Deseret News, Wednesday, December 18, 2002
By Jeffrey P. Haney Deseret News staff writer PROVO — Brigham Young University has raised the red flag on the use of real-to-life Hollywood flicks to illustrate historical events. Professors at BYU this semester started following a policy that discourages showing R-rated movies in classes at the school owned by the LDS Church, whose members are counseled by top church leaders to avoid films with excessive gore, violence, profanity or nudity. The guideline — created to set boundaries for visual and literary materials used in class — says faculty should not "require students to view unedited R-rated movies, as a matter not simply of content but of obedience to prophetic counsel." The two-page statement urges professors to pick films, books, poems, paintings, music and sculptures that are "appropriate to BYU's mission and teach them in ways that invite the spirit of God into the classroom." "It is important to help students not only to understand the world but to stand firm against its evils — prepared to respond to its challenges with love, testimony, wisdom, eloquence and inspired artistry of their own," the policy says. BYU spokeswoman Carri P. Jenkins said, to her knowledge, faculty won't be disciplined if they don't adhere to the guidelines. The selection of visual and literary materials "will depend on the wisdom of the faculty," said Jenkins. But BYU's guideline tells departments to "counsel" with professors who "repeatedly choose inappropriate materials or who present materials in inappropriate ways." Students who object to material being used in class on moral grounds can ask to be given another assignment. If the professor declines, the student can take up the matter with the chairman of the academic department and college dean. "With this, there's a lot of invitation for discussion," said John S. Tanner, chairman of BYU's English department. Tanner, who helped cobble the guideline together using input from faculty meetings and previous policies used in the College of Humanities, said he hasn't received any feedback — for or against — on the guidelines. BYU bosses say the guideline will be reviewed in two years. Questions about classroom use of films that had been edited for content swirled after BYU's Varsity Theater stopped showing edited versions of R-rated movies in 1998. BYU's decision not to book edited and airline versions of R-rated movies came after an American Fork movie theater came under legal fire for snipping scenes from "Titanic." Controversy also enveloped nudity-sensitive BYU in 1997 when officials opted not to show four nude statues in an exhibit of works by French sculptor Francois-Auguste-Rene Rodin. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================