The Koala Online
Porn on SRTV
Yes, we know this isn't the first time Koala TV has shown pornography on SRTV. Last time copyrighted commercial porn was shown, it made the Guardian and Koala TV was shut down for the year.
Scroll down or click here for info on the newest episode.
First Episode: "Amateur Amateur Pornography Night"
Our editor decided to spice up Koala TV by producing and starring in his own porn video. Dubbed Amateur Amateur Pornography Night, the video was a success. Callers went wild, and the show received a standing ovation from the patrons of Porter's Pub next door. The local media was all over it, and soon our editor, Steve, hit the national news cycle. His ego will never be the same.
| News Coverage | |
|---|---|
| O'Reilly Factor FOX News 2/22/05 5PM |
Scarborough Country MSNBC 2/21/05 7PM |
 Click to Watch |
 Click to Watch |
| Connected Coast to Coast MSNBC 2/18/05 9AM |
Dennis Miller CNBC 2/22/05 9PM |
 Click to Watch |
 Click to Watch |
| FOX 6 News Local FOX 10PM 2/18/05 |
FOX 6 News Local FOX 10PM 3/4/05 |
 Click to Watch |
 Click to Watch |
Videos require the Divx Codec.
Print News
'Koala TV' episode aired on UCSD station
California : Will UCSD Discipline Student TV Station for Airing Porn?
UCSD student show then taken off the air
UCSD Guardian (Not Real News):
SRTV broadcasts sexual acts
Koala editor, A.S. appointee York cites free speech
Hustler Campus Report
One of our former staffers wrote up an article for Hustler's College Report.
Second Episode: "Rising Fee's and Poppin' B's"
The second episode of pornography night was aired 10/10/05. Due to legal reasons, this episode has it's own website, steviewhy.com. The full video is available for download.
Press is still very much active.
News:
Union Tribune: Racy show may spur ban on porn on UCSD TV station
Union Tribune: Student council may rule tomorrow
Union Tribune: Student council at UCSD agrees to ban TV sex
Union Tribune: Controversial 'Koala TV' show returns to UCSD campus station
Union Tribune: Public discourse on our coffee cups
Union Tribune: UCSD student panel aims to clarify rules
Union Tribune: Koala TV producer interview causes ban
People We Met
Archived Articles:
Koala TV Front Page Guardian Article 2/14/05: SRTV broadcasts sexual acts
Koala editor, A.S. appointee York cites free speech
By CHARLES NGUYEN
Staff Writer
In an effort to bolster student free speech rights, John Muir College senior Steve York broadcast an hour-and-a-half segment featuring sexual acts he performed with an unidentified woman during his Student-Run Television show, “Koala TV.?
The Feb. 3 pornography piece was the first in a series of segments to be aired in the spirit of open expression, according to York, who is also the editor of the Koala and A.S. elections manager.
“It’s my effort to bridge the gap between students and their sexual desires in a fun way,? York said. “This is only the first of a number of adult works being produced as we speak, all of which will be aired to the students of this school.?
Since SRTV is a closed-circuit station, indecency regulations specified by the Federal Communications Commission do not apply. SRTV rules allow for pornographic broadcasts, as long as they are not copyrighted and are aired between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to SRTV station manager Chelsea Welch. Despite initial surprise about York’s piece, SRTV had been informed of his intentions to air the program last fall, Welch said.
“We were all aware that he was going to make this film and there were no objections from members,? Welch said. “After seeing the film, I was still shocked that he actually did it, but I was proud that he went through with it.?
The Closed-Circuit TV Stations Governance committee, established in the fall, is the only campus committee that applies specifically to SRTV. The initial format of the committee, drafted by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson, included only one student representative. However, Watson added a representative from each of the six colleges after complaints from A.S. President Jenn Pae.
The committee was created in response to the shutdown of SRTV for four days last May, stemming from Thornton Hospital patients’ complaints that the station was broadcasting obscene material. SRTV managers were uncertain whether the material aired was a part of regular programming or if a break-in at the station occurred because administrators refused to explain what they saw.
York considers the committee an obstacle to SRTV content.
“It’s obvious from the focus on the committee and the student representatives on it that they do not want the administration’s hands on ‘their’ stations and judging their content,? he said. “I see it as another step to control the counter-culture of this school that has kept the status quo in check for as long as this campus has existed.?
Members of the committee will not regulate content, but merely “review the mission, governance and operations status and guidelines for the college and ASUCSD campus television stations, and discuss, with those responsible for each of the stations, changes in the guidelines needed to make [them] explicitly clear,? according to the committee’s official description.
The last committee meeting is scheduled for Feb. 14, before a report summarizing content responsibility is submitted to Watson, according to Welch.
Committee members have not addressed and do not plan to address York’s broadcast, according to committee chair and Director of Student Policies and Judicial Affairs Nicholas S. Aguilar.
“The committee has not been asked to respond to the incident,? Aguilar said. “It is not the charge of the committee to respond to specific complaints, but only to answer questions that arise out of the campus charter for the vice chancellor.?
A.S. representatives support all avenues of SRTV free speech, according to A.S. Commissioner of Student Services Kian Maleki.
“[The Associated Students] hopes that the administration considers the age and breadth of the audience SRTV caters to if the time comes that they decide to make some changes,? Maleki said. “The administration is frequently trying to tighten purse-strings where it can, and controversial services like [SRTV] … are constantly feeling the pinch.?
A.S. Adviser Lauren Weiner also contacted SRTV managers concerning York’s show, according to Welch.
“She was very objective about it and she wanted to know what had been aired and how it was in compliance with SRTV’s charter and bylaws so that if she was asked questions about it, she would know what to say,? Welch said. “I talked to her about it and went through how the film did not violate FCC regulations regarding obscenity, and that was it.?
Despite support from SRTV and Associated Students, York is ready to respond if any action is taken against his show.
“If any legal action is taken or further pressed, I will have no problem assembling a coalition of free-speech supporters and the entire might of the adult industry to bear against this school for infringing on our rights as adults and students paying for our own television services,? York said.
If students are opposed to any SRTV broadcast, Associated Students encourages their participation in programming efforts, according to Maleki.
Readers can contact Charles Nguyen at charles_nguyen@sbcglobal.net.
UCSD Student's Porn Video Airs On Campus TV
Tape Only Aired Between 10 P.M And 6 A.M.
SAN DIEGO -- A UCSD student and the porn video he made are at the center of a campus controversy.
Steven York says that his video, which aired several times on the school's closed-circuit television, is free speech and is protected by the First Amendment. York's video aired between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Critics, however, argue that it's obscene and shouldn't be played on campus TV.
"College is supposed to be about free expression and a forum for your thoughts, so I don't think this is any different," said York.
York produced and starred in the adult video with an unidentified woman. The tape was broadcast several times all over campus on a student-run television station.
"SRTV does not have to abide by FCC rules because it's a closed-circuit TV system -- but we choose to," said York.
