1. Club focusing on fringe sexuality denied ECU association
2. Case sparks dialogue about judicial process
3. Judge denies dominatrix's motions to dismiss
4. "Gaypril" Commences With Open Mic
5. Administration wages war on pornography
1. Club focusing on fringe sexuality denied ECU association
2. Case sparks dialogue about judicial process
3. Judge denies dominatrix's motions to dismiss
4. "Gaypril" Commences With Open Mic
5. Administration wages war on pornography
Club focusing on fringe sexuality denied ECU association:
Informational BDSM organization will continue without university approval
by Holly O'Neal
The East Carolinian (Greenville, NC)
April 08, 2004
The nine members and 50 pending members of an ECU organization for individuals interested in sadomasochist sexuality will not have an official tie to the university. Dominique Marshall, the group's founder, was informed of the decision last week.
In a letter to Marshall, Vice Chancellor for Student Life Garrie Moore, who approves campus organizations, said he could not approve this group because he felt it didn't support ECU's mission statement.
[Moore said] "I support free speech … however, I was concerned that I protect students and the general public from a type of group that would insult or present itself in a way that would conflict with appropriateness and standards of civility and common courtesy."
Marshall formed the group, originally called ECU BDSM (bondage, discipline and sadomasochism) in October 2002. She sought university recognition and approval in October 2003.
"I was personally interested in BDSM when I came here as a freshman," said Marshall. "But there was no group for it. I wanted to go to a place where people would not judge me, and I saw other students needed that as well."
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/04/08/407493d882e42
To respond, write to:
editor@theeastcarolinian.com or comment at bottom of the article
Case sparks dialogue about judicial process
by Tom Barton
Iowa State Daily
April 08, 2004
A meeting attended last Friday by Government of the Student Body members, Director of the Office of Judicial Affairs Bethany Schuttinga and Dean of Students Pete Englin was the first in what officials promised to be a series of discussions that could lead to change in the judiciary.
A case involving a campus bondage and sadomasochism group, Cuffs, raised concerns about impartiality in the process. Schuttinga investigated, charged and decided the case.
However, GSB members stressed the meeting was not about Cuffs and said they're working to shift focus away from the group and onto what they said is a bigger issue.
"It would be hard to say that [Cuffs] wasn't responsible for spurring the idea of creating the meeting," said GSB Graduate College senator Dan Christenson, who was at the meeting. "Cuffs really made us more aware of how the judicial system works, but it's not about Cuffs; it's about the judicial process."
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/04/08/4074cfce5e646
To respond, write to:
letters@iowastatedaily.com or comment at bottom of the article
Judge denies dominatrix's motions to dismiss
The Associated Press
via The Worchester Telegram and Gazette
April 07, 2004
DEDHAM, Mass.- A judge on Wednesday denied motions filed by a dominatrix's seeking to dismiss manslaughter and dismemberment charges against her.
Barbara Asher, 54, who went by the name Mistress Lauren M, allegedly dismembered and disposed of the body of client Michael Lord in July 2000 after he had a fatal heart attack during a bondage session.
Asher, who pleaded innocent, filed motions to dismiss the charges, claiming there is no evidence Lord, of North Hampton, N.H., was ever in her apartment. Lord's remains have never been recovered and Asher maintains that the retired telephone company worker may still be alive.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040407/APN/404071052&cachetime=5
To respond, write to: letters@telegram.com
"Gaypril" Commences With Open Mic
by Claire Provost
The Harvard Crimson
April 06, 2004
About 30 students gathered in Boylston Hall last night to kick off "Gaypril", a month set to include gay pride celebrations, a day of silence to raise awareness about the prevalance of homophobia, and a panel of sadomasochism experts.
Gaypril, which has been hosted by the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA) for nearly a decade, serves to "promote the visibility and strength of a BGLTQ community on campus", said co-chair Stephanie M. Skier '05.
In an event unique to this year's Gaypril, BGLTSA will present a screening on April 26 of "Toilet Training", a documentary about discriminiation linked to gender-segregated bathrooms, accompanied by findings from a study on bathroom access on and near campus. For the past few months the BGLTSA has conducted a thorough investigation of Harvard buildings and dorms to locate gender-neutral and gender-specific bathrooms.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=358622
To respond, write to:
the author at jprovost@fas.harvard.edu or the editors at letters@thecrimson.com
Administration wages war on pornography:
Obscenity: For the first time in 10 years, the U.S. government is spending millions to file charges across the country
by Laura Sullivan
Baltimore Sun
April 06, 2004
WASHINGTON – Lam Nguyen's job is to sit for hours in a chilly, quiet room devoid of any color but gray and look at pornography. This job, which Nguyen does earnestly from 9 to 5, surrounded by a half-dozen other "computer forensic specialists" like him, has become the focal point of the Justice Department's operation to rid the world of porn.
In this field office in Washington, 32 prosecutors, investigators and a handful of FBI agents are spending millions of dollars to bring anti-obscenity cases to courthouses across the country for the first time in 10 years. Nothing is off limits, they warn, even soft-core cable programs such as HBO's long-running Real Sex or the adult movies widely offered in guestrooms of major hotel chains.
Department officials say they will send "ripples" through an industry that has proliferated on the Internet and grown into an estimated $10 billion-a-year colossus profiting Fortune 500 corporations such as Comcast, which offers hard-core movies on a pay-per-view channel.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.obscenity06apr06,0,3004361.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
To respond, write to: letters@baltsun.com
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