Sex brings out the best and the worst in people, said Aaron Tobler, president of the College of Arts and Sciences' Graduate Student Council at last Tuesday's Love Art Lab featuring former porn star Annie Sprinkle.
Tobler was speaking of what he thought was a bias on the part of the University Center, which handles event scheduling and placement, to shut down the Annie Sprinkle event that he had helped to bring to campus.
"None of this is new," Tobler said. "The worst part is that at a university such as ours that we can't refer to these issues beyond the classroom."
Tobler said he received several e-mails from the University Center about problems with his application for space on the quad and the Ward building. He said he felt as if the University Center was trying to place him "conveniently out of the way."
Michael Elmore, senior director of the University Center, said this was not the case. All requests for space are responded to 72 hours after the application is received, along with follow-up questions that deal with logistics, he said.
For student groups, there is a faculty adviser for the event and an extensive period of advising where the application is gone over and details are handled. Once the application for space is submitted, the University Center then asks questions based upon logistics, which includes the need for tables, chairs, electrical power, computer access and security, Elmore said.
In the case of the Annie Sprinkle event, it wasn't a question of content, Elmore said, but a question of how best to slot the event so that it wasn't accessible to those under 18.
Elmore said the university has hosted more politically charged events than the Annie Sprinkle event and that those pose a much bigger risk for security and content and are never denied.
"I don't think in the five years I've been here that we've denied any event because of its content," Elmore said. "Tell us what you're doing. We're not looking to stop it, we're just looking to make it work."
Tobler said he felt "belittled" by the process and that he had no intention to trash the university's name or create trouble, only to "generate discussion." Subsequently, Tobler appealed to the College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kay Mussell, who allowed the Tuesday night event to be held at the Battelle Atrium with access only to those over 18 with an ID check at the door.
Tobler, who is both a graduate student and employed by the university, said there was some miscommunication on his part, but overall he felt as if he was being shunned for holding the event.
Pointing to the calendar of events for April that was full and highlighted in different colors to show needs for electrical power, quad space or security, Elmore said the event was not shunned; there was a need for space where access could be controlled. The University Center did everything it could to get that space for the Annie Sprinkle event, he said.
