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Media Update – November 7, 2003

1. Cuffs receives $94 through GSB Special Allocations
2. ISU government funds bondage club
3. Weapons charge brought in alleged staged rape
4. Police raid ends swingers party

1. Cuffs receives $94 through GSB Special Allocations
2. ISU government funds bondage club
3. Weapons charge brought in alleged staged rape
4. Police raid ends swingers party


Cuffs receives $94 through GSB Special Allocations

By Tom Barton
Iowa State Daily
November 6, 2003

Cuffs, an organization formed to educate the community about bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism, was approved for funding by the Government of the Student Body.

"[Cuffs] would have still existed as a functional student organization without the funding, but we wouldn't have had to postpone certain events and purchases we wanted to do," said Cuffs President Harlan "Duane" Long. "We would have maintained our vital services without funding, but we wouldn't have been able to do a lot of things we want to as a group."

Long said the group creates a welcoming community for people interested in BDSM. "It helps members mental health to have a group like this. It's similar to someone coming out of the closet and going to the LGBTA Alliance. It shows people they're not alone," he said. "I believe opposition to Cuffs is largely based on misconceptions, and that's only something that will go away with time as Cuffs is here to educate people more." [cont.]

To read this article go to:
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/11/06/3fa9d2c7dbcfb
To respond, write to: letters@iowastatedaily.com

ISU student government funds bondage club

By Jessica Graham
Des Moines Register
November 6, 2003

Iowa State University student leaders voted 21-9 Wednesday to grant funds to a student organization that teaches about bondage and other sexual fetishes. The Government of the Student Body gave $94 to the group, called Cuffs. Leaders of Cuffs said they requested the money to promote the group and try to increase attendance at its meetings.

Duane Long Jr., an ISU senior and Cuffs' president, said receiving the money was a big step. "Receiving the money is a triumph for diversity," he said.

Leigh Streit, 20, a junior from Gowrie, said he didn't know whether Cuffs should have been given money. "I don't really know how you discriminate, where you draw the line," he said. [cont.]

To read this article, go to:
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4780927/22690036.html
To respond, write to: letters@dmreg.com

Weapons charge brought in alleged staged rape

By James Kogutkiewicz
Greater Milwaukee Today
November 6, 2003

An Illinois man will face only illegal weapons possession in Waukesha County for his alleged role in a staged abduction and rape of an area woman.

Medrano was arrested Sunday after the alleged victim, a 19-year-old Waukesha woman, told police he went too far while role-playing the prearranged incident. The woman alleged Medrano carved the word "Jesus" into her back with a knife and also forced her to perform oral sex, Waukesha County Circuit Court records show.

The two met through the Internet at a Web site devoted to sadomasochistic practices, a criminal complaint shows. The woman alleges they agreed he would do nothing that would leave a permanent mark on her body and oral sex would not be involved, the complaint shows. [cont.]

To read this article, go to:
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/November_03/11062003_07.asp
To respond, write to: dshook@conleynet.com

Police raid ends swingers party

By Amy Sherman and Brian Bonner
November 4, 2003
Pioneer Press

Twenty minutes before police raided a South St. Paul sex swingers club, one of the partygoing couples reportedly won the top prize – a sex game – for their Halloween costumes. They were dressed as a police officer and a jailbird.

When the real police arrived at 1 a.m. Saturday, they found about 100 partygoers in the two-story building between two bars on South Concord Street. Officers also found small amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine.

South St. Paul Police Chief Michael Messerich said police had suspected for months that Cline had been operating a swingers club at the location. But Messerich said that no allegations of prostitution or nonconsensual sex had surfaced. The alleged activity, consensual sex among adults, is not illegal, the chief noted.

"We only enforce criminal law," Messerich said. "We don't make judgments about people's private activities. They generated some complaints, but there was no outcry to shut them down."

City planner Bill Goff said inspectors will attempt to determine whether Cline's operation violated any city ordinances. Sex-oriented businesses are restricted to an industrial area closer to the Mississippi River and would not be permitted at Cline's location, Goff said. [cont.]

To read this article, go to:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/7175255.htm
To respond, write to:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/contact_us/feedback_np1/

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