The recent screening of a pornographic film at the University of Maryland, College Park, has drawn controversy, but AU's Student Union Board said it has no plans to stir up similar controversy by showing an explicit film.
SUB Director Josh Offsie said that although he was not aware of any AU policies prohibiting screening of pornography, SUB does not plan on showing any because he said AU students are not strongly interested in seeing it.
"It's not in our repertoire to do a thing like that," Offsie said. "We've never tried it. We try to get the most bang for our buck, so we don't look into pornographic films."
The UMD controversy began when state Sen. Andrew Harris, R-Baltimore and Harford Counties, threatened to withdraw state funding for the school if the student union continued with plans to show the pornographic film "Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge." Although the university originally canceled the screening, parts of it were later shown in conjunction with a discussion on free speech. The Maryland State Senate did not revoke funding, but requested reports on all public universities' pornographic film policies, The Washington Post reported.
AU has no such policy against screening explicit films, according to Alicia Rodrigues, media adviser for AU Student Activities.
"As long as they had the permission to show the film, then that could occur," she said.
The film would have to be shown in a closed setting-it could not appear in the Tavern or on the main quad, Rodrigues said.
Sabrina Sussman, a senior in the School of Communication, said that as long as the film was not being shown in a place such as the quad where she would have to see it, she did not mind the film being screened on campus.
"It's OK if it is a private showing, and it's a choice whether or not you want to attend," Sussman said. "But I'd want to know what the purpose was. I'd be hard-pressed to find a significant reason why that contributed [to the campus community]."
Chris Dychala, a freshman in the School of International Service, said he would not attend a showing of an explicit film, but would be unaffected if one was shown on campus.
"I would be perfectly fine with it, especially given the environment: a college campus," he said. "Nobody's being forced to see the movie."
Even if SUB chose to screen an explicit film, the organization would have to get rights to show the film. Offsie said he was not sure if Swank Motion Pictures, Inc., the St. Louis-based company SUB uses for licensing and distribution, would license such a film.
The AU community may not support the screening of a pornographic film, Offsie said.
"AU is a very conservative school as far as their limits and how much they can take," he said.
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