Iraqi video artist Wafaa Bilal, a faculty member of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY, was fingered as a terrorist by the Institute’s College Republicans because of a video game he created called “The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Jihadi.” According to the artist the game, which was derived from a propaganda Al Qaeda video game called “The Night of Bush Capturing,” which itself was derived from a commercial (propaganda) video game called “Quest for Sadaam,” was meant to highlight the vulnerability of Iraqi citizens to terrorist rhetoric, as well as to Western stereotyping. RPI’s Republican students accused Rensselaer’s art department of being “a terrorist safe-haven” for exhibiting the game on campus. Fearing controversy, the Institute shut down the on-campus exhibit. An off-campus organization, the Sanctuary for Independent Media, invited the Bilal to show his game in their space. “Not so fast!,” cried local Republican official Bob Mirch, head of Troy’s Department of Public Works (don’t they deal with water main breaks?), who took it upon himself to close down the show via the local fire department, who conjured up a code violation to prevent the show from opening. This is the worst kind of border violation, where those in power “protect” the public from words/images/sounds/ideas they personally find offensive. If there were no “War on Terror,” I’m sure they would have found some other excuse to close down the show. As an institution of higher learning, RPI should examine its unfortunate role in this sequence of events. They have a responsibility to keep their Institution open to ideas, even if those ideas are not popular.