"To be obscene you have to meet three prongs in the FCC guidelines," said Chelsea Welch, SRTV's general manager. "Steve's film did not meet those three prongs."
The video is creating controversy on campus. Some students told NBC 7/39 that they didn't have a problem with it, but others aren't so sure.
"There's a lot of people that are underage -- like 17," said student Marsha Malinow.
Another student, Ryan Joclicoeur, was concerned that people seeing the video might think it was representative of UCSD.
"I don't want someone to go, 'Is that what UCSD students are all about?' " said Joclicoeur
Reached for comment by NBC 7/39, school administrators said, "Currently, the UCSD administration has no comment. SRTV is a student-run closed-circuit television station, and it is being dealt with at the student level."
The student government is investigating whether SRTV violated any rules; if they were, the station could face a big penalty, reported NBC 7/39.
"Worst-case scenario -- which I don't believe will happen -- is the station being shut down," said UCSD student body president Jenn Pae.
In the meantime, York told NBC 7/39 that he is planning to make more adult videos. In fact, he plans to release a new one in March.
"If the administrators or anyone want to press any legal action, they're going to be up a big creek without a paddle and have a fight on their hands." said York.
Copyright 2005 by NBCSandiego.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
UCSD Student's Porn Video Prompts Investigation
School Officials Look At FCC Regulations
POSTED: 6:38 am PST February 19, 2005
SAN DIEGO -- A closed-circuit UCSD television station broadcast apparent sex acts earlier this month, prompting an internal investigation aimed at determining if the show violated regulations, it was reported Saturday.
A 90-minute show called "Koala TV," which has aired three times this month, contains a 10-minute segment showing UCSD senior Steve York and unidentified woman performing sex acts, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The show is a spinoff of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has printed irreverent and controversial material.
Contacted by the Union-Tribune earlier this week, York said he would agree to an interview only if the newspaper bought booze for him, the newspaper reported.
York told the UCSD Guardian newspaper that he wanted to "bridge the gap between students and their sexual desires in a fun way."
UCSD officials are trying to determine if the broadcast violated Federal Communications Commission regulations, the charter for SRTV, or any campus policies and procedures.
The probe, begun Feb. 11, is expected to take a couple of weeks, said Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.
Sex acts on student TV investigated by UCSD
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2005
The University of California San Diego is investigating whether a campus television station's broadcast of a student performing sexual acts violated federal and university regulations.
The 90-minute show, "Koala TV," which has aired three times this month, contains a 10-minute segment showing UCSD senior Steve York performing sexual acts with an unidentified woman.
The show is a spinoff of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has printed irreverent and controversial material. It has featured graphic photos and illustrations of lewd sexual behavior, and poked fun at Asians, blacks, Jews, Mormons, gays and lesbians.
"Koala TV" was broadcast on Student Run TV, a closed-circuit station that can only be viewed on campus.
When contacted earlier this week, York said he would agree to an interview only if The San Diego Union-Tribune purchased alcoholic beverages for him.
He told a student newspaper earlier this week that the point of the TV show was to provide entertainment and fight for students' free speech rights.
"It's my effort to bridge the gap between students and their sexual desires in a fun way," York told the UCSD Guardian.
UCSD administrators are trying to determine if the broadcast violated Federal Communications Commission regulations, the charter for SRTV, or any campus policies and procedures.
The investigation, which began Feb. 11, is expected to take a couple of weeks, said Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.
"We are disappointed that SRTV is being used for this kind of programming and these particular students have chosen to express themselves in this way," Vazquez said. "It's an educational mission and I don't necessarily see the educational value in this."
Because SRTV is a closed-circuit station, FCC regulations appear not to apply. However, SRTV's charter calls for it to provide an "artistic medium within the context of FCC rules and regulations governing on-air conduct and the operation of a closed-circuit television station."
Vazquez noted that, depending on the findings of the investigation, students can face sanctions.
"SRTV is a student-operated service, so yes, they would be held accountable," she said.
Chelsea Welch, SRTV's general manager, believes the content of the show does not violate any campus or FCC regulations. Station rules allow indecent material to be broadcast between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., as long as it's not copyrighted material, Welch said.
Deciding whether the material is obscene will be difficult, because many of the FCC regulations are not black and white, said Mark Powers, vice president of the California Broadcasters Association, a trade organization.
"Obscenity is always in the purview of the beholder," Powers said. "It's such a murky area."
The station's $9,000 budget is funded by student activities fees and is allocated from the Associated Students budget.
The purpose of SRTV, Welch said, is to provide an avenue for students to express a viewpoint or receive coverage for a student event. The station does not censor students' material.
"Students dictate what gets put up on the air," said Welch, a 21-year-old psychology major. "If a student has a problem with a show, they can have their own show to counter it. If a majority of students have a problem, we can take it off."
Welch said that of the estimated 100 e-mails, calls and comments the station has received related to the Koala TV segment, the vast majority have been positive.
UCSD student body President Jenn Pae said she has not heard of any student complaints. Pae has chosen not to watch the show, and stressed that all students have that choice.
"Students can either turn off the TV or change the channel," Pae said. "They are not a captive audience."
In the past, UCSD's administration has shied away from sanctioning The Koala magazine, stating that all the material is protected free speech.
But newspaper editors at other universities, including some private ones, have been disciplined. For example, earlier this week, editors at the Nassau Weekly, a student-run magazine distributed at Princeton University, said they would apologize for publishing a top-10 list of made-up Holocaust movies that offended some students.
From the LA Times:
IN BRIEF THE STATE / SAN DIEGO
University Investigates Sex Act on Student TV
From Times Wire Reports
UC San Diego is investigating whether a student-produced TV show violated campus regulations by broadcasting a 10-minute segment showing a male student having sex with a woman, officials said.
The segment appeared this month on Koala TV, a 90-minute program carried on the university's Student Run TV, a closed-circuit station viewed only on campus.
Federal Communications Commission rules apparently do not apply to SRTV, but its charter calls for it to provide an "artistic medium within the context of FCC rules and regulations."
UCSD Student's Porn Video Prompts Investigation
School Officials Look At FCC Regulations
POSTED: 6:38 am PST February 19, 2005
SAN DIEGO -- A closed-circuit UCSD television station broadcast apparent sex acts earlier this month, prompting an internal investigation aimed at determining if the show violated regulations, it was reported Saturday.
Images: Student Airs Personal Porn On Campus
Video: Campus Porn
Should Student Be Allowed To Air Porn On Campus TV?
A 90-minute show called "Koala TV," which has aired three times this month, contains a 10-minute segment showing UCSD senior Steve York and unidentified woman performing sex acts, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The show is a spinoff of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has printed irreverent and controversial material.
Contacted by the Union-Tribune earlier this week, York said he would agree to an interview only if the newspaper bought booze for him, the newspaper reported.
