Disarming the drama department

Yale has reversed its decision to ban prop weapons on stage in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre. But instead of simply admitting that the ban was ill-considered -- which one could certainly honorably do, pleading overreaction in the shock and horror of the moment -- Yale administrators have instead chided those who protested the ban as selfish while imposing a new, less onerous, but equally foolish requirement that Yale audiences henceforth be informed before each performance that the weapons on stage are not real. What next? Perhaps announcements should also be made that stage villains are really just actors, that stage lovers are actually quite indifferent to each other, and that if someone should die in the course of a play, they will come back at the end to take their bows.

Posted by David on April 24, 2007 9:14 PM