Ethical Journalism Conundrum at the UofC

A student who works as a stripper agrees to a gig stripping at a student union sex show. The student paper runs a picture of her and now she says that she does not feel safe on campus and that she has been humiliated. I am trying to sort out that if someone is comfortable stripping live in front of students on campus, then how does the picture make things worse?

Also, across Canada students fought to get rid of Engineering students' "Godiva Rides" where strippers were hired to ride horses on campus. Now student unions are organizing sex shows on campus with strippers? Factor in the increasing popularity of smoking on campuses and the Tragically Hip's observation that " A generation dumber than its parents came crashin' through the window..."

Here's the story. I should add that when this story ran, while the student only used her professional name in the story, she allowed a full (clothed) picture of herself to published on the front page of the second section.

"U of C paper unapologetic
Student in nude photo says she 'can't go back'"

Deborah Tetley
Calgary Herald
Friday, March 11, 2005
A third-year University of Calgary student at the centre of a nude photo firestorm has pulled out of classes while the newspaper that published the image stands firm in its editorial decision.
Thursday's edition of the student-run Gauntlet issued no apologies for the picture of a nude dancer. Instead, it blamed the university's students' union for allowing scantily dressed men and women to perform on campus in the first place.
That has prompted administration to talk of censuring the paper, and campus clubs have launched a petition with an eye on withholding student fees from the paper.
Citing humiliation, philosophy major Honey Houston (not her real name) said she will finish the semester by correspondence.
"I can't go back there," Houston, 28, said Thursday. "There is a full, frontal nude picture of me in my school newspaper. It was a school where I felt safe, where I was judged on intelligence and where I felt equal. That's been stripped from me."
News editor Dale Miller said the Gauntlet was invited to cover the event and the decision to run the photo reflects Sexual Awareness Week.
"The show did shock the university and I covered it in the same fashion it was conducted," he wrote. "To do any different would be an inaccurate representation of an event on campus. If there is one place in society that should be censorship-free, it is the university environment."
In a editorial Thursday exploring the disappearance of stacks of newspapers, the weekly paper points to the students' union, among others, as possible suspects. "If not the feminists, could it have been the students' union, trying to cover their error in allowing the striptease to occur within their facility?"
Meanwhile, a university official said administration is considering censuring the newspaper, and the students' union again called for an apology.
"We're going to ask the SU to join us in censuring the Gauntlet," said U of C spokesman Roman Cooney. "The most powerful statement we can make to the Gauntlet now is that the students and university agree the paper's response avoids the larger issue."
Cooney said he's fielded numerous complaints from industry and business.
"This really undermines all the more important issues on campus," he said.
Students' union president Bryan West said that while the Gauntlet's response is insufficient, he needs to discuss with his colleagues the next move for council and administration's request for censure.
"I can't make that decision unilaterally," West said. "But I still feel the Gauntlet needs to apologize, especially to this student."
Miller said the performers are not victims and the paper would not have run the photo had it been a private event.
But Houston said she feels like a victim and is disappointed the Gauntlet hasn't apologized to her or the campus community for running her nude image.
The student said that although she works as an exotic dancer to pay for her education, she doesn't deserve to be "maligned" in this way.
(Honey Houston is the woman's stage name. The Herald agreed not to publish her real name.)
She recognizes some people might find it ironic that she was nude on stage on campus in front of an audience of her peers, yet she's upset by the image in the paper.
"It's not hard to understand," said Houston, who is Miss Nude Canada 2005.
"At my work, no cameras are allowed, my privacy is respected and I feel protected," she said. "This is objectification of women at its finest."
She declined to say if there are plans to take action against the Gauntlet.
Houston said she's particular about images published of her, including promotional material used for her career.
"I don't do photos that I can't show my mom and dad. And I can't show my mom and dad this."
The student will finish the semester by correspondence, with help from her professors and classmates, she said.
"I can't go back there," she said of the university campus. "It was the one place I could blend in and make an
intelligent contribution and not be known for my body. This was my college experience and it's ruined."
Meanwhile, the Campus Conservative Association is among several groups behind a petition that has garnered nearly 300 signatures.
dtetley@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2005

Grenades in schools

People should learn to read legislation BEFORE they try to get it passed. At least have an aide do it for you.

Arizona: Extreme Gun Lobby Bill To Allow Guns, Grenades & Missiles Into Schools is Dropped by Author
State Rep. Doug Quelland, R-Phoenix, has promised to drop a bill he has been carrying for the gun lobby because he realized the bill is absurdly broad, even though it had already passed the Arizona House of Representatives. The bill would have allowed people to carry any hidden weapons – including guns, grenades, rockets, missiles, mines and sawed-off shotguns - into schools, polling places and nuclear plants if they claimed to be trying to protect themselves. No background check or concealed handgun permit (CCW) would have been required. The NRA has been pushing legislation to allow people to carry hidden handguns without CCW permits or background checks in several states, but only Alaska and Vermont have such laws, and they do not allow grenades into schools. The Arizona bill is part of the NRA’s outrageous assault on the nation’s gun laws.

Wi-Fi Tip - Enable MAC Address Filtering

Wi-Fi Tip - Enable MAC Address Filtering

Those of you with wireless home networks should be taking some steps to ensure your security, especially if you have neighbours close to your house.

Make sure you have changed the router password. Use a combination numbers, letters (cap and non-caps) and punctuation.

Enable WEP - yes, it has been hacked, but you still lock your car doors, no?

Enable MAC address filtering. The MAC address will be visible in your clients table.

Simple steps, easy to do, and keeps locals from getting into your network.

The Sherman Brothers - A Sham!

Anyone watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) on CBC last night would have surely heard how the Sherman Brothers stole music from "A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" for the coda of B & B. Shame on you!

Give Milli Vanilli their Grammy!

Ari Fan Club

Welcome to the Ari Fan Club

Wow, Al Franken was right. Celebrity trumps politics.

The Globe and Mail: Grit chief says party is behind Martin

Grit chief says party is behind Martin.

Personally, I don't think Martin will survive until the next election. I am guessing he will serve out his term as PM, and then be shuffled off to the side so that the Liberals can pretend to put the scandals behind them.

But who can they put up as a replacement? Hey, maybe Belinda Stronach will cross the floor.

Any thoughts?