Although many would argue that The Recorder is not one to be telling others what is appropriate to publish, we challenge the Helix's decision in denying the publication of one of its recent submissions.

The rejected submission we are referring to is a picture that features a male masturbating. While you cannot see his penis unless you were to look extremely close-up, even then you can barely make out the tip, the picture was obviously deemed inappropriate. We ask, why?

Art has always been a subject that has pushed limits. Whether it is a painting of a nude woman, or slaughtered ox, art has always grabbed us by our throats, and made us see a different point of view. That is what is so great about art, you can experience things you may never have, had it not been for a certain painting.

We understand the argument that it is essentially “pornography.” But if you cannot actually see anything, and it is done in a tasteful manner, what makes it any different from one of Van Gogh's nude portraits of women? In any case, though, are college students not mature enough to see a portrait that just so happens to feature masturbation? By not publishing the artistic picture, you are basically telling us that yes, college students cannot handle it. We are all grown ups, get a hold of yourselves.

In October of last year, Karolina Bregula was denied the right to run images she took up on billboards in Hartford. Bregula is a Polish photographer who did a series of billboards portraying same sex couples, an exhibition that took place at Real Art Ways. According to realartways.org, Steve Hebert, vice president of Lamar Outdoor Advertising of Hartford, rejected Bregula because her images were thought to be “controversial” and could “perhaps be marked by graffiti.” Bregula's images have been on billboards in Poland, where part of her intentions was to help a population that has long struggled for acceptance. The image was of two men walking, holding hands – nothing more.

This is quite pathetic on the standpoint of Americans. We are supposed to be the best country to live in, the most diverse and the country with the most freedom. Yet, we stand here and deny a woman's right to teach others about gay and lesbian society, something unfamiliar to many of us, simply because it is different. And to think that Poland, a communist nation, allowed the billboards, while the United States, freedom U.S.A., denied them.

Art is not only an artistic tool, but a learning tool. Had it not been for cave paintings of people killing animals, we would have never known how our ancestors stayed alive. Is PETA going to protest these images' presence in art books? Are art students going to need permission slips from their mommies and daddies to draw a nude model, something that is essential to learning the anatomy of a human being?

By denying the portrait of a male masturbating, you are only contributing to the ever-increasing censorship of the arts. Art is what keeps people open-minded, and sensitive to those around you. By instilling censorship, you are undoubtedly creating judgment, and a greater gap between generations in a society.

Had Lamar Outdoor Advertising of Hartford not rejected Bregula's billboard images, arguably more people would be more accepting of the gay and lesbian community. The concept as a whole is, the more you censor certain kinds of art, the more people become timid to it.

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