CMU shows porn film, causing mixed reactions through Point Park

Carnegie Mellon University has chosen to include a hardcore porn film as part of their film series, causing mixed reactions from Point Park University students and faculty as they begin to wonder if their own college would ever show something like this.

"The New Devil in Miss Jones" is a porn film that played Thursday April 26, in a general, on-campus auditorium open to all CMU students. Anyone who wanted to view the movie had to present his or her CMU ID to get in. To CMU students and faculty, the porno is not taken seriously on campus. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, some call porn a "sexual education experience," along with the right to free speech.

But not all college campuses hold this same perspective. Early this month, the University of Maryland planned to show "Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge," a hardcore pornographic film. But just hours before the screening, the school canceled the movie, due to a threat from legislature to cut state funding if the movie was shown. This caused an uproar on the campus, as students came together to protest the censorship in the campus lecture hall.

"Pirates II," banned from Maryland, was shown on CMU's campus last year. In fact, students enjoyed it so much that, according to a Post-Gazette article published earlier this month, they rated it among the top three films shown last year. Some of their other top-rated movies included "WALL-E," "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight."

But would that same light-hearted spirit to these porn films be found here, at Point Park?

Associate Dean of Campus Life Jan-Mitchell Sherrill has had some experience with college students and porn films. At his former institution, George Washington University in D.C., a group of students asked to show a pornographic film as part of a screening series.

"The president at the time, his first reaction was to say 'You're not bringing a porn film on this campus, it's offensive to women and all these other things…'" Sherrill said.

But someone convinced him otherwise, arguing that they should let the students "muddle through this themselves." So they went ahead to the showing, and as it turned out, nobody showed up.

"I think it taught everybody there a lesson; it taught me a lesson." Sherrill said. "Most times students will think through these things for themselves."

Sherrill agrees with some of the students from CMU, who were quoted saying that if a student is offended or does not wish to go, they simply do not have to attend the screening. Nobody is forced to go see the movies.

When asked if Point Park would ever show something like this, Sherrill had his doubts.

"It hasn't been brought up. And I don't anticipate that it will be," Sherrill said.

He doubts that Point Park students would even want to see it, saying, "My experience with Point Park students is that they would not be interested."

But Randy Rogan, senior cinema and digital arts major, thinks differently on the issue.

"I could definitely see Point Park doing that - it's a very liberal school," Rogan said.

Rogan is a part of Point Park's John P. Harris Society, a group that regularly gets together to watch films and discuss them.

Is pornography a "sexual education experience?" In Rogan's opinion, it is not at all. He says porn is simply "fun."

"Everybody wants to have sex and watch other people have sex," Rogan said, laughing.

Dean Sherrill said it is interesting that the issue has not been brought up at Point Park - at least not yet.

"Of course, that's the obvious thing that if a local school is doing it, then we should do it too," he said.