Letter to the editor
By: Aleah Rosario
Issue date: 5/20/09 Section: Opinion
I would like to comment on the Lecture Series that featured a "debate" between Ron Jeremy and Pastor Craig Gross. I cannot ignore the fact that the University Student Union Board managed to bring out a surprisingly large crowd to the event, given that it was held on a Friday night and many students live outside of Turlock. Every seat in the theater was filled and many people were left to sit or stand along the aisles, and for that I congratulate USUB. Speaking for myself, I made the 40 mile round trip drive (for the second time that day) to watch the debate, expecting a heated, contentious debate that would tackle such issues around the porn industry, particularly the exploitation of women and the role that the porn industry has in the perpetuation of sexism. What I left with, however, was the uncomfortable feeling that I mistakenly stumbled into a sermon in which I was told that watching porn would infect my brain "like a parasite."
The debate was not a debate. There was no issue of contention, no friction. While Ron Jeremy came equipped with data and statistics from within as well as outside the industry, the pastor relied on anecdotal evidence to make his points; individual stories that I did not relate to in any way. In fact, the pastor, in his opening remarks, even managed to exclude groups of people. Saying, "I even went to a gay porn convention" and sex should happen between married people and "marriage should be between a man and a woman," the pastor cut his own feet off from underneath him. This kind of argument is exclusionary and fails to acknowledge some of the real issues around porn. Gays, women, and non-religious young adults were ignored from the debate-as well, their issues.
If the USUB wants to introduce controversial topics to the student population, I suggest it bring controversy. A mature, complete discussion around the porn industry would include not only representatives from the porn industry and the religious sector. Women's rights and feminist groups are critical to the debate. While I commend the USUB in its attempts, controversy does not mean bringing Ron in to respond to the narrow-minded, subjective attacks of moral superiority that the pastor and his followers forced upon the rest of the audience. Neither does bringing in a sexist, perpetuator of the objectification of women. His appearance in nearly 2,000 adult films (as well as his alleged 9.75 inch penis) is not grounds for Ron being put on some sort of machismo pedestal. A standing ovation by members of a fraternity here on campus when Ron walked on stage goes to show that maybe we as students just aren't ready for such a controversy. If we don't understand the problem, how can maturely and intellectually discuss the issue? This, I challenge to the USUB, would be a real controversial topic.
The debate was not a debate. There was no issue of contention, no friction. While Ron Jeremy came equipped with data and statistics from within as well as outside the industry, the pastor relied on anecdotal evidence to make his points; individual stories that I did not relate to in any way. In fact, the pastor, in his opening remarks, even managed to exclude groups of people. Saying, "I even went to a gay porn convention" and sex should happen between married people and "marriage should be between a man and a woman," the pastor cut his own feet off from underneath him. This kind of argument is exclusionary and fails to acknowledge some of the real issues around porn. Gays, women, and non-religious young adults were ignored from the debate-as well, their issues.
If the USUB wants to introduce controversial topics to the student population, I suggest it bring controversy. A mature, complete discussion around the porn industry would include not only representatives from the porn industry and the religious sector. Women's rights and feminist groups are critical to the debate. While I commend the USUB in its attempts, controversy does not mean bringing Ron in to respond to the narrow-minded, subjective attacks of moral superiority that the pastor and his followers forced upon the rest of the audience. Neither does bringing in a sexist, perpetuator of the objectification of women. His appearance in nearly 2,000 adult films (as well as his alleged 9.75 inch penis) is not grounds for Ron being put on some sort of machismo pedestal. A standing ovation by members of a fraternity here on campus when Ron walked on stage goes to show that maybe we as students just aren't ready for such a controversy. If we don't understand the problem, how can maturely and intellectually discuss the issue? This, I challenge to the USUB, would be a real controversial topic.
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