When students are denied the opportunity to explore and learn from a new experience because the school does not find it suitable, the issue of censorship is likely to arise. Brigham Young University, a university based on the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), made a decision Sept. 21 to cancel the showing of the Greek play, “The Bakkhai,” just hours before the show was to begin. According to The Daily Universe, the school’s news source, the school officials claimed the content was not suitable for the audience.
Being a student of Fairfield University, I can understand why the school would be concerned, but if students are willing to pay to see Greek art, then it shouldn’t be an issue of whether it is appropriate for them or not. The plot of the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides focuses on the demi-god, Dionysus, who takes his revenge on the king of Thebes and his family for refusing to recognize him as a higher power, and worshipping him. The play contains a lot of explicit subject matter that might make such a religiously devoted denomination a little bit uncomfortable. But college students are allowed to explore the world around them, and its history. If students or anyone of that matter, made plans to see the play, then it can be assumed that they are familiar with the plot, and the graphic nature of the content. If they do not agree with what the play displays, they don’t have to see it.
Fairfield University experienced its own taste of public censorship when The Mirror published the controversial “He Said” column last week, and outraged students suggested that administrators supervise the independent newspaper’s content. The column is meant to be satire for comic relief, and those who read that column know and understand that. It was printed because of the message it was delivering to its readers. The manner in which the message was delivered might have been a bit much, but that doesn’t mean that the voice of the students should be taken away, and the same should have been for the play. People worked hard on that production, and it was unfair of the school to simply dismiss it at the last minute simply because some people might not have done their research before buying their ticket.
A production is not established overnight; it takes many months to prepare and secure. This means that those who were a part of the play, and those who approved of it, were aware of the history and subject matter long before they decided to cancel it. If Fairfield’s theatre department were to commit such an act, I believe that students would start a riot.
What if authorities on the Fairfield campus told a club or organization that they cannot present a project because it doesn’t follow Jesuit values? It wouldn’t make sense especially when you have students who attend the university who are not even followers of the Jesuit or Catholic faith.
BYU has set an example for other universities by using religious concerns to keep students from seeing something outside of what they already know, and that defeats the purpose of even coming to college.
This rash decision may have been best for the university due to the LDS faith, but it is unfair to keep a student from expressing themselves in a specific production, and distasteful to shelter students from something they were willing to see. It’s almost as if BYU authorities forgot that they were dealing with adults, and not seven year old children.
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