The University of Alabama's Visual Arts Gallery solicited private donations for the purchase of the photograph. Before exhibiting the work, gallery officials began receiving letters of protest from students and government officials. Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Gunter threatened to vote to withhold funds from the university unless the gallery returned the photograph.
University President Charles McCallum issued a statement saying that although he personally found the photograph offensive, he nonetheless supported "free and open discussion of such matters as the nature of art, freedom of speech, and the role of religious beliefs in the academic environment." A motion was passed by the faculty senate supporting the gallery.
Source: Artistic Freedom Under Attack 1994