York told the UCSD Guardian newspaper that he wanted to "bridge the gap between students and their sexual desires in a fun way."
UCSD officials are trying to determine if the broadcast violated Federal Communications Commission regulations, the charter for SRTV, or any campus policies and procedures.
The probe, begun Feb. 11, is expected to take a couple of weeks, said Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.
From the Monterey County Herald: Campus TV sex broadcast draws fire
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The University of California at San Diego, is investigating whether a student-produced TV show violated any campus regulations by broadcasting a 10-minute segment showing a student having sex with an unidentified woman, a campus official confirmed.
The segment appeared earlier this month on Koala TV, a 90-minute program carried on the university's Student Run TV, a closed-circuit station that can only be viewed on campus.
''We are disappointed that SRTV is being used for this kind of programming and these particular students have chosen to express themselves in this way,'' said Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life. ''It's an educational mission and I don't necessarily see the educational value in this.''
The investigation, launched Feb. 11, should be concluded within a couple of weeks, Vazquez said, adding students involved could be disciplined if it is determined they violated campus policies.
Because it is a closed-circuit station, Federal Communications Commission rules apparently do not apply to SRTV. However, its campus charter calls for it to provide an ''artistic medium within the context of FCC rules and regulations.''
The show is a video version of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has poked fun at blacks, Jews, Asians, Mormons and gays and carried graphic sexual photos and illustrations.
The station, funded by student fees, received about 100 e-mails as a result of the show, almost all of them positive, according to SRTV General Manager Chelsea Welch.
''Students dictate what gets put up on the air,'' said Welch, a 21-year-old psychology major. ''If a student has a problem with a show, they can have their own show to counter it. If a majority of students have a problem, we can take it off.''
'Koala TV' episode aired on UCSD station
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
and Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
March 3, 2005
UCSD student leaders last night formally denounced the recent broadcast on student television of a program that featured two people engaged in sex acts.
The senators on the Associated Students Council, after lengthy discussion and public comment, voted unanimously for a resolution finding that the broadcast of "Koala TV" was inappropriate and distasteful.
The vote did not ban the program.
"All it does is it says from our point of view, we don't think this is an appropriate use of our station," said Jared Feldman, presidential chief of staff and co-sponsor of the resolution.
The student vote comes weeks after University of California San Diego senior Steve York produced and aired a show on SRTV, the closed-circuit campus station. The episode showed him performing sexual acts with an unidentified woman.
York has said that the intent of "Koala TV" was to entertain students and bolster free-speech rights.
The council last night also made plans to adjust the TV station's rules and regulations to make clearer clarify obscenity guidelines and establish a grievance procedure and investigative and judicial series of procedures to dictate how action would be taken in similar future situations in the future.
About 25 students attended the meeting, and in their comments to the council, supporters and opponents of the episode were represented about evenly.
After the vote, York led TV cameras outside and while smoking a cigarette said he would take the matter to court. In the meantime, "Koala TV" would continue.
Tonight, "Koala TV is going on the air and will be more explosive than ever. So tune in," he said.
During the meeting, York forcefully defended "Koala TV." He said the council was ill-equipped to make such a decision, because they hadn't seen it and lacked legal expertise. Two of the council members present said they had seen the episode.
The resolution, he said, would "set terrible legal precedent," which he said he would "fight with all available resources at my disposal."
"I do this for fun. I am an entertainer. I don't think anyone here can deny that. I'm incredibly proud of my sexuality. I'm incredibly proud of my physique," York said.
Support for "Koala TV" centered mostly on free speech, though some argued that the episode was educational because students could learn about video production and the lucrative porn industry.
Freshman Alex Miller said, "Part of living in America is hearing the speech that you don't like. You have to listen to what you hate to be able to say what you want."
Emily Leech, a student representing the Student Affirmative Action Committee, said her objection was not with York, but with the campus climate in general.
"It's a culture of white male entitlement at UCSD," Leech said.
"Koala TV" is a spinoff of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has printed irreverent and controversial material. It has featured graphic photos and illustrations of lewd sexual behavior and poked fun at Muslims, Asians, blacks, Jews, Mormons, gays and lesbians, among others.
Of the more than 300 e-mail messages and phone calls student leaders have received about the show, the majority were opposed to it, said Kian Maleki, the Associated Students commissioner of student services.
Maleki characterized the actions voted on last night as more procedural than disciplinary. He said the goal is to make SRTV's charter less ambiguous, but maintain free speech without allowing obscene material to be shown.
The UCSD administration has delegated to student leaders the responsibility of clarifying and enforcing SRTV's charter. Administrators conducted an investigation last month and found that the broadcast violated SRTV's charter. They reasoned that because SRTV is funded by the Associated Students, student leaders ought to be held accountable to enforce the charter.
"The student leaders have taken these issues very seriously," said Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.
If, however, the student association does not tighten and clarify the charter's language satisfactorily, the administration will step in, Vazquez said.
Obscene broadcasts are not allowed on SRTV, but indecent broadcasts are, if they are aired between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. To be considered obscene, the material has to fulfill a three-part test: It must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct. It must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. And the "average person," applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material appeals to prurient interests.
Chelsea Welch, the general manager for SRTV, has argued that the "Koala TV" broadcast was not obscene.
UCSD Student Leaders Weigh In On Sex On Campus TV
Student Council to Clarify Obscenity Guidelines
POSTED: 1:08 pm PST March 3, 2005
UPDATED: 1:28 pm PST March 3, 2005
SAN DIEGO -- A program broadcast on the University of California, San Diego's campus television station that featured a student and an unidentified woman having sex has been deemed inappropriate by student leaders.
The Associated Students Council reached the decision Wednesday following public comment and a lengthy discussion.
The vote does not ban the "Koala TV" program broadcast on the university's closed-circuit station. An episode that aired three times in February featured UCSD student Steve York and a woman having sex. York said the intent of the broadcast was to entertain students and bolster free-speech rights.
"College is supposed to be about free expression and a forum for your thoughts, so I don't think this is any different," York told NBC 7/39 last month.
The council also made plans Wednesday to clarify obscenity guidelines for the station and establish a grievance and investigative procedure.
Student leaders are responsible for the station's charter, which allows indecent, but not obscene, broadcasts between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
An investigation by the UCSD administration last month found the broadcast to be in violation of the charter.
If student leaders do not tighten the charter's language, the administration will step in, according to Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.
UCSD Student Airs Porn On Closed-Circuit TV
Student Leaders Deem Broadcast Inappropriate
AN DIEGO -- Is pornographic programming appropriate for a campus television station? That's the question some at University of California, San Diego, are wrestling with after a student aired a pornographic video on campus television, 10News reported.
Steve York made national headlines last month when he produced and starred in a pornographic video shown on closed-circuit campus television. He plans to do the same again Thursday at 10:30 p.m.
SRTV is the student-run station at UCSD. Most students are encouraged to produce and show a video, movie or program on the station.
