Although censorship may seem like something akin to a Ray Bradbury dystopian novel, it is much closer to home than many people realize. If asked about the Hovey murals, you will find that the vast majority of students know not even of the existence of these large murals, created by Walter Beach Humphrey, Class of 1914, between 1937 and 1939 as a contrast to the then-recently created murals in Baker Library by Mexican painter Jose Clemente Orozco. The Hovey murals are named after Richard Hovey, Class of 1885, who wrote the alma mater and a popular drinking song, on which the murals were based.
The murals depict Eleazar Wheelock coming into the wilderness of New Hampshire, bringing with him "500 gallons of New England rum" that he gives to the native people. The murals clearly are from a different time, and there is no doubt that some of the images depicted therein could be considered offensive. Especially with the establishment of the Native Americans studies program, the murals were viewed as counterproductive and not in line with the College's mission. Despite the murals being part of the school's history, access to the murals was limited through the 1970s. In 1983, the administration made the extraordinary decision to cover them with panels, lest any unfortunate student have to lay eyes upon them, and the murals were later placed in storage.
This patronizing and lordly censorship determining what art is deemed acceptable for students to view far surpasses the initial offense of the anachronistic mural. In a country that prides itself on freedom of expression, the decision to cover the Hovey murals might be the most controversial piece of the whole story.
I suppose a bureaucratic college administration might mistakenly think it knows best what individual students will find offensive. If this is true, perhaps we should also cover the walls on which Orozco's murals are painted. Some could reasonably say that Orozco's work is distasteful and offensive in its own right. Yet curators at the Hood Museum and some art history professors argue that Orozco's murals are "one of the greatest treasures of the Dartmouth College collection," depicting a "complex and compelling narrative" and are one of the "finest examples of mural painting in this country."
In reality, Orozco's style is both grotesque and crude. He indeed paints with a broad-brush stroke, as he depicts the Europeans coming to the New World as uniformly violent, oppressive and brutal. Industrialization and capitalism, which liberated millions from poverty and made the United States one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations on earth, are portrayed as some ominous evil military complex.
However, I will acknowledge that one panel of Orozco's in particular has some interesting commentary. Just east of the reserve desk, a blonde-haired, zombie-like teacher is surrounded by a crowd of little, uniform, equally zombie-like, blonde-haired school children. I believe that this panel, at least, certainly has its place at Dartmouth. It depicts a group of unquestioning students listening closely to whatever narrative is being put before them. It is redolent of a climate in which intolerance for things deemed offensive to the "group" would run high a place in which censorship would be at home. And so maybe this particular scene on Orozco's murals really has evolved into a great modern work, which across decades of time offers us some contemporary commentary on the current state of affairs at Dartmouth. If you have an intellectually dissenting opinion in class, how comfortable are you offering it up in a hostile environment? Too often there is a tendency for students to go after a "good grade" rather than offer up their opinions which may run contrary to their professors.
At a school where art such as the Hovey murals is censored, I believe we are setting a dangerous precedent. That is not the American way, and that should not be the Dartmouth way. The Hovey murals should be taken out of storage. And next time you view the Orozco murals, do so without the droning voice of a recording in your ear. Think for yourself and question.
