Coming to a Campus Near You: Pornography!

As institutions of higher learning, universities now offer a variety of pornography for the edification of their students. Photo by Randall Fairbrook.

When you send your children off to school, you probably think they're getting an education. Well, yes and no. It depends on what your definition of education is.

The University of Maryland, College Park, announced that the student union would show a porno movie as part of its entertainment fare.

Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge will be shown at midnight Saturday in a campus theater usually home to tamer fare such as independent and foreign films. The distributor of the film, Digital Playground, offered it to the student union for free, so student activities fees are not being used to finance it. A student programming committee voted to screen the film, billed as a "XXX blockbuster." (Baltimore Sun)

Well, I'm certainly glad that student activities fees won't be used to show pornography. Why, that would be immoral. And I'm thrilled that, unlike porno trash movies, this one, at least, is a "blockbuster," being "the most expensive hard-core porn film ever made, at $10 million, according to Digital Playground." (Baltimore Sun) If you're going to show pornography on campus, you have to make sure it's high class fare. We wouldn't want to offend the fragile artistic sensibilities of university students.

To show what an educational experience this truly is,

The student union asked Planned Parenthood to make a brief presentation on safe sex practices before the film. The organization agreed because it would be a chance to reach a population it doesn't normally have access to, said Dr. Laura Meyers, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington. The organization will provide information on abstinence, sexually transmitted infections, condom use and emergency contraception. (Baltimore Sun)

After all, the university wouldn't want to give students any ideas, by showing a porno film, that the university supports promiscuity, unsafe sex, or unplanned pregnancies. Those things don't happen to the actors who make porno films, so the risk to students is negligible. Perhaps the school nurse will walk up and down the isles to administer emergency contraception throughout the movie and afterward.

It gets better and better.

University officials acknowledge that the film is "not for everyone" but say the idea was to provide students with an alternative to late-night drinking and other dangerous activities. (Baltimore Sun)

University officials at the University of Maryland think viewing pornography is not a dangerous activity, like late-night drinking? The naivete of that statement is astonishing, considering the proven detrimental effects pornography has on participating women and on viewers alike.

No one has asked the pertinent questions. Is showing pornography appropriate for a university? Doesn't the university have a responsibility to educate its students, not degrade them by exposing them to such demeaning garbage? Why isn't the administration stepping in to guide the students into more edifying pursuits? Why isn't the women's center up in arms about the degradation and objectification of women in such a school event? Do the parents who have sent their children to this school really understand what kind of "education" their children are being offered? Doesn't a single student or administrator see anything morally and fundamentally wrong with pornography?

I've saved the best for last.

The screenings generate publicity and sell a few copies of the movie, [Christopher] Ruth, [spokesman for Digital Playground] said.

But the larger point is to get young people accustomed to seeing adult movies as mainstream entertainment.

"It's not anything you should be ashamed of," he said. "Sexuality never is." (Source)

So this is the point of the pornography exercise - "to get young people accustomed to seeing adult movies as mainstream entertainment." Of course the production company would love to have its movies make as much money as mainstream movies. What better way than to get young minds addicted to pornography enough to spend their (or their parents') money in such pursuits. Is this what the University of Maryland is trying to teach its students? Perhaps the university will also offer classes in overcoming sexual shame. They could create a Department of Pornography and offer general education classes as well as core classes to confer an BA in Pornographic Studies.

Lisa Cunningham, program coordinator for the Hoff Theater, which is showing the film, gives this reason. It is "something fun for the students to do, especially since we're getting close to the end of the semester," said Cunningham. (Baltimore Sun)

Yep. Fun. That's what she said. Come on guys! Ask that special someone for a night out at the student union. It's a great opportunity for that first date!

At any rate, you can be sure that my children won't be going to school at the University of Maryland.