My Freedom Watch column on the death of parody on American college campuses, which appears in the Boston Phoenix ’s August 1^st issue, provoked more of a response than any of my columns in recent memory. My email in-box was jammed with messages, largely from those who agreed with me, but a few from less-than-convinced (or at least less-than-happy) readers.

In a puritan streak, Harvard University has forced several student groups who were planning on hosting a "Barely Legal" party to change the name -- or they otherwise couldn't hold the party, according to the Harvard Crimson and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). (Disclosure: Free For All writer Harvey Silverglate is Chairman of the Board of Directors of FIRE.

In a puritan streak, Harvard University has forced several student groups who were planning on hosting a "Barely Legal" party to change the name -- or they otherwise couldn't hold the party, according to the Harvard Crimson and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). (Disclosure: Free For All writer Harvey Silverglate is Chairman of the Board of Directors of FIRE.

By Jan Wolfe

University Presidents have developed a strange knack for lauding the First Amendment even as they dispense with it. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see Gene Nichol, President of The College of William & Mary, match his anti-censorship rhetoric with action.

According to The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia, Nichol has permitted students to bring to campus the Sex Workers' Art Show, a sort-of X-rated Vagina Monologues in which strippers, prostitutes, and porn stars apparently rave about how much they love their jobs (much to the dismay of campus feminists of the anti-pornography school, I’m sure).

By Jan Wolfe

University Presidents have developed a strange knack for lauding the First Amendment even as they dispense with it. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see Gene Nichol, President of The College of William & Mary, match his anti-censorship rhetoric with action.

According to The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia, Nichol has permitted students to bring to campus the Sex Workers' Art Show, a sort-of X-rated Vagina Monologues in which strippers, prostitutes, and porn stars apparently rave about how much they love their jobs (much to the dismay of campus feminists of the anti-pornography school, I’m sure).