, such as the suicide attacks against the World Trade Center, and other terrorist attacks since 1979.
"It’s offensive, and it doesn’t make sense because 9/11, and what they are showing (on the poster) don’t have a relationship. I don’t see what Saddam Hussein has to do with 9/11. This just promotes violence," biochemistry freshman Julie Burrell said.
Not all students were offended by the explicit images.
"I don’t find it offensive. I wonder what they’re trying to say because how would anyone forget? Why would anyone forget?" economics senior Alfredo Vittone said.
The Young Republicans said they had no intention of offending anyone.
"We are trying to have a memorial of Sept. 11. We’re trying to get people to remember that terrorist attacks did happen to U.S. citizens," Young Republican President Rachel Coolidge said. "Graphic is the only way you can do it. It’s shocking what happened to American citizens, and I think that we need to always remember that. It’s not meant to shock people, but just to create awareness."
Coolidge said that the posters were intended to remind students of the 9/11 attacks.
"They weren’t intended to be inflammatory in any sense. If they were, we apologize that it seems it’s targeted to a specific racial group," Young Republican Fundraising Director John Donaho said.
According to the Student Handbook, any student organization is allowed to erect posters as long as certain guidelines are followed, mostly to ensure materials are not placed in undesignated areas.
"The posting policy is like the freedom of expression policy where groups can go to specific designated areas and talk about any topic that they choose to talk about. The Department of Campus Activities does not approve or disapprove postings based on content," Campus Activities Director Marcella Leung said.
The guidelines for posting material on campus are limited to student organizations in order to prevent outside advertisers from cluttering bulletin boards.
Censorship is not practiced at UH, which is why flyer content is not evaluated, Associate Dean of Students Kamran Riaz said.
Pre-business sophomore Miguel Zavala said he didn’t need to see the poster to remember the attacks.
"I don’t find it offensive, because I know no one is going to ever forget that stuff. It’s probably one of the biggest events of my lifetime. It’s something good to have on a poster. You can hear about it, but seeing it is different," Zavala said.
Communication sophomore Ian Smith said he didn’t mind the posters either.
"It reminds me of how vulnerable society is today," he said. "(The U.S.) may be the world power, but it doesn’t mean we’re immune to disaster and hate. … I think we take for granted a lot of the people that are fighting for us."
Leung said the poster controversy can be used as an opportunity for students to engage in campuswide dialogue.
"It’s an ideal opportunity for conversation, because it’s one that we’re having as a whole, as a nation, right now," Leung said.
Additional reporting by Kelsie Hahn and Mayra Cruz
