Jan Pottie

To Whom it May Concern

I would like to comment on the emails written by Jeffrey Hoone and Matthew Snyder. Lisa Jong-Soon Goodin has publicly released two emails from these men, though they were not sent to her. She is releasing these letters on behalf of Jeff Hoone, stating:

it's important to post this email because it shows that when some administrators objected to the exhibit,Jeff defended it...

What's going on here? When some administrators objected to the exhibit? Does Jeff Hoone feel that he has been abandoned by the administration and must implicate them in the Warehouse fiasco?

Well, he may have a point. The email from Mathew Snyder to Jeff Hoone is instructive because it implicates the Chancellor, her Cabinet and the office of Public Affairs in the Warehouse fiasco and also indicates just how out of touch they are from their community (young women now fill the classrooms at SU):

Late last week, members of the Chancellor's Cabinet and Public Affairs office raised questions about the exhibit....I understand that Tom Walsh, Eric Spina, Barry Wells, and Kevin Quinn have been discussing the issue at the Chancellor's request.

Why on earth would the chancellor ask a group of 4 men to "discuss" a show about female sexual desire....how many men would kill for this job!

Can you see them, four grown men sitting around discussing the sexuality of young women, discussing and also pronouncing on the depiction of female sexual desire? They recommended a disclaimer, warning of the content and pulled promotional materials from student packets.

The paternalism is stunning.

The Chancellor, her cabinet and Jeff Hoone are clearly out of touch with the community of students and faculty they serve. The evidence of this has been glaringly obvious from the beginning of this fiasco. For example: canceling the Yes Men, apparently unaware of the degree of faculty involvement and financial investment in this show; firing Astria Suparak, apparently unaware of the amount and depth of support she had generated from many communities in her first year in Syracuse.

Research, research, research. How did they get it so wrong? How did they come to be so distant from the community they serve? All they had to do was ask...

The degree to which the Chancellor and the men of the Chancellor's Cabinet and Public Affairs, are out of touch with their young female students is again underlined in Jeff's letter: I understand that there are plans to have counselors available at the Warehouse this Saturday in case students who view the exhibition may be so inclined to seek our their comfort.

This assumption that young women are too stupid to interpret long black ballons, sagging against a white wall is demeaning for women of all ages. Did any of the Chancellor's Cabinet actually see the show?

Lisa Soon-Jong Goodin released two letters. In the first letter Jeff Hoone defends the content and extols the virtue of Come On:Desire Under the Female Gaze. I would like to point out that, in this defense Hoone, is simply reiterating Suparak's contextualization of the show. In other communication Jeff Hoone disparages the show, finding the images offensive to sophisticated art lovers. How many opposing opinions does Jeff Hoone hold?

Astria Suparak's performance has been exemplary. The Chancellor, her Cabinet, the Office of Public Affairs, Human Resources and Jeffrey Hoone have all behaved so very badly.

To add insult to injury this ensconced group of adults is attempting to cover its gross failure to do any homework by insinuating that this young woman is guilty of some nefarious evil doing known as "personnell issues."

Astria Suparak is not permitted to know what she is charged with, and is therefore not allowed to defend herself. Doesn't this violate the Constitution of the United States?

I am so very ashamed of Syracuse University.


Jan Pottie
Sumner Ave.
Syracuse