TV sex at UCSD: Stan & Doug not believed involved

[hoosier]

Sex acts on student TV investigated by UCSD
________
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 19, 2005

The University of California San Diego is investigating whether a campus television station's broadcast of a student performing sexual acts violated federal and university regulations.

AdvertisementThe 90-minute show, "Koala TV," which has aired three times this month, contains a 10-minute segment showing UCSD senior Steve York performing sexual acts with an unidentified woman.

The show is a spinoff of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has printed irreverent and controversial material. It has featured graphic photos and illustrations of lewd sexual behavior, and poked fun at Asians, blacks, Jews, Mormons, gays and lesbians.

"Koala TV" was broadcast on Student Run TV, a closed-circuit station that can only be viewed on campus.

When contacted earlier this week, York said he would agree to an interview only if The San Diego Union-Tribune_ purchased alcoholic beverages for him.

He told a student newspaper earlier this week that the point of the TV show was to provide entertainment and fight for students' free speech rights.

"It's my effort to bridge the gap between students and their sexual desires in a fun way," York told the UCSD Guardian.

UCSD administrators are trying to determine if the broadcast violated Federal Communications Commission regulations, the charter for SRTV, or any campus policies and procedures.

The investigation, which began Feb. 11, is expected to take a couple of weeks, said Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.

"We are disappointed that SRTV is being used for this kind of programming and these particular students have chosen to express themselves in this way," Vazquez said. "It's an educational mission and I don't necessarily see the educational value in this."

Because SRTV is a closed-circuit station, FCC regulations appear not to apply. However, SRTV's charter calls for it to provide an "artistic medium within the context of FCC rules and regulations governing on-air conduct and the operation of a closed-circuit television station."

Vazquez noted that, depending on the findings of the investigation, students can face sanctions.

"SRTV is a student-operated service, so yes, they would be held accountable," she said.

Chelsea Welch, SRTV's general manager, believes the content of the show does not violate any campus or FCC regulations. Station rules allow indecent material to be broadcast between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., as long as it's not copyrighted material, Welch said.

Deciding whether the material is obscene will be difficult, because many of the FCC regulations are not black and white, said Mark Powers, vice president of the California Broadcasters Association, a trade organization.

"Obscenity is always in the purview of the beholder," Powers said. "It's such a murky area."

The station's $9,000 budget is funded by student activities fees and is allocated from the Associated Students budget.

The purpose of SRTV, Welch said, is to provide an avenue for students to express a viewpoint or receive coverage for a student event. The station does not censor students' material.

"Students dictate what gets put up on the air," said Welch, a 21-year-old psychology major. "If a student has a problem with a show, they can have their own show to counter it. If a majority of students have a problem, we can take it off."

Welch said that of the estimated 100 e-mails, calls and comments the station has received related to the Koala TV segment, the vast majority have been positive.

UCSD student body President Jenn Pae said she has not heard of any student complaints. Pae has chosen not to watch the show, and stressed that all students have that choice.

"Students can either turn off the TV or change the channel," Pae said. "They are not a captive audience."

In the past, UCSD's administration has shied away from sanctioning The Koala magazine, stating that all the material is protected free speech.

But newspaper editors at other universities, including some private ones, have been disciplined. For example, earlier this week, editors at the Nassau Weekly, a student-run magazine distributed at Princeton University, said they would apologize for publishing a top-10 list of made-up Holocaust movies that offended some students.

[DeltAlum]

The FCC has little or no authority over cable programming. The possibility of a Federal violation here is pretty miniscule.

On the other hand, if the "station" is supported by university dollars, I would think that they have, at least, the option of pulling that funding.

[DeltaSigStan]

Funny hoosier...

The Koala distributes the paper on our campus, and it used to be called The Kiss My Aztec. As a staff writer for our sanctioned newspaper, The Daily Aztec, I have to say a lot of of it is hilarious though, and of course none of it should be taken seriously.

Guess they found the line to cross. Nice.

ETA: According to our alumni, during the early 80s, Doug once went into a porta-potty in front of the old DU house. The ducks proceeded to block three sides with their trucks, and they tipped him over....ouch.

[AKA_Monet]

I'm suprised those goof ball nerds up at UCSD got the balls enuf to do a 10 minute pornocopia flick on Koala TV.... Good for them...

State could have done it... But why, when it's done up close and personal at Cheetahs, et. al.?

If UCSD should shut down closed circuit TV---I'd think Cox Communications might have a bit of issue with that... Or at least Pac Bell... These sci-fi sexual fantasy geeks need some form of relaxation up there in their tight wadded .com UC Regent dic(k)ta(s)ted sembelence of life... And Che cafe ain't it, no mo... Otherwise, they wouldn't be bothering State to hangout with us... Dayum!

[vivalasdeltas]

Originally posted by AKA_Monet
I'm suprised those goof ball nerds up at UCSD got the balls enuf to do a 10 minute pornocopia flick on Koala TV.... Good for them...

State could have done it... But why, when it's done up close and personal at Cheetahs, et. al.?

If UCSD should shut down closed circuit TV---I'd think Cox Communications might have a bit of issue with that... Or at least Pac Bell... These sci-fi sexual fantasy geeks need some form of relaxation up there in their tight wadded .com UC Regent dic(k)ta(s)ted sembelence of life... And Che cafe ain't it, no mo... Otherwise, they wouldn't be bothering State to hangout with us... Dayum!

hopefully, that was sarcastic.

if not, i think the ucsd rep extends to only a certain portion of our campus. the other portion goes greek.

which is why, whenever you kids have "crazy parties" down there, mostly non-affiliated kids go. the rest of us are smart enough to enjoy ourselves safely.