Conference on Pornography at CSUN

As a panelist at the August 1998 World Conference on Pornography, I must disagree with the opinions expressed by state Sens. Ray Haynes and Richard Alarcon, who have obviously been seriously misinformed about the intent and nature of the conference (“Panel Orders Audit of CSUN Pornography Conference,” July 7).

The conference was a serious academic examination of an important, if controversial, phenomenon, a phenomenon that has been part of human society for thousands of years. Critics say that such a conference “advocates” pornography. Conferences are held every year on subjects such as child abuse, violence in the media, juvenile delinquency and crime. Has the university ever been accused of advocacy in these cases? The specific theme of the conference was the relationship between pornography and the 1st Amendment, a timely subject, given the advent of the Internet. Speakers came from universities and institutes all over the United States and from several other countries. Even if state funds had been spent for the conference, there could not have been any cause for complaint. However, the Center for Sex Research, which sponsored the conference, is not supported by state funds. Why, then, does the legislative committee believe that it is proper to expend state funds on an audit?

The real issue here is that the legislative committee has ordered the expenditure of state funds to investigate a conference that was not funded by the taxpayers for the simple reason that they do not “approve” of the subject of the conference. I think that the legislative committee has been seduced by the rhetoric of an ultra-conservative group that is determined to legislate morality. We know these people, folks. They are the same people who brought us the [Monica] Lewinsky fiasco, and spending millions of taxpayer dollars to try to catch someone being naughty is their specialty.

VIRGINIA ELWOOD, Sylmar