While we were all on spring break, students at the University of Maryland were fighting some Maryland state legislators over their right to show a XXX porn film as a student activity. Read the article on the link below to find out what happened:
http://wjz.com/local/movie.sex.education.2.974390.html
Then ponder and respond to some or all of the questions below:
Do students at a public university (i.e., funded by taxpayers) have the Constitutional right to free expression in choosing to show a porn film as a student activity? Why or why not?
Do you think it's appropriate for state legislators to threaten to withhold funding for the university if the porn film is shown against their wishes, or is this an abuse of their power?
What if state legislators object to a book or a professor's lecture or a student organization on campus and threaten to withhold state funding to the university? Could censoring the porn film lead to further restrictions on free expression?
If you were a student leader at the University of Maryland, what would you have done in this instance: shown the film or canceled the movie event?
1 comment:
Let's have a go at this article... being the first to post, perhaps I'll spur something.
Right, I believe students need to become more aware of what it means to enroll into a university (or a college). It's different from what's expected of you in your every day "I have rights" routine.... you have the freedom of speech, when its designated, and you have the freedom to publish what you want, as long as it's been reviewed by your professors. Can you see the difference between being an American citizen and being an American college student?
I think the fund-holders (lawmakers) have an obligation to fund public universities. For goodness sake, how many students wouldn't be able to further their education if it weren't for public universities?? The power-wielding politians need to be a bit more aware of this question. Besides all the controversy, its not as if they used the funds given to the school to purchase the movie, it was free.
On the subject of the right to show that video, I think the power holds with the university's administration. The movie (being the most expensive XXX movie ever made) could be a very educational experience to those who are interested in film studies--methods, lighting, and shot angles. The administration of the university, I'd imagine, would require the students to write an analyzational report on this film. Please notice I'm saying this film, not this 'trash' or 'filth'. Throughout history, students have studied human psychology and humans at their must inner-core and most habitual (often off-setting) ways of the behavior and of the mind.... so how would this film be any different? One could look at it as a chance to be all giddy and giggle, or one could look at it from a mature observatory point-of-view and learn more about psychology, anatomy, filming, and MUCH MORE! Again, the rights of choosing belong to the university and it's administration- not that of the government.
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