Editor,
During the past several months, the UNM Women's Resource Center has noticed, and been alarmed by, the increased number of advertisements in the Lobo which connect alcohol consumption to sexual activity.
This link, sex and alcohol, is especially troubling given the trend of binge drinking among college students and the statistics regarding sexual assault (one in three women and one in five men).
As a result of these concerns, we have engaged in a dialogue with the Lobo staff in an effort to help them make the connection between the blatantly sexist and potentially inciting material in ads such as "Drink Beer, Play Pool and Have Sex," and how they help to create an unsafe environment for UNM's population.
Our concerns were heard, but were deflected by the shield of the First Amendment and the fact that it protects, in this case, the rights of the advertisers (and ultimately the Lobo's revenue from them). While we would obviously never recommend censoring our students' newspaper, we do feel that there should be a level of social responsibility and some standard whereby the paper does not contribute to normalizing violence against women and alcoholism.
In our meeting, we were informed that the Daily Lobo, in fact, does not accept advertising from escort services or those containing 900 numbers, as they may be dangerous or harmful to the students. We feel that this standard needs to be extended to ads in the Haps section. We are not suggesting the discontinuation of advertising by nightclubs/bars altogether, but we are suggesting that the Daily Lobo require those businesses wanting to advertise to do so in a responsible way.
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In an effort to exercise our civic responsibility to inform and begin a dialogue with our community, the UNM Women's Resource Center and COSAP are sponsoring "Broken Bottles and Broken Bodies: A Forum on Alcohol, Violence and Advertisements on Campus," on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The program will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The forum will feature a screening of Jean Kilbourne's film, "Calling the Shots," and a panel discussion regarding the advertising in the Haps section of the Daily Lobo. Invited panelists include representatives from the Women's Resource Center, the Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center, the UNM Women's Law Caucus, the domestic violence coordinator for Bernalillo County and the New Mexico Media Literacy Project.
We hope that you will join us for this very important conversation and in the effort to make the University of New Mexico a safe environment for everyone.
Sandrea Gonzales
Women's Resource Center director
Summer Little
Women's Resource Center program coordinator
Andrea L. Mays
UNM student
Editor's Note: While the Daily Lobo has a precedent for not accepting 900 numbers or escort services, the newspaper will advertise them if deemed appropriate by the current advertising manager.