York decided to take on the issue of pornography. He says pornography and censorship are big issues that students need to discuss. He feels he's protecting freedom of expression on an increasingly conservative campus.
"It's a very highly-patrolled and surveilled campus and I'm trying to offer something fun for students over at SRTV, as I have been for four years," York said.
Student Sourobh Raychaudhuri said, "I tend not to be too concerned with what the student organizations are doing. I find they tend to be a lot of talk and not much substance."
York said it's what he calls the "apathetic air" on campus that drove him to do something to get people talking.
Student leaders are responsible for the station's charter, which allows indecent, but not obscene, broadcasts between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
An investigation by the UCSD administration last month found the broadcast to be in violation of the charter.
The Associated Students Council deemed the video inappropriate and is making plans to clarify obscenity guidelines for the station and establish a grievance and investigative procedure.
If student leaders do not tighten the charter's language, the administration will step in, according to Carmen Vazquez, assistant vice chancellor for student life.
California : Will UCSD Discipline Student TV Station for Airing Porn?
Posted by Senior Editor on 2005/3/2 23:03:00
By Jim Brown
(AgapePress) - The University of California, San Diego, is attempting to head off a public relations nightmare after allowing its student-run TV station to air a porn video on public airwaves.
Recently UCSD's Student-Run TV aired the video "Amateur, Amateur Sex Tapes." University spokeswoman Pat Jacoby says school officials are troubled by the indecency.
"We are disappointed that SRTV is being used for this kind of programming and that these students have chosen to express themselves in this way," she says. "We are currently investigating whether or not this programming is in violation of FCC regulations, the SRTV charter or campus policies and procedures."
San Diego pro-family activist James Hartline questions whether UCSD will take any action against SRTV because the school has embraced an ideology of sexual liberty.
"The chancellor at UCSD has encouraged, for example, the gay and lesbian center that operates on the campus to participate in a lot of [activities] I consider to be very negative and derogatory to family events," Hartline points out.
The activist says sexual immorality is frequently promoted on the campus. "They constantly emphasize the protection of women, and the protection of students from sexual harassment. That's a huge thing on the campuses -- to stop sexual harassment," he says.
"But the reality is, that's all talk; because when they allow students to engage in pornography, and when they allow that on a student campus, and when they allow classes which encourage students to explore sexuality, then I think they're just totally hypocritical."
Hartline, a former homosexual who has been fighting AIDS for eight years, says it is not beyond the pale of imagination that students would make porn on campus given the fact that many UCSD courses advocate sexual immorality as a way of life. Meanwhile, SRTV says it plans to show another porn video next month.
UCSD Pulls Plug On 'Koala TV'
York Says Show Protects Freedom Of Expression
POSTED: 11:26 am PST March 4, 2005
UPDATED: 12:16 pm PST March 4, 2005
SAN DIEGO -- The program director of a student-run station at University of California, San Diego pulled the plug Thursday night on a controversial broadcast, 10News reported.
"Koala TV," which usually runs at 10 p.m. every Thursday on UCSD's student-run television, was cut short Thursday after a UCSD student took things too far.
Steve York, the creator of "Koala TV," made national headlines last month when he produced and starred in a pornographic video shown on closed-circuit campus television. "Koala TV" runs on SRTV, UCSD's student-run television.
While York calls his programming a freedom of expression, others say it's inapropriate pornagraphy.
Station Programmer Patrick Reynolds said, "We had to shut it down ... because I was aksed by some higher-ups in SRTV that if there was anything questionable, such as nudity, (we had) to shut it down."
York decided to take on the issue of pornography because he said pornography and censorship are big issues that students need to discuss. He feels he's protecting freedom of expression on an increasingly conservative campus. His show often shows him naked on the closed-circuit program, but a show last month included sexual acts.
"It's a very highly-patrolled and surveilled campus and I'm trying to offer something fun for students over at SRTV, as I have been for four years," York said.
Student leaders are responsible for the station's charter, which allows indecent, but not obscene, broadcasts between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
An investigation by the UCSD administration last month found the broadcast to be in violation of the charter. The council voted to suspend the airing of such content on the student-run station.
"They pulled the plug ... They finally they bailed. It got a little too crazy," York said.
UCSD student council member John Polkinghorne described the show York aired on the station that has generated so much controversy.
"He performed oral sex on an unidentified woman," Polkinghorne said. "Any kind of programming on SRTV can't be obscene."
"I'm trying to offer something fun and in the freedom of speech battle -- 'Koala' has had a number of battles. It has always won," York said.
But some say that the show crossed the line and has no place on a college-run station.
"I think that's a poor representation of what our school is," said one UCSD student.
The student council said it received hundreds of complaints.
"It's definitely causing quite a stir and I have to say it's not what I expect from UCSD," said Tony Tang, another UCSD student.
York said he plans to meet with a lawyer and remains defiant. He said his show will continue to take risks.
The Associated Students Council deemed the video inappropriate and is making plans to clarify obscenity guidelines for the station and establish a grievance and investigative procedure.
'Koala' bare, as man strips on TV
UCSD student show then taken off the air
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 5, 2005
A UCSD student television station pulled the plug Thursday night on a controversial show after a defiant host stripped his clothes off during the live broadcast.
Just one day earlier, the student government had denounced a recent broadcast of the program, "Koala TV," and called upon station managers to act in good faith and refrain from airing nudity.
About 25 minutes into Thursday's call-in show, University of California San Diego senior Steve York, donning a cowboy hat and dark sunglasses, fulfilled a caller's request to get naked.
As soon as he disrobed, the station programmer switched the broadcast to a rerun from another show. The station is closed-circuit and can only be viewed on campus. Its $9,000 annual budget is paid for with student fees.
SRTV general manager Chelsea Welch backed up the decision yesterday.
"The Koala will not make a mockery of SRTV," Welch said.
Over the past month, the show has attracted national attention for the public university. The most talked-about episode showed York performing sexual acts with a woman whose face was not shown during the broadcast.
York yesterday defended his actions, saying his goal is to entertain students and fight censorship.
"I got very naked, very quick and it was very sexy," said York, 21-year-old history major. "I did it because I don't like censorship."
York is also the editor of The Koala, a satirical magazine distributed on campus that has printed irreverent and controversial material. It has featured graphic photos and illustrations of sexual behavior and poked fun at Muslims, Asians, blacks, Jews, Mormons, gays and lesbians, among others.
"I'm trying to have fun on a campus that's socially dead," York said. "I am an entertainer and editor of the paper. Thousands of students are entertained and I have an obligation to them to brighten up their lives."
York has continued to argue that his broadcast is protected as free speech. Some others, including the university administration, believe it violated the station's charter, which states SRTV is to provide an artistic medium within the context of Federal Communications Commission regulations.
Peter Scheer, the executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, said the issue is complicated, and both can be right. To a certain extent, York's actions are protected, Scheer said. He added, however, that the station managers have a First Amendment right to edit his content.
