Sex on campus comes of age

Naked Truths

Until recently, "sex" was considered a dirty word on the Rhode Island School of Design’s intranet system. Students had to type spaces between each letter to post such words as "porn" and "whore," or they would be blocked by the university’s foul-language barrier. Although the college years have long been a time of sexual liberation for many students, RISD’s built-in ban on sexual language reflects the less vocal stance taken by many institutions. Students, though, are continuing to press against these boundaries — sometimes in bold and salacious ways. "Sex" was removed from RISD’s list of forbidden intranet words, for example, as a direct result of the formation in January of a student-organized club that screens porn and discusses sexuality.

Students elsewhere are also bringing carnal pleasure out of the dorm room and into the light of publication and extra-curricular groups. Nine months ago, students at Harvard dropped H Bomb, an undergraduate-produced publication featuring nude photos of students and provocative articles. The magazine has a clearly intellectual bent and tries to distance itself from pornography, which its editors consider exploitative. In February, Boston University students pushed the envelope farther by publishing Boink, another sexy magazine filled with undergraduate models.....