stop porn & porn culture

On University Day,  Dani, David and I interviewed six random people to hear multiple perspectives on the issue of pornography in public spaces. This conversation stems from an incident that occurred at the University of New Hampshire's library during the summer where a man was found viewing child pornography. This public library is a resource for students attending UNH and residents in surrounding towns. The questions we asked pertained to how they would respond if they saw someone in the library viewing pornography and if they feel restrictions should be applied to what websites can be accessed at the library. Here's what we found from the interviews:
The first individual we interviewed was a female graduate student in education. She had not heard about the event that occurred during the library this summer. She felt that viewing porn in a public space (like the library) was not appropriate and that restrictions should be enforced. She compared this to how public schools often block their students from visiting particular sites such as Myspace or Facebook. If she encountered someone viewing pornography in the library she told us that she would not hesitate to notify the library staff or confront the individual viewing pornography.
The second individual we interviewed was a male senior forestry major. He said that he had not heard of the event that took place in the library this summer. He believes that there should be no policy in place to restrict viewing pornography in public spaces. The only censorship he believes is necessary is for child pornography because it is illegal. He also commented that if he witnessed someone viewing pornography in the library he wouldn't take action and most likely just laugh at such an event.
The third individual we spoke with was a male professor in the philosophy department. He had not heard about the event in the library. He seemed hesitant when answering our questions but overall he did not favor a policy restricting viewing pornography because he believes in freedom of speech. He feels that policies that restrict don't work well and often they are overprotective. He also was hesitant in saying how he would respond to witnessing someone watching pornography in the library. He said he may report to the library staff if what he saw was child pornography or very offensive.
The fourth individual we spoke with was a female senator up for re-election. She stated that policies restricting pornography viewing in public spaces are a "slippery slope." She felt that a policy may be necessary for cases of viewing child pornography.
The fifth individual we spoke with is a female women's studies and social work double major who is a sophomore. She stated that she would favor a policy restricting viewing of pornography in public spaces. If she witnessed someone viewing pornography in the library she said that she would seek assistance from the library staff immediately. She also stated that she did not hear about the incident from over the summer.
The sixth individual we spoke with is a male fifth year senior in math and philosophy. He had not heard of the incident which occurred in the library over the summer. He said that he would not support a policy restricting watching pornography in a public space. The only exception to this in his opinion would be child pornography because it is illegal. He also commented that he would not take action if he witnessed someone viewing pornography unless it was child pornography.
I've found from these interviews that most individuals had not heard about the incident from the summer, nor did they seem particularly concerned with it. Pornography is a touchy subject to bring up and I've found it usually stirs up a lot of feelings. What I find most interesting is the lack of concern or wish to provide UNH's library with a policy. This is a public library with a section for children which in my opinion, is not a place to view pornography. Typically, when issues involving children are brought up it seems that people become overprotective but this was not the case for most of these interviews. I can't say that I'm shocked by any of the opinions I heard at University Day to essentially defend and promote pornography viewing no matter what type of establishment it is being consumed in. The truth is that we live in a porn culture where pornography is so integrated into our everyday lives that many individuals are simply desensitized to it. Also, protecting "freedom" is always the top concern of porn defenders/viewers, even if that person's freedom also requires the constraint of others. Why were UNH students not informed by the police or administration about the man viewing pornography in the library? How much violence/injustice/oppression equate to the value we place freedom at?