A Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?

As of last week, the spread of misinformation on campus was no longer confined to the pages of campus publications: The Tufts Republicans decided to get in on the action. They sent out a press release decrying Sex on the Hill, or as they termed it, the "Pornographic 'Sex Fair'" which they claimed was university-sponsored. This event, held by Tufts VOX, was also supported by Health Services and the Women's Center.

It was nothing more than an optional, educational opportunity for Tufts students to learn about healthy choices surrounding safe sex and general sexuality. Surely the Tufts Republicans didn't agree with the fair (after all, it wasn't all about abstinence), but was a distorted press release the proper response? You could argue that all press is good press. Unless, of course, it is driven by their inconsistent values, lies, and sensationalism to create a controversial news story where there would otherwise not be one.

The story became so badly twisted by the Tufts Republicans' claims that one particular news station called Tufts to express their disgust without actually hearing from those who ran the Sex Fair. Was this a biased station? Nope. It actually claims to be "fair and balanced." So basically, if the Tufts Republicans are able to put "Tufts" and "pornographic" in the same sentence, they can generate newsworthy claims, whether or not it is accurate. There is a certain shock-value associated with "pornographic" that gives the outside press something to chew on. Overall, this distorted report is the Tufts Republicans attempt to get their two minutes of fame on New England Cable News.

Now, was the fair really pornographic and inappropriate? Or is this really a Tufts Republicans effort, or a group member's personal vendetta against liberal pro-choice student group VOX? The fair was far from pornographic, and if anatomically correct drawings of female and male bodies are pornographic, then so is every human biology textbook on this campus. And, of course, the Tufts Republicans conveniently neglected to write press releases to expose the campus-wide public nudity displayed at the Naked Quad Run, or the semi-annual public showing of porn at Film Series. I mean, how can a Sex Fair contain more porn than ...well, porn.

Claiming that the University itself sponsored the events and was "promoting such a degraded view of sexuality" was the Tufts Republicans' second grand faux pas in their release. The event was sponsored, organized, and run by Tufts VOX, a TCU student group. TCU groups' actions do not represent the University as a whole. For this very reason, every TCU-funded publication carries the label "a student publication" to serve as a buffer between ideas presented by the University itself and individuals within the University as a whole. By the Tufts Republicans' logic, the University also sponsors gun shooting trips (Tufts Republicans), hates abortion (Tufts Republicans), and isn't a fan of gay marriage either (Tufts Republicans). Wow... Can you just see our admissions numbers climbing now?

What could be a more "healthy conception of love and relationships" than education about our bodies, having the ability to ask trained staff from Health Services questions about sexuality, and the importance of using the proper type of lubricant to avoid condoms from breaking (which, illustrated in the Condom Olympics, was of course considered by the Tufts Republicans to be inappropriate. Is it any surprise that STIs are spreading rampant on a campus when there are complaints about learning about proper types of lube?).

Last Monday night, Vagina Monologues cast members held a Vagina Dialogue to discuss some of the issues festering on campus surrounding "another sexually explicit 'sex fair,' Vulvapalooza, a 'free event celebrating vaginas,'" as well as reactions from the Monologues themselves. This would have presented the perfect opportunity for the Tufts Republicans to discuss what they found to be pornographic and indecent, rather than writing lie-riddled press releases to gain gratuitous attention. Unfortunately, however, two of the top GOPs, and, coincidentally, co-authors of the press release, were not in attendance.

The Sex Fair, Vulvapalooza, the Vagina Monologues, and many other events provide an opportunity to discuss healthy sexuality and safer sex practices in a space that rebukes taboo and promotes discussion. There is nothing gratuitous about this.

I think I deserve something better. I think I deserve the truth as well as freedom of expression, the great constitutional right that the Tufts Republicans supposedly supports.

Amy Spindel is a senior majoring in Clinical Psychology.