Vendors leasing table or booth spaces on campus will have to clean up their acts following complaints by students and faculty about sexually offensive products.
A female student approached history professor Laura Ryan with a complaint about a vendor selling incense labeled “Pussy.” She said she confronted the vendor about the language on his product, but he did not seem to understand why it was offensive.
Ryan said the vendor’s attitude underscored many of the problems facing women in American society. Women are diminished when they are treated as sex objects and obscene names for female genitalia can be used to sell products, she said. SWC coeds should not have to be subjected to these kinds of situation, said Ryan.
“I was hoping to bring awareness to a discriminatory situation and was hoping that we could find a way to ask these vendors to practice sensitivity towards others,” she said. “I thought that institutions of higher education had the desire to educate others about these kinds of situations and to help people feel welcomed on our campus, not offended by sexist language.”
Robert Unger, interim director of human resources, looked into the le¬gal side of the matter, balancing free speech rights and the rights of the audience.
“The primary issue in the restraint on speech is content neutrality,” he said. “In other words, the rules are the same regardless of the speaker and regardless of the message contained in the speech. Obscene materials may be regulated, furthermore, commercial speech is not generally given the same leeway as speech of public concern.”
Arlie Ricasa, director of student development and health services, said she was not entirely aware of the controversial product, but agreed that it was not appropriate to sell on a college campus.
“With commercial vendors we have more leeway and a right to determine if they can sell merchandise on campus,” said Ricasa. “When a commercial vendor comes on campus we will now administer what they are selling. If we get a complaint from a student about a vendor, we will immediately go out and investigate the issue.”
Ryan said she is concerned there is not enough being done. After she raised the issue the college will now require vendors to sign a form agreeing not to sell any offensive or discriminatory products.
“If they want to sell stuff like this in a sex shop, that’s one thing,” she said. “But female college students should not have to deal with that as they walk to class or the cafeteria. It sends a cheap, demeaning message that I know the college does not embrace.”
