In Spring 2009, I walked into the classroom to give my 100-level final, and I immediately noticed a drawing on the whiteboard. As I walked toward the board in the front of the room, I absorbed the image- it was a cartoon drawing of a Middle Eastern/Islamic terrorist, with a full beard, turban and a lit bomb in one hand. To the side of the image were the words “Draw Muhammad Day 5/26.”
(this is not the image but a crude replica from a blog site)
I put my stack of exams down, turned to the board, and vigorously erased the image. I turned to the class and asked, the fury building- “Did someone in this class draw this image?”
Many students looked at each other hesitantly, unwilling to be the one to confess, and after a moment or two, several responded that “yes” someone in the class had drawn the image.
I was appalled. I stated that drawing such an image was an act of racism, and that after studying social inequality all semester – in particular racial stereotypes and race inequality – I was really disappointed that someone in this class could have done such a thing, particularly on the day of the final, when there was no opportunity to discuss the stereotype or the act of drawing it. I said that if I knew who did it, I would fail them immediately.
Given that many students were anxious and ready to take the exam, however, I did not pursue this course of action and instead passed out the exam and the class settled into silence.
After the exam, one of my best students, MB, came up to me to discuss the incident in person, and he later emailed me several links that explained the origin of “Draw Muhammad Day.” He argued that “Draw Muhammad Day” on 5/26 was a response to the assassination of Theo Van Gogh by Islamic terrorists, and that it was a free speech issue. I agreed that exercising free speech was acceptable, but that the context in which the image was drawn – on the white board, at the beginning of the final exam, a day when no discussion could occur – effectively eliminated the opportunity for “free speech.” I pointed out that students of middle-eastern descent were intimidated and silenced by the image (indeed, at least two students emailed me to say they felt offended by the act). I explained that to see how it was racist, all you had to do was substitute one stereotype for another (i.e. draw a “Wetback” or “Gangsta”)…. In the course of this discussion, it was abundantly clear that MB was the one who drew the image, and that he did not understand how it was an act of racism.
In thinking about this event post facto, I find myself sinking into despair. If one of my best students – someone who participated fully and made an A in the class and was a junior in college – could do such a thing, what does that say about my teaching ability?!! What does it say about the caliber of student I am working with? Does it matter that this student was not a Sociology major? Does it matter that he was white and male? It doesn’t help that I received several anonymous emails from students in that class identifying the culprit, complaining of intimidation and detailing how MB erased the first image he drew, only to draw it again, much larger! I find myself at a loss- what do I do with such an encounter? Use it as a teaching tool? Let it slide into forgotten encounters with racist and ignorant people? How is it possible to be empowered as an educator in such situations?
