Sex-Ed Northwestern University Style

[downunder]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/weird/northwestern-university-defends-live-sex-show-in-class/story-e6frep26-1226015463584

 

Northwestern University defends live sex show in class

 

NORTHWESTERN University has defended a live sex demonstration on campus, watched by more 100 students as part of a lecture, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

 

The display - which involved a naked 25-year-old woman, her 45-year-old fiance, and a sex toy - took place in an after-class session in a course called "Human Sexuality."

 

Four members of Chicago's fetish community had been invited to speak and answer questions about "bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism," but were then invited to demonstrate their sexual behavior, also known as BDSM.

 

Faith Kroll said she initially thought she would only be answering students' questions about sex before she and partner Jim Marcus, 45, joined the presentation on February 21. However on the day she undressed and took part in the sex display, saying afterwards she was not coerced by the teacher or students.

 

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"The students seemed really intrigued," she said, according to the Sun-Times.

 

The course's professor, John Michael Bailey, said the students' reaction was "uniformly positive" and he hesitated "briefly" before allowing the sexual act.

 

"My decision to say 'yes' reflected my inability to come up with a legitimate reason why students should not be able to watch such a demonstration," he said. "I certainly have no regrets concerning Northwestern students, who have demonstrated that they are open-minded grown-ups rather than fragile children."

 

The university backed Professor Bailey and said students were not obliged to attend the session to be graded. A spokesman added that no complaint had been filed with the police.

 

Alan K. Cubbage, the vice president for university relations, said: "The university supports the efforts of its faculty to further the advancement of knowledge."

 

Ken Melvoin-Berg, a member of the fetish community and a speaker at the after-hours class, said the university paid him a sum between $300 and $500 to speak.

 

"Both Professor Bailey and myself gave them five or six warnings about what was about to happen and it would be graphic," Mr Melvoin-Berg told the Chicago Tribune.

[davisal771]

I don't see a problem; they are grown college students and they didn't have to attend if they didn't want to.

Still a little bit odd though...

[Dailey Enterprizes]

I guess these kids never heard of porn.

[ParkTrips]

The toys were unnecessary though, they should have been saved for some upper-level classes, not 1000-level shit

 

in all honesty, I think the problem was that it didn't seem planned - I mean, if you let the students know before hand whats going on, they can opt out, but if people start randomly having sex in the middle of class, you can't really escape it..

[BeemerBoy]

Who doesn't love March Madness?

[mcjaco]

The toys were unnecessary though, they should have been saved for some upper-level classes, not 1000-level poo-poo

 

in all honesty, I think the problem was that it didn't seem planned - I mean, if you let the students know before hand whats going on, they can opt out, but if people start randomly having sex in the middle of class, you can't really escape it..

 

It was planned. The prof. told them five or six times it would be happening, after class.

 

There's all sorts of sotries on this now, and none of them seem to have the whole story. Now it sounds like it wasn't sanctioned, as the President of NU is investigating it.

[ParkTrips]

^ yeah, I completely mis-read that. I'm not seeing straight today I guess!

[cfc]

William and Mary had a similar controversy a few years back involving a live presentation by representatives of the porn and sex-for-hire industries at the campus theatre in Phi Beta Kappa Hall; essentially, they were just discussing what they do for a living and why. This didn't sit well with the more provinicial residents of Williamsburg.

[downunder]

What next, is the Prof. going to be asking for a volunteer from the class to demonstrate a threesome.

[coasterfreak101]

What I heard on the radio yesterday morning was that she brought the toy with her without intention of using it, but at some point that changed. So I don't think that the students were made aware that there would be that sort of demonstration - but of course that goes against this article. And from what I heard, the president was completely against it, so I'm not sure about that either.

 

I don't see the problem, really. Now, the radio then told me a story about another school (an art school, I don't remember which), where students were supposed to "express themselves" for their final and one of the male students did things on the teacher's desk while other students took razors to his stomach. That I have a problem with.

[tiger01]

What next, is the Prof. going to be asking for a volunteer from the class to demonstrate a threesome.

Thats a little over the top. It would be ok if the students were being mature during it. And its not like they were being forced to be there. That would cause problems.

[downunder]

^My comment was very much tongue in cheek, in case that was totally obvious.

 

I found the story unusual and amusing, no big deal to me. Maybe he got the idea from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

[Philrad71]

Who doesn't love March Madness?

 

^

 

So that is what they mean when they say he drove the lane, shot it in deep, or hit it for three??

[downunder]

^Now us foreigners really know what you Americans mean when you talk about March Madness, and to think I thought it was about basketball.

 

Now you need to be careful not to commit personal fouls, or jamming it in, or worst of all - rejection, blocked shot. Double and triple teams may or may not be appreciated. And this gives a whole new meaning to the term swing man....