Make love, not war

Apparently the esteemed Shane Enterprises ran aground on Indiana University soil in order to accomplish the unspeakable: to create an adult film.\nOh my heavens! Somebody please fasten your chastity belts, this is going to be a bumpy ride.\nSo why was this front page news two days ago? Well of course, according to the authorities, sex is naughty.\nIU spokesman Bill Stephan noted that if the allegations of the porno stars on campus were true, you would have "a group of adults involved in highly suspect activities."\nHighly suspect? May I ask, where do babies come from? If it weren't for highly suspect activities, you wouldn't have a student body over which to flex your spokesman muscles.\nFurthermore, sex is as much a part of college life as underage drinking. The only difference, for the 18 to 20 year-olds on campus, sex is legal. \nAnd we've always known that sex sells. Just ask Bloomington's famous pizza delivery company, Pizza Express, which is notorious for handing out Lifestyle condoms.\nSo why all the fuss? We all know sex is one of the biggest motivators in our day and age -- pornography then seems only a likely off-shoot. It is a legitimate industry that provides the service that everybody wants, but unfortunately not everyone can get through direct experience. Too often, they have to settle for first hand.\nIU's own Kinsey Institute has been conducting a survey on the use of pornography, and information is available on PBS' Frontline Web site. Of the 10,453 individuals surveyed, only 3 percent admitted to never having used or watched pornography.\nAnd why do people delve into such dirty and unmentionable activities? A few of the top reasons from the survey were: 1) It educates. 2) It offers a harmless outlet for unconventional or other private fantasies. 3) It can even improve relationships.\nSo why then, when commenting on the credibility of Shane Enterprises, does Stephan say, "I think you have to consider the source?"\nIndeed, consider the source. But do it correctly. Instead of the blanket generalization of some demonic temptresses leading innocent college youth into dorm rooms and frat halls with candy-canes and penny-whistles, perhaps we should examine what is actually at stake.\nDoes Stephan know that Shane Enterprises was the first adult film industry to -- as they say in the business -- "go condoms only?" Shane herself says in an interview by "Unchain Underground," another adult Web site, "there are a lot of young people out there that watch porn, which is why I always talk about safe sex, and getting tested for AIDS and using condoms. We always try to talk about good positive things. We're not the company that slaps you on the ass and tells you 'you're a cunt.'"Knowing that kids will always get their hands on pornography (especially in the dorms with that high-speed connection) she at least tries to mitigate some of the misogynistic and unsafe harms that other porno companies may promote.\nI guess the only complaint I feel the University should register would be that pornography halts the educational process. It stunts the imagination. For me, it's too vivid. What ever happened to the days when a picture of Margaret Thatcher in a tight sweater was all a boy needed to do his dirty work? If you ask me, porno just seems to take too many short cuts.\nIU, make love, not war, and let lovers under their covers rest.