2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the editor
Offensive anime has no place at Crapathon
Issue date: 2/16/08 Section: Forum
The Yachting Club-organized What the Hell Con is an event where people from all realms of Guilford's geek-dom can mass and indulge in their imaginative interests in a collective celebration. Beyond the usual Yachting Club activities, there was the annual Crapathon, a screening of short videos that contained pornographic anime-including scenes of women and girls being raped.
The Crapathon was open to the public, facilitated by professional event staff and public safety officers and projected onto a giant screen in Dana auditorium, which has hosted such guests as Betty Friedan and Timothy Tyson. The people hired to work the event should not have been subjected to such demeaning and violent sexual imagery. Event organizers checked IDs so as not to allow underage viewers, but the vaguely described event still had the potential to draw unaware visitors.
Despite the disclaimer read before the Crapathon, in paying for and hosting this convention, Guilford College is bound to What the Hell Con in its reputation and image. The Crapathon was first held in 2003, where, according to the program handed out to the Con's participants, "Ignorant and lenient campus activities staff allow the first Will Davis Memorial Crapathon in Bryan Junior Auditorium." From this insult, we can see that even if the Yachting Club did not purposefully deceive Guilford administrators in their requests to allow the Crapathon, they at least relished in their mistaken permissiveness.
The Crapathon's intent may have been to inspire laughter and mockery, but neither is an appropriate reaction to the material shown. The violent pornography contained scenes of women being unwillingly violated. It is the kind of pornography that, if not animated, would be illegal to possess or produce. Guilford should not facilitate its showing nor should Guilford's students, faculty, staff, or alumni be associated with the Crapathon's content.
The Crapathon was open to the public, facilitated by professional event staff and public safety officers and projected onto a giant screen in Dana auditorium, which has hosted such guests as Betty Friedan and Timothy Tyson. The people hired to work the event should not have been subjected to such demeaning and violent sexual imagery. Event organizers checked IDs so as not to allow underage viewers, but the vaguely described event still had the potential to draw unaware visitors.
Despite the disclaimer read before the Crapathon, in paying for and hosting this convention, Guilford College is bound to What the Hell Con in its reputation and image. The Crapathon was first held in 2003, where, according to the program handed out to the Con's participants, "Ignorant and lenient campus activities staff allow the first Will Davis Memorial Crapathon in Bryan Junior Auditorium." From this insult, we can see that even if the Yachting Club did not purposefully deceive Guilford administrators in their requests to allow the Crapathon, they at least relished in their mistaken permissiveness.
The Crapathon's intent may have been to inspire laughter and mockery, but neither is an appropriate reaction to the material shown. The violent pornography contained scenes of women being unwillingly violated. It is the kind of pornography that, if not animated, would be illegal to possess or produce. Guilford should not facilitate its showing nor should Guilford's students, faculty, staff, or alumni be associated with the Crapathon's content.
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