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Porn, Academic Freedom June 2
The debate continues in the pages of the Hartford Courant. The latest article treats the issue of image and academic freedom in the context of controversies at other schools. Here's the story.

``This whole issue of academic freedom is a very sticky one,'' said Frank Dobisky, a consultant whose media relations firm specializes in colleges and universities.

In upstate New York, it pitted a governor against a university president over a conference that included a demonstration by a former stripper.

In New York City, a university landed in court after demoting a professor who told students ``rich Jews'' financed the slave trade.

At Wesleyan, Bennet must now decide the fate of a course in which one student made a video showing the eyes of a male as he masturbated. He described the controversy this week as ``a matter of the greatest sensitivity.''

Courant on Academic Freedom May 27
The Hartford Courant did a follow-up on May 22 about academic freedom and Bennet's review of COL289. It included quotations from Wesleyan professors. The article did not mention the student outcry at all. Click here for the full-text.

Professors from two departments have signed letters calling Bennet's inquiry an attack on academic freedom. It undermines, they say, an established process of peer review that traditionally determines whether a course is appropriate.

``To review a course simply because it's been questioned in the media is a really disturbing precedent,'' said Elizabeth Traube, an anthropology professor. ``Everybody I know is disturbed about it.''

Protest News May 14 10:00PM EST
WTNH has redeemed itself with its updated coverage of today's rally. Here's their summary:

Students protest tenure policy
(Middletown-WTNH) _ A number of
students at Wesleyan are protesting the
schools faculty tenure policy. Students
marched to the deans' office Friday
protesting what they call 'suspicious
incidents concerning the retainment of the
faculty of color.' On Monday,
African-American studies professor
Jeffrey Kerr-Ritchie was denied tenure.
Students want the evaluation process
investigated.
Alea Mitchell, Sophomore: "They point
towards their recruitment efforts and they
point towards the rising number of faculty
of color on the campus and yet those same
faculty members, they are pointing to are
not staying. For varying reasons either
because they want to leave or because
they're being ask to leave."
The dean of the college tells News
Channel 8 she's reviewing the students'
demands.

Successful Rally May 14 4:00 PM EST
Today's rally at North College for administrative accountability was attended by over 75 students and several news crews. After chanting noisily and marching through the halls of North College, students had a lengthy question and answer session with Dean of the College, Freddye Hill. Here's a summary from the Hartford Courant:

Protest at Wesleyan: Dozens of students "occupied" an administrative building at Wesleyan University this afternoon in a demonstration that, in classic Wesleyan style, railed against a host of student grievances. Ostensibly, the protest targeted a recent decision to deny tenure to an African Amercian professor. But a chief target of the protest was President Douglas J. Bennet and his aim to reshape the university's image. Bennet, who was blasted last year for hiring a consultant to develop the much-despised Independent Ivy slogan, came under fire Friday for his review of a controversial pornography class.

This is not the end of the issue, as there will be another protest by seniors next week. Look for updates here.

Bad News Coverage May 14 4:00PM EST
The poor reporting award goes to News Channel 8, who apparently still haven't figured out what's going on over here. Here's an "update" from their web site:

University reconsiders porn class project
(Middletown-WTNH) _ Wesleyan University officials are now taking a closer look at a course that teaches pornography as art. University president Douglas Bennett sent a memo to his faculty questioning the appropriateness of the course work -- students are asked to make films, take photographs, and write poems with pornographic themes. Some students say the university's bowing to public opinion and media coverage of the course. A spokesman says that's not so, that the class went through the usual approval process but that Wesleyan had no way of knowing every aspect of the curriculum.

Friday Rally May 13 4:00PM EST
This Friday outside the campus center at noon, there will be a rally for administrative accountability. On Thursday at 9 in the basement of the campus center, there will be a planning meeting. Interested in Kerr-Ritchie, Cutler, Col289? Be there. Contact Alea Mitchell x4317 for details.

WESPATRIOTS a Joke May 13 4:00PM EST
WESPATRIOTS, a "group" that called for harsher sanctions on Iraq and a ground invasion of Kosovo, has been revealed to be a joke.

