Many ASU students have shed their clothing for publications like Playboy magazine throughout the years. And if Undergraduate Student Government President Yaser Alamoodi has his way, there will be punishments for doing so.
Alamoodi, particularly disappointed at ASU's ranking in Playboy's list of top party schools, has decided to examine ways to deter ASU students from posing nude for publications in the future. Deterrence would most likely involve sanctions against students who represent ASU by posing nude.
"I want ASU to be on the level of Berkeley or Michigan or Virginia. I want ASU to be the best public school, not just in the country, but in the world," Alamoodi said.
Alamoodi claims that issues like Playboy's "Girls of the Pac-10" cause significant harm to the image of ASU. As an elected leader who has an obligation to work on behalf of ASU students, Alamoodi feels that he must investigate possible avenues for preventing this type of exposure for the University.
If ASU is to get the respect it deserves, Alamoodi argues, we must not allow Playboy to continue its practice of "flaunting students' bodies and objectifying women."
As for the available remedies to stop this practice, Alamoodi is less certain. Alamoodi states that he is currently looking into the legal aspects of this issue and getting news of his plans out to the press. From here, he intends to work with the USG Senate to get a resolution supporting his goals and, ultimately, talk to ASU administration about a concrete remedy.
Alamoodi's desire to curb ASU students from representing the school in magazines like Playboy raises a couple of questions, mostly pertaining to the desirability of such an action and whether ASU has any legal right to punish students who decide to represent ASU by posing nude.
In justifying his decision to take on this issue, Alamoodi cites these magazines' "tendency to encourage the lifestyle of Playboy." Moreover, Alamoodi believes that Playboy will be less likely to name ASU a top party school if we no longer have our students posing nude in their magazine, which, Alamoodi thinks, perpetuates a false stereotype of ASU as a non-academic institution.
Of course, this position is very naive. ASU's reputation is a complicated subject. To suggest that some students posing nude in Playboy has some incredibly devastating effect on how others perceive ASU is ridiculous.
The real issue, if ASU is to raise its prestige, rests in the fact that the state Legislature continually under-funds higher education.
Also, there are real student privacy implications at the heart of this. This type of action would continue a disturbing trend -- t he University looking into the private, off-campus behavior of students.
With regard to ASU investigating the off-campus behavior of students, Alamoodi said that, "There are limitations. I'm reluctant to take these steps. We should respect the freedom of students."
But, for some reason, posing for Playboy magazine is a different story.
Moreover, the legal issues are extremely complex. It appears highly unlikely that ASU has any authority to punish students for posing in Playboy. I am also skeptical of Alamoodi's ability to examine these complexities. If the recent bylaw fiasco is any indication, Alamoodi is not a details person.
The USG Senate's University Affairs Committee would be the committee that would handle any resolution on this issue. Sen. Ben Starsky, who serves as chairman of the committee, said that he'd be interested to see Alamoodi's proposal, although he is cautious of any proposal that would limit student liberties.
"I am intrigued by the idea and would like to see what Alamoodi has in mind," Starsky stated. "But I am apprehensive of any measures that set the precedent for interfering in students' private lives."
I simply hope that we can all agree on two things. First, Alamoodi must immediately set up a committee to review all of the past instances of ASU students posing for Playboy. And second, he should name me to this committee.
Macy Hanson is a political science and philosophy junior. Reach him at macy.hanson@asu.edu.
