| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) Off-campus parties attended by University of California, Santa Barbara students have been videotaped for use in pornography films, a revelation that concerns authorities and social service workers, but was accepted as routine by their classmates, a newspaper reported Saturday.
The parties in the community of Isla Vista, a seaside neighborhood where students often share housing, were taped by two Isla Vista residents, who then sold their tapes to a Los Angeles-area porn company, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported. The paper did not identify the videographers or the porn company.
Michael Young, UCSB student affairs vice chancellor, said the college, which carries a ``party school'' reputation, can do little but warn students and hope they make the videographers ``feel so unwelcome, they'll just leave.''
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department says the practice appears legal, but is investigating.
Employees at the Isla Vista Teen Center, which serves about 100 neighborhood children, are worried.
``We know that when there are high levels of alcohol and drug use and adults participating in porn, it's not long before kids are, too,'' said Mike Foley, director of YMCA Youth And Family services, which runs the center.
The reaction was different from the student population, the newspaper said.
``If I was next to a girl and she flashed the camera, I'd want to buy the video. I really don't think it's a big deal,'' UCSB student and Isla Vista resident Tyler Wilson said Friday.
``If I saw it, I'd like, leave. But it's an industry,'' said Meghan Smith, a member of the Kappa Gamma house a few blocks from the beach. ``The girls are there by choice. It's not my problem to do anything about.''
Emily Preiss, a UCSB senior who lives in an Isla Vista apartment, said it makes good business sense.
``Even though I don't respect (the videographers), they had a good idea,'' she said. ``Sex sells, and this is the place to be in that field. You're going to get a lot of stuff. ... They get the girls wasted, (the) girls do stupid things.''