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Show u N T I y SUU's 'nude art' bothers some here By JANELLE PHIWPS JOURNAL STAFF WRITER In response to a complaint about what at least one person considers offensive, SUU's Perry tewart, chairman of the art department, said, "We probably are one of the mo t conservative schools in the country except for Ricks and BYU. " Some students may have noticed the picture on the last issue of the Kolob Canyon Review. Kathryn Barrick, secretary at the Registrar's Office, wrote a letter to SUU President Steven D. Bennion in response to the nude art work featured on the cover of that issue. The letter was then sent to the art department. Barrick said, "there are some that feel that nude art is a form of pornography when hung for display." "The thing that is kind of comi.caJ about the whole thing is our department bas nothing to do with the Kolob Canyon Review ," said Stewart. According to tewart, the Kolob Canyon Review po ts up fliers around the art department calling for any students who would like to have their artwork on the cover. The students submit their work to the publishers of the Kolob Canyon Review and the art department is not associated with this. However, tcwart did say that be and Brian Hoover do teach classes with live nude models for students to draw and learn the anatomy of the body and the movement of the skin. some have found that offensive, as well. He said he considers this process of drawing nude bodies equivalent to the 11ude cadavers used in the biology lab and bdieves they arc both learning tools to help students put together the whole picture. Stewart admits that some students in art classes do take offense at having to draw a nude body or walking into an office in the art department and seeing a nude drawing or painting, but the artwork is tastefully done and be doesn 't consider It pornographic. "We try to be very con ervative and tasteful and careful about the artwork that is hung in the hallway," he said. Stewart said that in the last couple of years there has not been any nude artwork hung in the haUway around the Centrum. He aid if every piece of art that contained nudity was censored, the majority of artwork in museum (and even the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) would not be able to be shown. tewart said this is the first letter of complaint about nude models and artwork he has received in the two years he has been department chair. Complaints have been lodged in the past concerning the work of Julius Moessel, which is part of the university's permanent coUection and hung in various points around campus. That work is highly valued in the art community, with some paintings appraised at more than $10,000 .. Stewart also said it is of great importance for people to learn about and appreciate the human body. Stewart said he believes that as long as there is the perception of a nude body being a horrible thing, many people will never be able to appreciate its beauty. This cover of a recent SUU student publication has caused at least one person on campus to question the propriety of nude artwork. University Center issue still has some in quandary By USA DAWN PERRY SENIOR STAFF WRITER More changes are in store for Southern Utah University and what may soon be renamed Dixie State CoUege as administrators from both chools determine the best course of action regarding the future of SUU's University Center. The University Center, located on Dixie's campus and operated by SUU, was originally establi hed to provide residents of St. George and the surrounding area an opportunity to obtain four-year degrees. The Center's operation has become the focal point of scrutiny due to the divisive House Bill 32. Currently the University Center is funded by state aUocations appropriated to SUU for the administration of the facility. The original House Bill 32, proposed by Utah State Rep. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, called for all of the appropriated funds used to run the Center ($505,000) to be transferred to Dixie College's control. According to Neal Cox, director of public relations for SUU, $175,000 is allocated for funding administrative services, including two full-time staff positions and the cost of running the facility. Additionally, the Center receives $330,000 to pay for salaries of faculty members. The amended version ofHB 32, HB 32 substitute 4, which passed the state legislature and senate, mandates that only the $175,000 allocated for administrative services be ceded to Dixie. Cox said that this decision had already been made by the regents last December. Toe substitute bill also calls for the $330,000 to be placed in control of the regents so that they can authorize four-year programs as proposal are made. Cox called HB 32 substitute 4 "a big departure from the original bill.n According to Cox, the provision regarding funding mandated by HB 32 substitute 4, are a point of concern tor SUU administrators because SUU has grown dependent on those funds. The situation has become even more complicated as the administration of Dixie College is attempting to establish severance of the Center from SUU by the year 2000, Cox aid. Students registered with the University Center will be able to tart school in the fall but Dixie College President Robert Huddleston has called for a moratorium to prevent new student registration. Cox said that administrators at Dixie want au of the tudents currently enrolled in University Center programs to be finished within a year. The closure of the University Center, apparently desired by Dixi.e College administrators, may adversely affect their plan to offer six baccalaureate programs from their cam.pus. According to Cox,.without the University Center operating on Dixie's <;am.pus they will only be able to offer three four-year programs. Cox said that SUU administrators feel that HB32 substitute 4 is intended to help Dixie become a four-year college, not to act as' "a sentence of death for the University Center. " "We like the students there [at the University Center) and want to serve them, said Cox. ft ( continued on page 3) . I· |