First Amendment Goes Past First Base

Student-made pornography is once again in the national news media, but this time (for once) it’s not at Harvard. Controversy over the content of Koala TV, a program that airs on the student-run televsion network at University of California San Diego (UCSD), reached a climax two weeks ago when the show’s producer, senior Steve York, was banned from the station after the airing of a 30-minute pornographic film.

In the film, entitled “Rising Fees and Poppin’ B’s,” an adult film actress depicts a female UCSD student struggling to pay her rising school fees...and makes Harvard’s student sex mag, “H-Bomb,” run the risk of being confused with “Sesame Street.” Alongside the moral outrage of some students, others simply complained that it wasn’t very good. Lindsey Tan, a sophomore at UCSD, complained about the corny plot line and overabundance of close-ups. When she turned it on, “It was, like, immediately, genitals were in your face, all these genitals in your face.”

The graphic footage arose the ire of the Associated Students of UCSD, which condemned the broadcast as “disrespectful, inappropriate, unnecessary, intentionally malicious, divisive and hurtful.” The council further chided the show for setting a bad example, citing a lack of prophylactics during coitus as evidence.

York contests that his film falls under the umbrella of free speech. He believes his work satirizes a real sociological concern. “The more you raise student fees and cut financial aid, the more enticing these jobs in the adult industry become for students,” he says.

Though his artistic endeavors are temporarily on hold, York stands by his work. “When you’re going to raise a serious issue like this, do it in a fun way,” he says.

Apparently, nothing says fun like low-resolution penetration.