- UC Berkeley suspended a male sexuality class Friday after
the campus newspaper published allegations that students watched their
instructor have sex at a strip club and participated in an orgy at an
extracurricular
party.
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- The suspension was announced after student instructors
of the male sexuality class failed to attend a meeting with a university
official Friday, said Marie Felde, a spokeswoman for the University of
California, Berkeley. An investigation into the course was launched two
days ago.
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- "Those sorts of activities are not part of the
approved
course curriculum," Felde said. "We need to find out what the
situation is. All we have now is a report in a student
newspaper."
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- A female sexuality course is also under review, Felde
said. Instructors named in Friday's story by the Daily Californian could
not be reached for comment.
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- The courses were offered under the university's
"democratic
education" or "de-cal" program, which are sponsored but
not funded by the university. They are organized and run by student
instructors
and can be taken for credit toward graduation. Other such courses are
Blackjack,
where students are taught how to count cards, and Copwatch, which advises
students "how to safely and effectively assert their rights when
interacting
with police."
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- Christy Kovacs, a UC Berkeley freshman who was enrolled
in the male sexuality course last semester for two units, told The Bee
that some students in the class were involved in an orgy at a party. The
party was held to introduce students from other sections of the course
and was not mandatory, Kovacs said.
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- Some partygoers also took Polaroid pictures of their
genitalia, to show that their bodies were not disgusting, Kovacs said.
The shots were viewed at the party in a "respectful way," she
said.
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- "It was just a fun, harmless get-together,"
Kovacs said. "Anything weird that did go on was kind of behind closed
doors, and no one really knew about it."
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- Another student, Jessica McMahon, told the Daily
Californian
that a group of students in the male sexuality class chose as their final
project a trip to a gay strip club. Students watched instructors strip
and have sex, the newspaper reported.
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- Kovacs said her class also took an optional trip to the
Garden of Eden strip club. There, a member of the group who was not a
student
or instructor stripped on stage, she said.
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- "They didn't even take off all their clothes, and
there was no sex," Kovacs said. "It was a class bonding
experience."
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- Kovacs said the class was a positive experience and
should
not be portrayed in a "scandalous, negative light."
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- De-cal courses must have a written course proposal,
department
chair approval and sponsorship by a faculty member, said Janet Gilmore,
a UC Berkeley spokeswoman. The campus' Web site said the faculty chair
sponsor is ultimately responsible for content and grades.
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- Caren Kaplan, chairwoman of the Woman's Studies
Department
and sponsor of the sexuality classes, had reviewed the course description
for the male sexuality course but was not provided with a detailed course
syllabus, said David Dowall, chairman of UC Berkeley's Academic Senate,
which represents faculty members.
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- Kaplan could not be reached for comment. In an interview
with the Daily Californian, Kaplan said she offers advice to student
instructors
but "doesn't police the content" of the courses.
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- The female sexuality course curriculum is posted on the
campus Web site and includes porn star Nina Hartley as a guest speaker
and a "possible trip to a strip club." Other topics in the female
sexuality course are women's health issues, violence against women and
body image.
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- UC Davis offers offbeat courses such as a fire walking
seminar or blues guitar through its "Experimental College" but
the courses are not for credit, said Jake Lashbrook, manager of the
program.
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- http://www.sacbee.com
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