The University of Pennsylvania nipped a public relations disaster in the bud two weeks ago when it decided not to prosecute a student for publishing photographs of two students giving a live sex show in their dorm window. Now the University of Western Ontario faces a similar publicity dilemma. Last fall, a freshman student performed a full strip tease, including lap dance, for a co-ed group of fellow dorm residents. The event was elaborately documented, and is now elaborately available on the internet for all to see (warning: that last link goes to the photos themselves).

The University is, as one might predict, "investigating" the incident. But the twist here is that there does not seem to be anything to prosecute. No one filed a complaint, and the event took place in the privacy of a dorm room. And when university administrators questioned the student stripper, she declared that no one forced her to strip, and that she agreed to be photographed. In other words, unlike the woman student at Penn, who performed live for several days running in her window and then filed a complaint when her performance was recorded and disseminated, this student has and had no qualms about either her walk on the wild side or, apparently, its electronic publication.

Western Ontario officials appear to be more embarrassed by the event than the students involved, but they also seem to recognize that they don't have any real jurisdiction over what goes on in the privacy of dorm rooms or over what students choose to post on the worldwide web: "We certainly regret this has happened," said Susan Grindrod, who is vice-president of housing at UWO. "It's not something the university condones and we are very disappointed in these students, but rooms in residence are considered to be students' homes, and what goes on between consenting adults in the privacy of their homes is considered to be their business." Grindrod added that "I'm not sure how we would regulate students' blogs and websites even if we wanted to."

Personally, I don't think the University should be embarrassed at all--except, perhaps, insofar as it has been shown to be totally typical in a moment when typicality is not indicative of respectability. Students are doing this sort of thing everywhere; it's part of the debauched party atmosphere of the contemporary college campus. What's different about the University of Western Ontario is that administrators recognized in the moment that there are real limits to how much they can control the choices and the behavior of students. That's unusual these days, and it's something to be proud of.

Thanks to Fred Ray for the link.

Erin: please attach a note to the hyperlink "elaborately available on the internet" to indicate that it is an explicit link. I clicked on it thinking that it, like the last link, would be to a newspaper article. It is not: it is to the pictures themselves, which immediately come up. At least warn us that these are not "workplace safe" or "university academic department office safe" :-)

Susan Grindrod? That's this person's real name, and not the monicker of a lapdancing artist? Must be in the category of "You can't make this stuff up."

John Bonnell

By the way, Erin, are you leaving the boarding school in the Berkshires to return to Penn? I had a commenter point out to me today that you're listed as teaching two courses in Victorian at Penn for Spring Semester 2006. Link and discussion here. I've searched your site to the best of my ability, and while I cite a post that says you're officially "on leave" from Penn, it would seem appropriate that if you've decided to return, you provide some insight into the thinking that led to such a decision.

Kind of puts the old RA-using-dorm-room-for-Bible-study story in a new light, huh? I'll bet the university officials would gladly trade that scenario for this one.

By the way, the RA can now have his Bible studies.

It's a pleasant surprise that the Western Ontario administration is taking the stance that they're not going to try and prosecute these students. Let's hope other schools look at the good publicity that tolerance brings and follow suit.

I could kick myself for living in off-campus housing.