As a general principle, the First Amendment does protect literal as well as figurative speech, which can involve nudity and crude behavior, Scheer said. "But even if there is constitutional protection, it doesn't mean it can't be curbed, edited or restricted in some fashion."
York said he will continue to try to broadcast nudity, though it's unclear if SRTV managers will allow it.
Welch said if York attempted to do it again, "there's no reason ('Koala TV') will have us as a service."
The show has prompted passionate discourse on campus. Members of various minority student organizations on campus organized a speak-out yesterday that gathered about 100 students, faculty and staff. Under a drizzling rain, they lined up, decrying The Koala as racist and contributing to an uncomfortable campus climate.
"The Koala upset me," said John Boatner, president of the Black Student Union. "There is nothing wrong with free speech. My issue is using vehicles like SRTV and the newspaper to specifically target and spew messages of hate."
Added Mohan Kanungo, a sophomore ethnic studies student: "We don't have freedom of speech to oppress students. That's mixed up."
UCSD sex tapes could make legal history
BEYOND THE BRIEFS: sex, politics and law
by Robert DeKoven
It will come as no surprise that The Koala, UCSD’s student humor paper, is back in the news. This time school officials are investigating the legality of a Student Run Television (SRTV) broadcast showing sexual acts performed by The Koala editor Steve York.
According to the campus paper, The UCSD Guardian, the school is looking to see if the broadcast abided by policies within the station’s charter, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations and campus policies.
The Koala has previously clashed with university officials over its content. I’ve written about the paper several times, as it often makes derisive comments about gays and lesbians. While the First Amendment protects the paper’s content, I have raised the question concerning the fairness of using student funds, including GLBT students, to pay for a paper that creates a hostile environment for them.
UCSD has been reluctant to take any action against the paper and its staff in the past. “While we were hesitant to welcome The Koala when they approached us last quarter about having their own show, SRTV could not discriminate [against] them for their past behavior,? station manager Chelsea Welch stated in a Feb. 22 email sent out to the student body. “When it comes to students’ shows, I have to stay content-neutral.?
Unfortunately, broadcasters cannot be “content-neutral.? If the unidentified woman in York’s video is a day under 18, Welch faces 10 years in prison for airing child pornography.
In an email to The Guardian, York stated that his broadcast was meant to support free speech rights and that he invites any challenge from the school administration.
“I’ve been put into a position to advocate for free speech issues and it’s great that the tool for them has been my penis,? he stated.
As a closed-circuit station, SRTV claims it is not bound by FCC operating regulations. Obscene material without copyrights may be broadcasted between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Welch said. However, the station’s charter requires that the content offer an “artistic medium within the context of FCC rules and regulations governing on-air conduct and the operation of a closed-circuit television station.?
“The Feb. 3 ‘Koala’ broadcast on SRTV included acts of oral sex and ejaculation by York, a John Muir College senior [at UCSD], and an unidentified woman.?
Of course, regardless of FCC regulations, using any instrumentality of interstate commerce – the Internet, closed-circuit TV – to broadcast “obscene? material is illegal. However, York’s tape is not obscene. It could be interpreted as pornographic or offensive.
Years ago the U.S. Supreme Court held that students on public college campuses have First Amendment rights. The case involved a student who was distributing an underground newspaper on her campus. The paper contained a cartoon depicting a police officer raping the Statue of Liberty.
The court held that the school could not discipline the student for her First Amendment conduct. It was her paper; she was just passing it out on campus.
However, last year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – in a decision I criticized in this column – pointed out that, like high schools, colleges can determine what is appropriate for their publications, even those written by students.
Look for UCSD to argue that the decision will apply to campus newspapers and broadcast facilities. So as long as campus resources are involved, school officials will have ultimate control. The reason is simple: liability.
Airing pornographic footage on a university broadcast could subject the university to liability for child pornography, invasion of privacy (if students are photographed without consent), gender discrimination (sexual harassment), and, as ludicrous as it sounds, unfair competition. Hey, lots of companies make their money selling college porn, and they don’t want nonprofit entities like UCSD infringing on their turf. I’m not kidding.
The issue is likely to come before the U.S. Supreme Court by next year. That’s because a federal appellate court will rule shortly on whether college officials can censor student newspapers. Regardless of the outcome, the Supreme Court will most likely hear the appeal and may rule in favor of the universities.
In any event, the Internet makes it possible for anyone to publish a paper, broadcast a radio show or a TV show. York could easily broadcast his tape on a website. He doesn’t need to use tax-funded facilities.
Broadcast retains often-sexual tone
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 21, 2005
As dozens of students cheered at the campus pub last night, a defiant UC San Diego senior aired explicit sexual acts on another episode of his controversial campus television show.
It was the first episode of "Koala TV" in seven months, and was billed by student and host Steve York as "explosive" in a statement in support of student rights and National Freedom of Speech Week, taking place Oct. 17-23.
During the program, York, 22, showed about a half-hour of footage of himself engaged in sex with an unidentified adult actress.
Over the next half-hour of the show, which was live last night, York fielded nonstop telephone calls in the campus station's studio on topics ranging from a critique of his performance to questions about why he did it and why he didn't engage in safe sex. During the show, more than 50 students cheered and watched in amusement at the campus pub, clutching beers and alternating between staring in disbelief at the TV and averting their eyes.
Despite the show's potential for controversy, the station managers for the new academic year had decided that they would not pull the plug on the show unless students were put in physical danger.
"Our primary mission is to provide students with a means of producing films and productions. We don't want to stand in the way of creative freedom," said Andrew Tess, a station manager at UCSD's Student Run Television and a fifth-year bioengineering major.
York's show was pulled off the air in March when York stripped his clothes off during a live broadcast. That was after the student government asked the station to refrain from showing nudity. A previous much-talked-about episode, which showed York performing sexual acts with an unidentified woman, compelled hundreds of concerned students and parents to call and e-mail student leaders.
The show, which York says is in high demand on a "socially dead" campus, is broadcast on the university's closed-circuit SRTV, which can only be viewed on campus.
The university administration has delegated to student leaders the responsibility of clarifying and enforcing SRTV's charter, reasoning that the station's $8,000 annual budget is funded by student fees.
The station's charter says obscene broadcasts are not allowed on SRTV, but indecent broadcasts are, if aired between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. To be considered obscene, the material has to fulfill a three-part test: It must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct. It must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. And the "average person," applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material appeals to prurient interests.
Since the show was pulled from the air in the spring, progress has been slow in changing the station's charter. A proposed change to the charter that would have prohibited "graphic depictions of sexual activity involving nudity" was postponed indefinitely by student council members this month.
York said he plans to continue to produce the show weekly through the academic quarter.
"It offers entertainment and students talk about it," York said. "It makes a political point given the actions of the administration to silence student government on this issue."
An administration spokeswoman, Stacie Spector, said she had no knowledge of what York was referring to.
