http://www.puckerup.com/media_kit/osu_press_release
Tristan Taormino is a sexual educator who has spoken at Ivy-league schools, and has done a world of good in sexual education. No more than a month’s notice, the Oregon State University cancelled her speaking engagement. Tristan isn’t begging for work: she’s a busy lady, so it’s twice the income loss for her when an institution contracts her and then cancels, citing bullshit reasons, and having prevented her making contracts in the meantime.
So why do I care? I care because of where I’ve worked, and what I’ve seen, and how much I know it helps young women to meet someone like Tristan. Strong, sex-positive female role models are not easily found. I care because if my niece told me she wanted to go to Oregon State, I’d have to advise her against it. Below is a copy of the email I sent to University officials, and at the top and bottom of this post are Tristan’s press release about the cancellation. The University has yet to issue a public statement about the situation, so if you have a minute, let them know via email or twitter (both at the bottom of Tristan’s press release), intelligently, how you feel about this.
“President Ray, Dean Accapadi & Vice Provost Roper,
I am writing in response to Oregon State University’s recent decision to rescind Tristan Taormino’s speaking engagement.
I am not a student of Oregon State University, but I AM a student of Kent State University, Ohio, and I was very disappointed to read the press release
citing the University’s reasons (on and off-record) for the cancellation. I am an Applied Communications major who has worked in political, sexual education, and rape crises fields, and the unique perspective these areas has given me makes this news more upsetting.
The CDC reports that 25% of college-age women will experience an attempted or completed rape in the time they are enrolled in college. Additionally, the CDC reports that half of the 19 million sexually transmitted diseases contracted each year are contracted by people under 25 years old, making it a special concern for college campuses.
An important step in reducing these statistics is to remove the barrier to education about sexuality, and empower people, especially young women, to feel comfortable with ownership of their sexuality. At a time when many young women are learning how to set and enforce sexual boundaries, a talk about “Claiming Your Sexual Power” could have been immensely helpful and inspiring. Being exposed to someone like Ms. Taormino could have also provided your students with a resource which allowed them to form healthy and confident attitudes about sex, assertiveness and responding to coercion. It could have also been an important step in fostering an environment in which a dialogue about sex, sexuality, responsibility and sexual confidence could thrive.
I understand that funding is always a concern: as someone who works in arts non-profits, I know of the challenges of facing political pressure when presenting potentially controversial projects to sources of funding. I understand, however, that Ms. Taormino’s topic was not pornographic in nature, but appropriate to the audience. Far from helping establish an environment that makes it comfortable to gain education about controversial topics such as sex, the University’s response validates taboo. Educating an audience about a topic does not encourage participation in a topic that would not have occurred otherwise.
The University’s choice to cancel the engagement on such short notice and without reimbursing Ms. Taormino’s travel expenses also sends the message that an educator in her field does not need to be taken as seriously as other professionals, again counter to an environment regarding sexuality that would best serve its students. The short notice cancellation also makes it difficult for Ms. Taormino to book other engagements, causing her additional financial loss.
I again must state my disappointment at The University’s lack of professionalism in handling the cancellation of this engagement, and its treatment of Ms. Taormino. I hope this incident prompts the University to examine its policies regarding contracting speakers without first ensuring funding, and to truly consider the best interests of their students.
Sincerely,
Crystal Fisher”
http://www.puckerup.com/media_kit/osu_press_release
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The university responds to me with this:
“Thank you for writing to Oregon State University. As an institution of higher education, Oregon State University is committed to free speech and an open discussion of ideas on our campuses. However, as a public university, OSU and its representatives must be careful and judicious stewards of how we allow taxpayer monies allocated to the university to be spent in service of such discussions.
Organizers of the upcoming Modern Sex Conference at OSU recently sought approval to bring in a speaker for that event by presenting a partial description of the speaker in question as a writer and sex advice columnist. However, as arrangements were being made to complete the contract for the speaker, it became clear to those providing taxpayer funding for the conference that the speaker, in fact, is also a self-described pornographer with a significant online business in video pornography and related material. A decision was made by Student Affairs leadership that using public funds to cover a speaking fee and travel expenses for the speaker constituted an inappropriate use of those funds, and the speaker’s appearance was thus cancelled.
Travel costs already incurred by the speaker in preparation for her appearance at the university will be reimbursed.
OSU regrets the communication issues that created confusion and difficulties for all parties concerned in this matter. The university’s long history as an institution that has provided fora for speakers and ideas of all kinds speaks for itself.
Sincerely,
Larry D. Roper
Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Oregon State University”
You know, focusing on that one aspect of the woman’s career and using it as a negative in order to discredit her because of THEIR shitty behavior strikes me as SPIN, not PR.