2008 Woodie Awards
Debate over "Lights out with Liz" brings heated discussion to campus
Kara Becker
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 4 next >
Many students have recently been exposed to a new column in The Trail called "Lights out with Liz," featured in the A&E section every week. The column is written by sophomore Liz Elling, and has been the source of controversy for many different members of the campus community.
The first column, published in the Feb. 9 issue, was titled "Valentine's Day loving," and discussed how to have great sex on Valentine's Day. The second column was published on Feb. 16 and was titled "Pleasing your man with your mouth." This article talked frankly about giving oral sex to males and gave detailed tips on how to give an effective blow job. The third column, titled "Pleasing your woman with your mouth," was published on Feb. 23.
It was intended to be a follow-up article on the previous week's, and focused on how to perform oral sex on a female. The fourth and most recent column was published on March 2, and was titled "Finding the seven secret spots." It was dedicated to highlighting seven of the most erotic erogenous zones outside of the obvious genitals and mouth.
The idea of the sex column was first proposed at the beginning of the spring semester after Elling was hired. A&E editor Kevin Nguyen was excited that one of his new writers wanted to do such an edgy piece.
The first sign of negative feedback came in the form of a letter sent to Dean of Students Mike Segawa that was written by a parent of a prospective student. In the letter, the parent referenced the first two columns Elling had written, calling the Feb. 16 article "repulsive." The parent then added that they had heard about the same story from two different UPS parents, and went on to describe both their children's current problems with their roommates based on sexual activity happening in their shared rooms.
The letter-writer also described The Trail as having a "pornographic flavor," and continued on to question the type of material that Elling chose to write about.
Segawa called Elling in after giving her a copy of the letter, and the two discussed what actions should be taken in response. Ultimately both Segawa and Elling decided to refrain from writing any sort of rebuttal or response to the complaint, with Segawa giving Elling full responsibility and power over what she wanted to do.
The first column, published in the Feb. 9 issue, was titled "Valentine's Day loving," and discussed how to have great sex on Valentine's Day. The second column was published on Feb. 16 and was titled "Pleasing your man with your mouth." This article talked frankly about giving oral sex to males and gave detailed tips on how to give an effective blow job. The third column, titled "Pleasing your woman with your mouth," was published on Feb. 23.
It was intended to be a follow-up article on the previous week's, and focused on how to perform oral sex on a female. The fourth and most recent column was published on March 2, and was titled "Finding the seven secret spots." It was dedicated to highlighting seven of the most erotic erogenous zones outside of the obvious genitals and mouth.
The idea of the sex column was first proposed at the beginning of the spring semester after Elling was hired. A&E editor Kevin Nguyen was excited that one of his new writers wanted to do such an edgy piece.
The first sign of negative feedback came in the form of a letter sent to Dean of Students Mike Segawa that was written by a parent of a prospective student. In the letter, the parent referenced the first two columns Elling had written, calling the Feb. 16 article "repulsive." The parent then added that they had heard about the same story from two different UPS parents, and went on to describe both their children's current problems with their roommates based on sexual activity happening in their shared rooms.
The letter-writer also described The Trail as having a "pornographic flavor," and continued on to question the type of material that Elling chose to write about.
Segawa called Elling in after giving her a copy of the letter, and the two discussed what actions should be taken in response. Ultimately both Segawa and Elling decided to refrain from writing any sort of rebuttal or response to the complaint, with Segawa giving Elling full responsibility and power over what she wanted to do.
Be the first to comment on this story