Courant Update May 13 4:00PM EST
The Hartford Courant has updated the saga of COL289 at Wesleyan. Read the whole thing here. Here are excerpts:

Bennet has asked the vice president of academic affairs to
complete an unusual review of an unusual course. He wants to
know just how ``Pornography: Writing of Prostitutes'' fits into the
university's curriculum.

But Bennet's move is generating criticism on campus, where
some students are labeling the review an unprecedented attack
on academic freedom. In e-mails ricocheting across campus,
students are contending that Bennet is motivated by a concern
for the university's image.

Indeed, national radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger - who has
staked out famously conservative positions on family, morality
and religion - railed against the course on her show Monday
afternoon.
The course, taught by Professor Hope Weissman, was offered
for the first time last year. Experts say the course reflects a
broader trend in which the sex industry is increasingly studied at
colleges and universities.

AP NEWS May 12 11:20PM EST
The furor over the pornography course and administrative response have gone national. Here is an AP article from the New York Times online. Here's the full-text:

May 12, 1999
Wesleyan Reviews Pornography Course
Filed at 9:44 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) -- Students are defending a course at Wesleyan University that requires them to create a work of pornography as a final project.
The course, College of Letters 289, examines pornography as a cultural and political practice.
One student in Professor Hope Weissman's class submitted as a final project a short film that focused on a man's eyes while he masturbates. In another project, a female student acts out a scene of sexual bondage.
The projects have gotten the attention of university President Douglas Bennett, who in a memo dated Tuesday and distributed to faculty questioned ``the appropriateness of this course in the Wesleyan curriculum.''
Bennett has ordered a review of the course.
Brian Edwards-Tiekert, a junior majoring in English and American studies, complained the review was spurred by media reports -- and not complaints from students or alumni. He said that shows the school is bowing to public pressure.
``He's taken the faculty out of the equation'' Edwards-Tiekert said. ``It just seems like a very dangerous trend.''
William Holder, a spokesman for Wesleyan, denied that the university is compromising academic standards.
``By asserting responsibility for the content of our curriculum, we are strengthening it,'' Holder said.
A phone message left Wednesday night for Professor Weissman was not returned

Academic Freedom May 12
Finals week seems to be a time to try to slip things by students. On May 8, an article ran in the Hartford Courant about Annie Sprinkle and COL 289, Pornography. Needless to say, it got some interesting "editorial" responses. President Bennet responded by sending a memo to faculty informing them that he called for a review of the course. Usually, courses aren't reviewed without student complaint. Here's more information from Brian Edwards-Tiekert of the Hermes:

The following is a memorandum to faculty from Doug Bennet that was
leaked to me this morning. In it, Bennet takes the unprecedented step of
asking for a full review of an academic course about which there has been no
complaint, thereby cutting both faculty and students out of the curricular
review process.
As I understand it, Bennet's response constitutes the largest attack
on acadmic freedom at Wesleyan in at least fourty years. It sets a dangerous
precedent for the president intervening on the level of curriculum, and for
censorship of those courses that deal with controversial subject-matter.
For me, this attack reflects the overwhelming concern with
Wesleyan's image that has eclipsed our institutional values of free inquiry,
critical self-reflection, and liberal learning. Many have identified this
concern with image as the root of nearly every protested action the
administration's taken under Bennet's reign.
I believe it is of vital importance that this matter be addressed at
the protest of the Kerr-Ritchie decision on Friday, May 14th at noon in front of the campus Center).

Here's the text of the memo (click here for the whole thing):

I want to outline my response to concerns about the appropriateness of this
course in the Wesleyan curriculum, especially the final project that
included production of pornography. I am acting pursuant to Section IV, 3, of
the trustee bylaws which states: "The faculty, with the concurrence of the
president, shall have power to determine, subject to approval of the board,
the courses of study, the arrangements of their citations, lectures and
other exercises, the times and modes of examinations, and the general method
of instruction."

When the press calls to our attention something we think needs
review, we should review it and make whatever changes we think necessary to
handle the matter responsibly.

Here's the original article.
Here's a blurb from the backlash editorial (fulltext):

OVER THE TOP AT WESLEYAN
Published on 05/11/99
Call us old fashioned, but Wesleyan University's seminar course on pornography comes as a shock. Even for that bastion of liberal and libertine thought in Middletown, the course described in part as an examination of the ``implication of pornography in so-called perverse practices such as voyeurism, bestiality, sadism and masochism . . .'' is over the top. In this line of scholarly pursuit, students earn credit by turning in homemade films of other students engaging in such acts as masturbation...

