College Has Changed Since I Was A Freshman

Back in 1974, at USC. Dorms were still sex-segregated, and while the opposite sex could visit, they had to be out by 2:00 AM. Yes, it was perhaps a bit hypocritical to pretend that this was preventing the students from having sex, but I'm not sure that this upcoming program at William & Mary is better. From the January 28, 2008 Daily Press:

WILLIAMSBURG - College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol gave students the go-ahead this morning to hold the controversial Sex Workers' Art Show on campus next month.

In a statement, Nichol said he tried to work with students to hold the event at a venue off the Williamsburg campus.

Students were unable to find an off-campus venue, however, and Nichol said the First Amendment and "defining traditions of openness that sustain universities" required he permit the show be held at the college.

"My views and the views of others in the community about the worth or offensiveness of the program can provide no basis for censoring it," he said.

A Unitarian Universalist church in James City County had considered hosting the show, according to co-pastor Rev. Jennifer Ryu. County law, however, prohibited the church from hosting events that might feature public nudity, she said.

...

The Sex Workers' Art Show features performances and monologues by strippers, prostitutes and other sex workers, with its goal being to "dispel the myth that (the performers) are anything short of artists, innovators, and geniuses."

I'm sure that there are some "artists, innovators, and geniuses" among "strippers, prostitutes, and other sex workers"--just like I am sure that there are some "artists, innovators, and geniuses" picking up garbage for the sanitation company (you know, the garbage man in the Dilbert comic strip)--but somehow, I am just a bit skeptical.

I suspect that if most Americans realized the extent that universities waste resources on trash like this (and there are a lot of examples out there), you would see a lot less enthusiasm for spending public money on these institutions. There is clearly a need for a lot more supervision of the children--and I am not talking about the students!