It was supposed to be a simple project – a student directory with an attractive four-color cover photo. But what resulted turned into a source of embarrassment for Samford University that made headlines across the United States.
The project is called “Faces.” It is a pictorial directory issued at the beginning of the year and later incorporated into the Samford yearbook. What drew national attention was the discovery that senior graphic design student David Carrigan had used a mosaic image of model Christy Turlington composed of thousands of smaller photos, some of which contained pornography.
Initially Carrigan denied knowing the Turlington image contained pornography. “I surely would not have used the image had I known the content of the small photographs,” he wrote in defense. “I am personally opposed to pornography and its effect on society.”
Student confesses
But the day The Crimson, Samford’s student paper, was distributed, a letter from Carrigan was released. In the letter, Carrigan said he had lied about not knowing the picture contained pornography. He compared his false story to the Apostle Peter’s denial of Christ during Jesus’ trial and asked forgiveness of the students and administration.
Officials at the university said Carrigan wrote the letter, duplicated it and placed it in boxes throughout the campus so students could pick up a copy of his confession at the same time they picked up copies of the student newspaper containing the story based on the false information Carrigan had provided.
The story and letter set off a whirlwind of criticism among students and in national headlines. Headlines panned what they termed “a conservative Baptist school” for using an image containing pornography in its publication.
Adding to the furor was the announcement that the school would not recall the student directory. Freshman student Natalie Gavin was widely quoted as saying, “They (Samford officials) won’t let us have MTV but we’ve got pornography on the directory.”
A Samford spokesman said the perception has been created that one can see pornography on the cover of the student directory. “That is not so,” he declared. The official said the mosaic image of Turlington looks like a regular picture even if one blows it up 300 to 400 percent.
“We have done that and we know it is still a normal picture. If one wants to see the pornography in the image, it will have to be on the Web site, not on the picture on the front of ‘Faces,’” he said.
No visible porn
“If there were a visible pornographic image on the cover, the book would be immediately recalled,” he said.
As for Carrigan, his future remains uncertain. He faces a review by the university’s Values Council. He is charged with misrepresenting the truth to university administrators, is advisor and the student newspaper.
“We start from a position of trust with our students,” said the spokesperson. “Violation of that trust is a serious offense.”
Carrigan evidently completed the “Faces” project in August. While not defending the student’s actions, officials said Carrigan was hurrying to finish the project to participate in a trip to Israel. He evidently found the mosaic on a Web site that sometimes contain pornography. Officials said Carrigan blurred the mosaic to make it hard to recognize the details and printed the picture.
The question of pornography arose, officials said, when some students recognized the mosaic an raised questions.
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