"No one's done anything to silence anybody," Spector said.
Student council at UCSD agrees to ban TV sex
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 27, 2005
UC San Diego student government leaders decided last night to temporarily ban nudity and sex on a student-run television station, stopping – for now – the controversial and sometimes pornographic Koala TV show.
The debate, which stretched nearly four hours and attracted more than 70 students, shifted in focus from previous discussions. While earlier debates emphasized free speech and censorship, last night's discussion centered on whether student council members were following the will of students or perceived pressure by the administration.
Several student speakers alleged that university officials had made a subtle threat to crack down on the station if the council didn't vote to tighten restrictions.
"There is a long list of examples of when the administration has gotten in the way of the student government," said Steve York, a UCSD senior and host of the notorious show. "We can talk about porn, but this is about student control."
University officials declined to comment yesterday about the perceived pressure.
Koala TV has been playing intermittently since the spring on UCSD's closed-circuit Student-Run Television Station, which is funded by student fees.
The show reignited controversy last Thursday night in an episode described by many as hard-core pornography. The show, broadcast on campus and over a campus Web site, showed York engaged in sex with an unidentified woman.
York has seen trouble before. In March, his show was pulled off the air when he stripped off his clothes during a live broadcast.
During last night's meeting, council members heard from more than a dozen speakers, eight of them in support of the show and five against. Several students said they knew of many others who were opposed to the show but who hadn't lodged complaints.
The council voted 14-8 for the ban, which will expire no later than March 8, 2006. Many who voted for the ban said they felt the show offended a significant number of students.
Student council members have spent months trying to decide how to deal with the show.
Last night's vote followed three previous votes on the issue. One vote last spring directed SRTV to voluntarily stop showing nudity. Two other votes were taken earlier this month. One essentially rejected the ban; the other, taken last weekend, supported the ban.
Several student council members have questioned the legitimacy of the weekend meeting because of concerns over inadequate publicity, among other things.
More than a dozen students and parents have e-mailed and called student leaders and the university administration, most of them upset about the show.
Dozens of students who showed up at the campus pub Thursday night to watch the 10:30 broadcast cheered repeatedly.
Public discourse on our coffee cups
UNION-TRIBUNE
November 1, 2005
On Monday during a morning walk, a friend of mine exclaimed, "He's no Rosa Parks!" Before we get to who he is, let's just say that Rosa Parks was no Rosa Parks either – at least not the way her story is usually told.
In 1955, Parks, an African-American woman in Montgomery, Ala., refused to give up her bus seat on a transit bus to a white man, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott. But that's only part of the tale.
Paul Rogat Loeb, author of "The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear" uses the Rosa Parks example to illustrate the current trivialization of public discourse, protest and social change leadership. Several years ago in this space, I related Loeb's views. Parks' death last week – and some of what now passes for protest – makes her true story even more relevant.
"The way the story is usually framed, you would think that this woman acted on a whim, on the spur of the moment," he says.
To the contrary, years before she rode that bus into civil rights history, Parks was recognized as a force in the Montgomery Improvement Association and through her 12 years as a leader of the local NAACP chapter. The summer before her personal sit-down strike, she had attended a 10-day training session at a labor and civil rights organizing school in Tennessee, called the Highlander Center.
Her moment on that bus was no fluke, no stubborn whim, but the result of many years of hard work, preparation and personal danger.
Which brings us to the young man who is no Rosa Parks. Late Thursday night, on UCSD Student Run TV, or SRTV, senior Steve York replayed a video that he had originally broadcast two weeks before.
As The San Diego Union-Tribune reported, the footage "showed an unidentified actress pose as a UCSD student struggling to pay for the university's rising student fees. The actress agreed to go home with York and perform sex, which was shown in great detail for 30 minutes. The show was broadcast in campus dorms and on a campus-affiliated Web site."
SRTV, by the way, is paid for by student fees.
UCSD's administration is letting the university's student government handle the controversy. Since the broadcast, student leaders voted to ban nudity, but have vacillated on enforcement.
On Thursday, York, "retaliated against the student council members who are trying to limit his content," according the newspaper report. "The actress' face was covered by the superimposed image of a student senator who was vocal in her support for the nudity and sex ban."
This wasn't the first time York publicly bared his soles, and more. In March, he stripped naked during a live broadcast – something most college students do only in the privacy of their own Internet videocam.
What is most interesting about the incident is York's assertion that he is performing civil disobedience, and that he'll accept the consequences.
He claimed this less than one month after New York Times reporter Judith Miller was released from jail, where she spent 12 weeks for refusing to divulge her sources. Subsequently, her own newspaper reported that her relationship with the White House was chummy and protective.
Striking another blow recently for public discourse was Starbucks. When Rick Warren, a minister and author of the monster bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life," picked up a Starbucks cup and saw on it a quote from paleontologist Louise Leakey about evolution, he responded to the company's invitation to the public to send in cup quotes.
Starbucks, which features 63 quotes from writers, scientists and other famous folks on its cups, has announced that one of them will be a Warren quote about God. Controversy ensued: How dare a commercial company push God?
Meanwhile, Arab News reports that Starbucks stores across the Middle East will soon enjoy a jolt from a broadened Arabian coffee menu. The chain has also introduced a Crème Brulee Latte to celebrate Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar.
See, prophets and profit do mix, especially with soy milk.
All in all, October was a bang-up month for freedom of expression, public discourse and the caffeine-driven life. Last week, the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq reached the 2,000 mark. But never mind that, today's social justice activists and keepers of the public's right to know are laying down their lattes in defense of coffee cup debate and student porn on cable.
Rosa, you left us too soon.
UCSD student panel aims to clarify rules
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 3, 2005
After its ban on sex on a campus television station was defied, the student council at UC San Diego passed a bill last night to physically bar anyone involved with the controversial and sometimes pornographic show Koala TV from the station.
Student leaders and administrators alike say they hope the vote will end a battle that has raged for nine months between the show's host and producer, UCSD senior Steve York, and the student government and administration.
The bill, which was approved on a 17-0 vote, makes the station managers of Student-Run Television accountable for enforcing the new rule.
"I'm not going to be the voting body people stomp on," said Eric Morris, a senior studying music, who is on the council. "We need to pass this so the station managers say . . . 'Now we have to do this.' "
Council members also voted to create a task force to reassess SRTV's purpose and governing documents. Council members have criticized SRTV's charter and rules and regulations for being unclear about allowed content and station managers' responsibilities. The task force is expected to create new governing documents and address the ban on sex, which will expire in the winter quarter.
York, who did not attend the meeting, said in an interview he considers the resolution "laughable." He said he will continue to fight for his First Amendment rights and the ability to provide entertainment on what he considers a "socially dead" campus.
"I will never follow any illegal ruling," said York, 22, a senior studying history. "I didn't realize that the Associated Students are now acting as judge, jury and disciplinarian in an area that should be handled by the administration."
