To the Editor:
For the past few weeks, the Art Students Committee (ASC) had been asking the Oberlin Review not to print the Arts Section of their December 6 issue in commemoration of Day Without Art, the international day of mourning held in conjunction with World AIDS Day. The Review refused to do this, as they had every right to do, claiming that as a publication it was their number one responsibility to remain objective in light of such "political" events and to maintain some sense of journalistic integrity (see Sara Foss's Staff Box in last week's issue). If, however, staff members of the Review are going to be so adamant about maintaining a professional attitude in regards to reporting the news, then they should have utilized that journalistic integrity they so highly claim to posses in the writing of their articles. We are referring, specifically, to the Review's coverage of the very event which they refused to commemorate.
In writing their article on Day Without Art, Review staff members neglected to speak with any of the organizers of this event (these included the students on the Art Students Committee). In order, however, to cover this faux pas, Review staff did make the effort to call members on the ASC to ask for their input for this event - that is, they called 10:00am on Friday morning, two hours before the Review was to go to press. Surprisingly, no students were able to respond to their messages in time. Journalistic integrity...hmm.
Due to the lack of responsiveness on the Review's part, Day Without Art received close to no coverage in last week's issue. In order to make up for this exclusion, we would like to take this opportunity to speak about Day Without Art to the entire Oberlin community.
Many communities have been devastated by the AIDS crisis, and among them one of the hardest hit has been the arts community. Countless visual artists, actors, singers, writers, performers, dancers, and playwrights have been lost to AIDS. Day Without Art is the international day of mourning during which time those in the arts community who have died of AIDS are remembered. On December 1, 1989 museums and galleries throughout the country either closed their doors or shrouded works of art on their walls in remembrance of all those who, due to the AIDS crisis, would never again be able to create works of art. Due to such a great loss, the true impact of the AIDS epidemic will never be known. On this 8th annual Day Without Art, the ASC in conjunction with the Allen Memorial Art Museum, shrouded works of art throughout the campus and in the Museum itself. Last Saturday evening, students and faculty gathered in the Museum's Sculpture Court for a panel discussion on the AIDS crisis. Discussion ranged from personal experiences and fears to how we as a community can survive this crisis. The conversation was life-affirming and a positive experience for those who attended. On that day of mourning, we asked "Can you visualize a world without color...can you imagine a world without light...without imagination...without art?"
We are not angry with the Review for refusing to not print an Arts Section. We acknowledge, being artists and art historians ourselves, other arts events that were occurring on campus this past weekend. We understand that students who had so diligently worked on theater productions throughout the semester would want their shows publicized during their opening weekend. We simply want to make everyone more aware of the AIDS crisis and its devastating impact as well as to provide people with an opportunity for open discussion. Art is something which affects us all; AIDS is not limited to one community - we are all affected.
Hopefully, next year, students on Oberlin's campus will remember that December 1 is Day Without Art, a time to stop and reflect on one of the many ways in which AIDS has ravished so many lives in so many communities.
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 12; December 13, 1996
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