Koch-affiliated college group calls out KU over gorilla photo ban
A conservative campus watchdog group is taking the University of Kansas to task over a dorm manager banning a gorilla image from a jungle-themed floor decoration.
Campus Reform, a group that describes it mission as exposing “bias and abuse on the nation’s campuses,” on Monday released a copy of an e-mail in which a KU residence official reportedly told a dorm adviser to remove the gorilla image.
Gorillas represent a very masculine image, and I feel that this would not be inclusive to all of our residents on that floor.
E-mail from KU residence official ordering the removal of a gorilla image
The e-mail, which was stripped of identifying information, said “gorillas represent a very masculine image, and I feel that this would not be inclusive to all of our residents on that floor.”
The e-mail also said that “this animal could be triggering to some people as (there) are stereotypes that surround this animal.”
The specific stereotype was not referenced in the e-mail; however, gorilla imagery has been used through the years in anti-black propaganda.
Neither Campus Reform nor the university public affairs office immediately responded to requests for comment from The Eagle.
Campus Reform’s original story was updated quoting a KU spokesperson as saying the official who banned the gorilla doesn’t speak for the university housing department and that it “seems reasonable that students would post photos of animals as part of a jungle-themed decoration.”
The report was picked up by several news and discussion websites aimed at collegiate audiences.
Campus Reform is a project of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Va., which was established in 1979 to train “conservative activists, students and leaders.”
According to its website, Campus Reform receives some support – including sponsorship of one of its two staff investigative reporters – from the Wichita-based charitable foundation of Koch Industries CEO Charles Koch. The Charles Koch Institute, a separate nonprofit group, lists the Leadership Institute as a “partner organization.”
Dion Lefler: 316-268-6527, @DionKansas
This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Koch-affiliated college group calls out KU over gorilla photo ban."