Administrators have taken the position that Koala TV is a student issue, played on a student-run television station and funded by student fees. As such, administrators say, it is up to the students to address the issue.
As student leaders have struggled to pull the pornography from the airwaves, parents and students have spoken against the administration, asking it to step in.
Diane Peske of Vista, whose son is a senior at UCSD, said she has written to Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and is frustrated that she has not stepped in.
"Swift action is required, and I'm disappointed this is still a debated issue," Peske said.
Fox, when asked about the topic in an interview Tuesday, reiterated the administration's position that Koala TV is a student issue.
"We'd like the students to take care of it themselves," she said, adding that the administration has provided legal counsel and advisers to help provide students with information and input.
The Koala TV show has attracted national attention for its racy material.
Episodes that played in the past two weeks showed an unidentified adult-film actress pose as a UCSD student struggling to pay for the university's rising student fees. The actress agreed to go home with York and perform sex, which was shown in great detail for 30 minutes. York said he spent less than $1,000 producing the shows, including paying the actress, who he said has been in more than 200 adult films. The show was broadcast in campus dorms and on a campus-affiliated Web site.
It's unclear whether last night's vote will resolve the issue. York said he plans to produce another show tonight that may not include nudity, but will be "far, far worse."
SRTV station manager Tiffany Rapp said yesterday she will enforce the resolution, despite her opposition to it.
"It seems very drastic to ban a specific person from a public space," said Rapp, a visual arts major. "But we'll be forced to do it."
Station managers said they will close off access to SRTV to York and those affiliated with Koala TV by altering the key-code entrance at the station.
If that proves ineffective, the bill enables the student council to call on university officials to override SRTV station managers to pull the plug on SRTV programming if Koala TV attempts to broadcast, said Associated Students President Christopher Sweeten.
Koala TV producer interview causes ban
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 5, 2005
A campus television station that has been at the center of a UC San Diego controversy over pornography and free speech was temporarily shut down Thursday night.
Student-Run Television was ordered off the air by student government delegates who said the station was violating programming rules.
SRTV was home to the sometimes pornographic Koala TV before the station was ordered to stop its broadcast and bar Koala TV's producer, Steve York, and his staff from the station.
On Thursday night, the 10 to 11 p.m. time slot once occupied by Koala TV was taken by Daniel Watts and his political talk show, Perfect Vision, normally aired at 11 p.m. on Warren College TV, a closed-circuit campus station. Before the show and away from the SRTV station, Watts taped an interview with York.
"I was not involved in it in any way. I made sure I was very far away from it," York said of the broadcast.
But the Perfect Vision show violated new rules enacted to deal with questionable content, such as that seen on Koala TV.
The commissioner of student services, Maurice Junious, told SRTV station managers that no live shows and shows whose taped content had not been screened by managers could be broadcast Thursday night. The student council earlier this week also voted unanimously to bar people affiliated with Koala TV from the station.
Student council delegates were sent to the station Thursday night to make sure it was complying with the rules.
They found that Perfect Vision was going to be live and show the taped interview with York, which had not been screened, Greg Murphy, AS vice president and one of the delegates, said in an e-mail. They also spotted students involved with Koala TV.
SRTV went off the air during Perfect Vision and remained off until early yesterday morning.
The resolution the council passed this week put the responsibility of enforcing the new rules on SRTV managers, who changed the key-code entrance to the station to control who was let inside.
In case that didn't work, the measure allowed the student council to ask university officials to override station managers and shut down programming should Koala TV staff attempt a broadcast.
Watts said he was given the new key-code by the producer of "Bri's Show," another SRTV program.
York and SRTV station managers are planning to file separate complaints with the student council's judicial board.
"I think it's not to be taken lightly to shut down an entire TV station," said Tiffany Rapp, a station manager.
"I feel like this decision was rash. I feel like we should have been checked with as station managers before pulling the plug."
Rapp said managers were enforcing the Koala TV ban, and made sure York never was at the station.
Barring Koala TV staff was another matter. Students hang out at the station and help out with one show or another; discerning staff from station regulars isn't easy, Rapp said.
Paying for porn
University student airs sex tape on campus-run TV station
TRANSCRIPT
MSNBC
Updated: 5:01 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2005
The University of California-San Diego is embroiled in a controversy as a pornography video made by a student aired on the student-run television station. While the station‘s $8,000 annual budget is paid for by student fees, the student council voted last week to finally ban nudity and graphic sex from the student station.
Is this a case of Freedom of Speech censorship or cleaning up inappropriate viewing habits? The debate comes off campus into Scarborough Country. MSNBC-TV's Joe Scarborough talks to the video‘s director and star, Steve York, and student senator Kate Pillon who is vocally supporting the ban.
Pill-in, just pretend like the O is an I.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY HOST: Steve, Why are you doing this? Why are you still fighting this fight?
STEVE YORK, STUDENT PORN PRODUCER STAR: Because I think this is a really distinct and important battle, for First Amendment student expression. After both myself and my show, “Koala TV,” was banned in February, and we dealt with the sanctions and waited until October 5 when the student council in a 9-1 vote decided not to take this same sexual material ban, we decided that it was time to come back after our vice chancellor threatened to pull the plug on the entire station because the student council did not make these changes. So we did it for a political statement to really have fun, to raise this issue.
SCARBOROUGH: OK, OK, so Steve, this is where you lose me, though. I mean, if you want to go out and film porn of yourself and girls, that is your business. I am a libertarian, Okay? But I don‘t want to pay for it. People in California don‘t want to pay for it. Students who were forced to pay student fees don‘t want to pay for it. I mean, it‘s not free speech if we are subsidizing it, is it?
YORK: Unfortunately, I have to disagree with you, Joe. A majority of students do support this material, and its broadcast.
KATE PILLON, UCSD STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Where do you get your numbers, Steve?
YORK: Where do I get my numbers? I get my numbers from numerous different polls, from talking with hundreds of students, and even, Kate, you yourself admit you have to protect a not-insignificant minority. What is that? I am sick of this whole idea of moral views and we have to protect the minority.
SCARBOROUGH: Do you have religious broadcasting on this closed circuit station? If somebody decided to go on and have the Jesus hour of power.
YORK: It would totally fine.
SCARBOROUGH: Would the state university allow that?
YORK: Yes, because SRTV is fully content neutral. It does not matter what your political affiliation or religious affiliation or what you want to do on this programming. You are free to come in and do it, and SRTV will help you.
SCARBOROUGH: OK. So what.
PILLON: SRTV is viewpoint neutral. There‘s a difference between viewpoint and content neutrality, Steve, you have to admit that.
SCARBOROUGH: Kate, help me out here. You opposed this obviously from the very beginning.
PILLON: Yes, I did, that 9-1 vote, I was that 1.
SCARBOROUGH: I understand also though that Steve actually superimposed your face on a video? Could you explain that?
