From the Gainesville Sun, The Chalk Board Blog by Nathan Crabbe
For college students, T-shirts and other items featuring Che Guevara are nearly as ubiquitous as “Animal House” posters.
But University of Florida fine arts graduate student Myda Iamiceli is trying to advise students against idolizing the revolutionary figure.
Iamiceli created a public education campaign featuring posters, stickers and bottled water for her graduate seminar in graphic design. The items, which she distributed this week on UF’s Turlington Plaza, feature an image of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi along with the line “Che No Gandhi Si.”
“I didn’t want to preach, I wanted to make it fun,” she said.
A lot of younger students wear items featuring Guevara’s iconic image because they consider him anti-establishment, she said, without realizing the full extent of his history in Cuba. A campaign brochure and Facebook page contrast Guevara’s violent actions there with Gandhi’s non-violent protests in India.
“Che Guevara spoke of freedom for everyone, but killed or imprisoned those who spoke against the revolution,” the text reads. “Through civil disobedience Mahatma Gandhi was able to inspire millions of Indians to demand an independent India.”
This isn’t the first time that a campaign on the UF campus has been directed at Guevara. Last year, UF College Republicans conducted a similar protest as part of a series of national events called “No More Che Day.”
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