After several months of debates regarding the Palestinian mural on campus located at the Cesar Chavez Student Center, there are no resolutions, just confusion and what seems like a standstill in the decision making process.

On July 13, the Student Center Governing Board approved the mural, but SF State President Robert Corrigan sent over a letter saying he did not want the mural to go up and also placed a moratorium on student murals in the student center. It was disappointing news to the General Union of Palestinian Students who had been working on the project for over a year. Moreover, it was disappointing to note the amount of power that Corrigan has over the freedom of expression for students on the SF State campus.

One of Corrigan’s initial reasons for being against the mural was that it was “conflict-centered.” Of course, he did not actually name the conflict-centered reasons, yet it might have to do with the fact that there are some Jewish students opposed to one of the characters used in the mural. However, if he has so much authority perhaps he did not feel the need to explain himself because, when abusing power, it is typical to make decisions without explaining them. Palestinian students argued that the mural would break down stereotypes about their culture as well as Arab-American culture, according to the Golden Gate [X]press.

Murals at SF State at the Cesar Chavez Student Center give groups the opportunity to present a piece of artwork that says something about their culture. The idea of telling one group that they cannot display a mural and giving muddled reasons is disheartening, as well as frustrating. Other groups on campus support the Palestinian mural and there has been money set aside to finish the project, but because Corrigan placed a moratorium and is requesting that the Student Center Governing Board adopt a policy that states the amount of space and content a mural has, it is a challenging process. Currently, Corrigan is refusing to meet until the new policy is adopted.

The story heated up even more a few months ago when Corrigan was caught on tape stating that supporters of the mural were “bigots.” Apparently, there is a great debate as to whether the character “Handalah,” holding a key and a pen shaped like a sword, is offensive. If Handalah is removed, then the mural can go up, but according to the Golden Gate [X]press, GUPS said that the character is a peaceful symbol. Does it give Corrigan the right to call anyone a bigot? Well, no. He’s a leader at SF State is setting a negative example on how to handle a situation, while being outright insulting to the students on campus.

There are a few people on campus who think that the mural is offensive. San Francisco’s off-campus group, Hillel, represents Jewish students and a few students disagreed with the use of Handalah in the mural because it portrays the destruction of Israel, according to [X]press. A representative from Hillel said they would feel more comfortable if the character holding the key was removed from the mural.

Their mural should not be offensive to other groups, but perhaps they could work with Hillel to reach an agreement. Yet, if Palestinian students are completely restricted from putting up the mural that they have worked on there is a limitation placed on their freedom of expression. If other student groups can have a mural, they should be able to as well without having to jump through hoops to display their work.

This is a matter that will continue well into next semester, and in the end it would be promising to see the mural go up because it is clearly something that students believe in if they have put up this much of a fight. The Palestinian mural has had some set backs that can be resolved, but student groups should not be discouraged when authority figures challenge them because they are influential as well, and this is an obstacle that they can overcome.