PILLON: Well, his most recent episode was the same one as the previous week, except you are right, my face was superimposed onto the girl‘s body, and there were lewd comments made, there were names being called, and it was interesting.
SCARBOROUGH: Is that a First Amendment exercise on your part too, because I‘ve got to tell you, it sounds like a terrible thing to do.
YORK: I hate to say it to you, Joe, but the First Amendment does protect low-brow satire of public figures, and Kate is a public figure.
SCARBOROUGH: But why do I have to pay for it, Steve, you can do whatever you want to do.
PILLON: Don‘t make this a First Amendment issue.
SCARBOROUGH: You know, Steve, you can do whatever you want to do. If you want to take pictures, if you want to go get PhotoShop, and you want to cut my face out of it and put it on a naked body, I don‘t care.
PILLON: But we aren‘t obligated to air it.
SCARBOROUGH: I don‘t want to pay for it.
YORK: Joe, you are not paying for it. Will you get over that? This is not a taxpayer issue.
SCARBOROUGH: I am not going to get over that. You are at a public university. You are using equipment used by the public university. It‘s being broadcast.
YORK: That students paid for.
SCARBOROUGH: Over a public university system.
YORK: That students directly paid for.
SCARBOROUGH: The students — hold on a second. Every student on that public university campus is required to pay student fees. They don‘t have the choice to opt out, do they?
YORK: Ah, yes, they do. There is a full refund policy for any sort of A.S.-funded activity or media organization where if students do have a problem with it, there‘s a refund procedure for them to fill out, and they will get their money back. Students, on the average, pay roughly 35 cents an entire year for SRTV, I think that pales in comparison, compared to religious organizations or programming like concerts, so $8,000, they will get their 35 cents a year back. And if they want that option, they certainly do have it.
SCARBOROUGH: Now, Kate, Steve is telling us that no tax dollars are being paid here, despite the fact that again, it‘s at a public university. It‘s obviously there‘s wiring for the closed circuitry. This isn‘t a free ride. Is your main objection the taxpayer-funded side of it, or is it a moral issue?
PILLON: Well, no, no, it‘s neither a moral nor a taxpayer side of the issue. We maintain that it is student fee-fund and student-controlled, and because it‘s student-controlled through the student government, of which I am a part and who has taken action on this issue, because it‘s our responsibility to take accountability for our service, and make sure that we are send sending a positive message. This isn‘t a free speech issue.
YORK: Take accountability in censoring a politically.
PILLON: This isn‘t censorship, Steve.
YORK: Protected — yes, it is. You‘re censoring.
PILLON: No, it‘s not.
YORK: You are actively.
PILLON: This is not a First Amendment issue.
YORK: You are reactively censoring a program.
PILLON: I am not telling you.
SCARBOROUGH: Wait, hold on a second, hold on a second. Steve, hold on a second, Steve.
PILLON: Hold on, let me respond to his censorship.
SCARBOROUGH: You talked about a politically important program or politically protected program. You are having sex with a girl on film. I‘m sorry.
PILLON: Right, let me talk about censorship for a minute, Joe.
SCARBOROUGH: This isn‘t exactly Thomas Jefferson standing in the public square here, Steve.
YORK: Well, there‘s a distinct difference, because we have the—we could go down to the Library Walk at any date, and show this material.
PILLON: Right, and we aren‘t trying to stop you from doing that. What we‘re trying to stop.
YORK: But that‘s not our point because we have an audience in mind. That our audience at 10:30, 11:00 at night.
PILLON: What we are saying is that we are not obligated to show your pornography. We are not obligated to air it.
YORK: Oh, so you are not obligated to protect students‘ speech.
PILLON: You can make it. You can distribute it. You can show it on Library Walk. That‘s not what we‘re saying.
YORK: Kate, Kate, Kate, where were you when pro-war students were chased out of Warren College Television and it was shut down indefinitely? I didn‘t hear you speak up against the school administration.
PILLON: Warren College TV is administration-run.
SCARBOROUGH: All right. We are getting down to the weeds, as they say in the Panhandle. Steve York, Kate Pillon, take it out on the streets. Continue the fight. We appreciate you being there.
Bottom line, it‘s a public university. We are all paying for it. They just shouldn‘t allow this to be on any TV station that is funded by the universities. And of course, you know, if Steve wants to do this in his own bedroom, that‘s his business. Not mine. But again, I don‘t want you to have to pay for it.
Koala TV's return to air rejected
Students at UCSD say it's censorship
By Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 11, 2005
In a move that students say smacks of censorship, UC San Diego administrators have kept a student-run television station off the air for more than a week, and are rejecting students' pleas to put the sometimes-controversial station back on the air.
The action is a reversal of the administration's previous stance, which was to allow student leaders to deal with some pornographic broadcasts on the closed-circuit Student-Run Television. Administrators reasoned that oversight resides with the students because the station is student-funded and overseen by the Associated Student government.
Administrators say their actions were triggered by a confrontation that took place Nov. 3 at the station, as student council members argued with station workers over whether live or unscreened material could be broadcast.
Two student council delegates asked the university to pull SRTV off the air that night, because they believed the station managers were not complying with requests to not air unscreened or live material. The administration pulled the station off the air that night, and on Monday refused Associated Students President Christopher Sweeten's request to resume programming.
Administrators denied their actions reversed their previous approach. They said the actions were intended to help student leaders manage the station.
"This is not about censorship," administration spokeswoman Stacie Spector said. "This is about ensuring student safety, security and the effective enforcement of rules and regulations."
Student leaders don't see it that way. At a council meeting Wednesday night, they passed a resolution condemning the administration's actions.
The controversial broadcasts on SRTV have preoccupied student leaders since the spring, when a racy show, Koala TV, was aired. Show host Steve York, a UCSD senior studying history, has intermittently broadcast pornographic material, including a recent episode showing himself engaged in sex with a paid adult actress posing as a UCSD student.
At first, York, 22, said his broadcasts were about free speech, saying pornography is needed to liven up what he describes as a socially dead campus. Now, York and student leaders say the debate has evolved into a fight over student rights, pitting students against the administration.
"I'm definitely frustrated with the university," said Tiffany Rapp, a station manager for SRTV and a visual arts major. "They are using false pretenses to not allow the station to go on. And they aren't respecting the students' wishes."
Last month, student leaders voted to ban sexual material and nudity from SRTV, only to have York defy the ban. Council members then voted to ban York and Koala TV members from the station.
Until the station was taken off the air, it was broadcast in campus dorms and on a campus Web site. More than a dozen programs were aired, ranging from puppet shows to political commentary. Its $8,000 annual budget is paid for by student fees, and its mission is to provide students with an outlet to share opinions and learn about television broadcasting.
Earlier this week, York and other students collected 2,600 student signatures in an effort to override the council's recent votes to ban sex and York from SRTV. He said he believes he has the signatures necessary to initiate a campus referendum within a few weeks.