AMHERST – Two posters comparing skull sizes of different races and stating some races were less intelligent than others were found at Amherst College last week.
The posters referenced phrenology, a long debunked pseudo-science.
They were found in McGuire Life Sciences Building and displayed skulls of different sizes and linked them to differences in intelligence by race, according to a letter from college President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin.
“The poster-makers should have spent their time studying the history of science; they were apparently unaware that phrenology was discredited well over a hundred years ago and that more recent studies showing correlations between skull size and IQ prove nothing,” Martin wrote. “Or, perhaps they know very well that the posters have no worth or use other than offense and provocation. They are playing a propaganda game—a dangerous and hurtful game, but a game nonetheless. Its purpose is to cause pain and, in the process, to put higher education in the cross-hairs by baiting people into confirming right-wing caricatures of college and university communities as bastions of hyper-sensitivity and repressive political correctness.”
In the statement, Martin goes on to condemn the racist and cynical mean-spiritedness of those who hung the posters.
She writes that the school is working to identify those responsible for the posters.
“I fear that we will experience more hateful, baiting behavior. And so I also want to encourage the community to double down on learning, thinking, succeeding, and creating positive change by developing smart ways forward,” Martin wrote. “Don’t let bullies and know-nothing propagandists keep you locked in a reactive mode or distract you from your work, your place, or your well-being. Don’t take the bait. Don’t play ‘their’ game. Up ‘your’ game.”
“Do the intellectual and political work that is worthy of your time, your energy, and your extraordinary intelligence. Know that this college stands for intellectual integrity, equality, and humane interactions among the members of our community and beyond. We will not be moved off those values.”