An art show organized by two student groups at the University of Cincinnati has come under fire from critics who call the images pornographic, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. The groups’ display, “Re-Envisioning the Female Body,” is meant to protest previous demonstrations against abortion on the campus. It includes poster-size images of female genitalia, and critics have expressed concerns about the university’s allowing the images to be displayed.
Santa J. Ono, the university’s president, said he understood the critics’ positions but called the matter a “teachable moment” in a written statement that defends the students’ free-speech rights. He said that intellectual exchanges “cannot be extinguished, for they are part and parcel of who we are and what we do.” He added that the university, as a public institution, is obligated to protect the First Amendment, “even—perhaps especially—when that protection results in disagreement.”
