I’m back from Augusta, Ga., and I’m probably miles behind the rest of the Virginia blogosphere on this topic, but I figured I’d post it anyway. As a father who has sent two daughters through college and anticipate doing the same for a son, I would be most unhappy if my child were attending Randolph College, an expensive liberal arts school in Lynchburg. (Jerry Falwell is spinning in his grave!)
According to MSNBC, the American Studies program at Randolph College has sponsored a field to trip Las Vegas for a closer look at…. drum roll… a brothel!
Each semester, the course examines a strain of American culture and ends with a class trip. Reports MSNBC in a breathless, isn’t-this-interesting tone: The brothel tour was a natural fit for a class on American consumption and “the ideas that consume us.” Said Julio Rodriguez, the director of the college’s American Culture Program: “Don’t just study America — live it.”
“I think it’s fascinating, this is fun for me,” said Nicki Amouri, a junior at the private liberal arts school . “Not many people get to do this.”
Isn’t that special?
The 12 students interviewed “Alicia,” a prostitute at the Chicken Ranch. Sample questions: Do you consider yourself a feminist? Is there a certain look that most men prefer? Do you give a military discount? What’s the worst part of the job? (Answer to the last question: Being cooped up all day. “Feeling morally degraded” apparently wasn’t high on the list of drawbacks.) Next stop for the class: a backstage revue of the risque review “Jubilee.”
While the Randolph College students took a values-free look at prostitution, I had ringside seats two nights ago in an Augusta, Ga., restaurant where a group of five or six middle-aged men were hanging out and pounding down drinks at the bar. A stunning young black woman, dressed in a tasteful red and white sun dress and matching purse, joined them. She was extremely forward and familiar with the men, one of whom was wearing a wedding ring, and they clearly enjoyed flirting with her. One guy served her some mussel hors d’oeuvres and asked in a boozy voice, loud enough for everyone at our table to hear, “Does it make you horny?” After 45 minutes or so, they all left the restaurant together. Draw your own conclusions as to the nature of the relationship.
The incident was almost as instructive as the Randy Mac students’ trip to the Chicken Ranch. Only difference: I didn’t have a chance to query the “sex worker.” (We wouldn’t want to use a judgmental word like “whore,” would we?) If I had, I would have asked the young woman at the Augusta restaurant – who must have been a college student, judging by her glamorous looks, vocabulary and diction, which surpassed in sophistication that of the men she was accompanying — what the hell are you doing?
You’re a beautiful young woman, why are you selling yourself to low-life creeps like these guys? Given the fact that you’re black and they’re white, do you ever feel exploited? Does your family know about this? Do you ever feel guilty or remorseful about what you do? Is this something you’ll feel comfortable telling your children about some day? Could you explain your moral value structure — does sex mean anything more to you than a commodity to sell?
Contemporary American consumerism exists in a moral void today. But it isn’t the consumerism that scours our souls. I think the causality works quite the other way around. A moral vacuum — a hedonistic search for pleasure and self-gratification, lacking any higher purpose — steers us into excessive consumerism without any thought to the moral implications. If the MSNBC story was any indication, however, the Randolph College course never plumbed the subject to that depth. The story itself certainly didn’t.
If I were a parent of a Randolph College child, I’d be demanding my money back. Here’s the saddest part of all: The parents of these children apparently saw nothing wrong with the trip. Someone had to foot the tab for the cross-country travel — and it probably wasn’t the students. I am not religious and I am not a prude, but I certainly don’t want my daughters embracing a values-free outlook on prostitution.