By
The Wildcat Online Opinions Board
Ever wonder what would happen if our student body government teamed up with the Women's Resource Center to sponsor a sex workshop? Well, about 50 students found out last Thursday night, and the result was a somewhat graphic seminar that left students with visions of artificial penises and other sexual "toys."
In the workshop, sex educator Merryl Sloane led the seminar with a goal of helping students "have the greatest sex you could possibly imagine." Sloane used several props - including the aforementioned devices - and held nothing back during the workshop, which also featured her six-step program to make sexual discovery easier for young people. The first step was for the partners to know themselves through masturbation before proceeding on to further levels.
Again, this event was approved by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, our student body government. This fact alone isn't that big of a deal, but what is extremely troubling is that the student Senate seemingly had absolutely no idea about what the seminar was about, even after it took place.
Unlike other events this semester, i.e. FACES and Fall Ball, ASUA didn't do its homework.
After the meeting, Sen. Kristel Miller was contacted and asked about her reaction to the content presented. Neither she nor any other ASUA member was at the workshop, primarily because most of them were at a rehearsal dinner for Friday's Campaign Arizona festivities.
"Honestly, I had no idea it was that graphic," Miller said after hearing about some of the material presented. "But as we represent students, who are we to judge what is appropriate?"
She continued, "It's a little controversial but we at college campuses are notoriously pretty liberal."
Two things stick out here that indicate ASUA struck out looking on this seminar. First, the Senate did not know what was presented at the seminar. They might have understood the gist of the workshop, but that's it. Taking this a step further, imagine if a ASUA-supported club came to the Senate and requested funding and/or approval for a racial diversity seminar. Imagine if they had approved it without knowing exactly what was going to be discussed, as they did with the sex workshop. Imagine, then, the outburst that would have resulted if this racial diversity talk included hooded speakers, burning crosses and racial epithets. This might be outrageous to some, but completely appropriate to the group sponsoring the event.
True, this is a bit of a stretch, but the point is that our student government needs to be aware of any material - controversial or not - being presented at events it sponsors.
Second, Miller is right in saying that ASUA doesn't have the right to determine what is appropriate to all students. But, at events it sponsors, the elected officials not only have the right to do this, but they have to - it is their duty.
Luckily, the content at last Thursday's workshop didn't offend many people. Most attendees had a few laughs, learned a little and went home happy. But this does signify a problem within our student government that indicates that our elected representatives have some work to do on tuning up their communication skills. Hopefully, this isn't the tip of a larger iceberg.
This editorial represents the collaborative stance of the Arizona Daily Wildcat Opinions Board.
