Art piece creating controversy at Souderton High School

PERKASIE, Pa. (WPVI) -- Officials at Souderton High School are explaining an art piece considered offensive by some students.

The artwork at the center of the controversy is a globe inscribed with words associated with cultural stereotypes from all parts of the world, including racial slurs.

On Wednesday the globe was on display in a glass case in the lobby of Souderton High School.

A man, who does not want to be identified, says his son and 7 or 8 of his friends became very upset feeling they were being ridiculed.

"He said he walked in and he said he saw this globe ... of all these stereotypes and he and a few other students they were being laughed at by the other students," the father said.

After complaints to the school, the globe has been removed from the glass display case.

The globe is part of a larger exhibit facilitated by Peal S. Buck International. The organization has long had a multi-cultural message and rejects stereotypes. It says it's intent was not to offend.

Janet Mintzer, CEO of Pearl S. Buck International, said, "Of course we would do it differently because we've hurt people over it, and that is something that we did not intend to do. We wanted it to be a learning experience for the entire student body that they could learn what these students learned during the course of their research about cultural stereotypes."

For now, the globe is not on display.

The father who alerted Action News says he understands the exhibit's message. Given what's occurred, he wonders if it's age appropriate for kids as young as 14-years-old.

The school has now reached out to those offended by all of this and plans to meet soon. Pearl S. Buck International hopes to be a part of that conversation.

The school district issued the following apology:

"Since October 2014, Souderton Area High School has been a participant in the Museums Connect: Building Global Communities program which is funded by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and the U.S. State Department and facilitated by Pearl S. Buck International (PSBI) of Bucks County.

The program is a multidisciplinary exploration of cultural stereotypes in the media and popular culture, and how these stereotypes can be dispelled. Working at the Pearl S. Buck house, students from China and SAHS created a museum exhibition intended to illustrate how words and prejudice only block and hide the true humanity in all peoples. It was recognized that "words can hurt" so hurtful words were used in the exhibition to demonstrate their negative power. These provocative terms were written on one of the exhibition items, a globe of the Earth. The piece was designed to evoke emotion and stimulate conversation about stereotypes around the world.

The museum exhibition was displayed first at the Pearl S. Buck house and then moved this week to the concourse of Souderton Area High School. An interactive assembly was also facilitated by the participating students from China and SAHS at the school on Wednesday, May 6, 2014.

The exhibition has now been removed from the High School because some viewers were understandably offended by the terms written on the globe. Unfortunately, the placement of the museum exhibition did not provide the full context of the program. For some, this turned an event designed to promote conversation and understanding into a hurtful and offensive incident.

At Souderton, we are deeply sorry for the hurt and outrage the display may have caused to our students and parents. Our mission is to ensure a quality education for all students in a safe and nurturing environment and, by displaying the museum piece with only minimal context, we failed to uphold that ideal. In the coming days, we will work diligently with the student body and parents to present the true messages of promoting tolerance and eliminating stereotypes that are the hallmarks of this excellent program."