Here's a cartoon about Wesleyan, the Pornographic Ivy.

Not sure why we're getting such a hard time about this. Here's what they do at Mt. Holyoke.

A Draft? May 12
A brand-old reason to start showing up to the Iraq/Kosovo protests: the prospect of a military draft. Keep in mind that there are no longer college deferments or the category of consciencious objectors. Here's a full article in the Hartford Advocate:

Twenty-six years after the draft ended, the possibility of being "called up" seems extremely remote. Nineteen years after the Selective Service System began registering American males when they turn 18, you have a better chance of being drafted by the National Hockey League than the Army.

But in the past year, with recruiting rates for all the service branches at severe lows, a few columnists and policy wonks have suggested a draft may be necessary. Others--decrying the fact that the poor and non-white make up more than their share of U.S. combat forces--say cranking up the draft lottery to get a random sample of soldiers may be the only fair, equitable way to defend the nation.

As these scattered voices start to whisper "draft," young men who worry about this sort of thing could face that age-old question--What will you do when your number is called.

The stats don't reassure. The Navy is short 22,000 sailors. The Army is already 2,000 soldiers shy of its goals this year. With the U.S. military handling numerous missions around the world, including Iraq and Kosovo, some worry the country's forces are stretched too thin.

Kerr-Ritchie protest May 12
Kerr-Ritchie has been denied tenure again. As a result, there will be a protest this Friday, May 14th at noon in front of the campus Center. Here's info from the organizers:

Prof. Kerr-Ritchie Prof. Bernstein Prof. Cutler
We are losing our professors!!
This school refuses to listen to student voices despite the
$30,000+ a year YOU pay.
Support your faculty & DEMAND
accountability from the Administration.

'Diversity University' PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!!
For More Info Contact:
Sarah Leberstein 343-0350
Imani Duncan 343-0350
Alea Mitchell x4317

THE END May 7
As this school year wraps up, the news has dried up and the WESUNITY news site will not be updated after today. The main page (index.html) will be expanded by next fall. For this news page, WESUNITY needs a new webmaster by next year. Experience with the internet is not required, but you must own a PC and be willing to update this news site daily (it's not that hard or time-consuming). Interested? Email WESUNITY.

If you are a student group member, and feel that your group is not as effective as it could be -- think big! Work with WESUNITY and reinvigorate activism at Wesleyan. Everything you do with us, be it improving communications or connecting groups with faculty members or other resources, will bring you closer to achieving your goals. Email WESUNITY and leave strong student activism as your legacy!

E3 Tshirts May 7
E3, Wesleyan's environmental group, has several t-shirts left. 100% organic cotton, non-bleached, and with an attractive design (www.seac.org.tshirts.html). Support the student environmental movement, and purchase one for $16. Call x4993 or email E3 to place your order.

Run for WSA May 7
Next fall there are 7 spots open to all Wesleyan students for at-large representatives. Why should you run? Read this explanation from WSA Junior Class Rep, Roger Smith:

We need to get more reps from activist/student of color groups in office for several reasons:

The WSA needs activists because it desperately needs people who are backed by, in communication with, and responsible to, actual students (in this case, student groups). Activists understand how difficult it is to make people aware of anything on campus, and hard it is to get people to act on their beliefs, and have the skills needed to overcome these problems.

Wouldn't you like to get someone in the WSA who represents your student group? Wouldn't you like them to streamline procedures, improve publicity, and do other things to make the WSA a resource for student groups? Even more important than these individual issues is making the student government at Wesleyan useful and powerful, so that the student voice is a strong counter to financial or bureaucratic pressures. To become strong again, the WSA needs ambitious and dedicated people. For more details about what the WSA could do, visit www.wesleyan.edu/wesunity/candidates.html .

USLAC Rally at Trinity May 7
USLAC's local committee is transporting Wesleyan students to Trinity in support of their food service workers. Meet in C Lot at 12:15 in the back of the campus center. If you are interested, Call Olivia at x4952

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