Columnist Ruthe Deskin: UNLV porn class goes too far

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, April 6, 2000 | 9:28 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at deskin@lasvegassun.com.

It wasn't too many years ago when school boards were debating the wisdom of teaching sex education in the country's schools.

Then came suggestions that condoms should be given to sexually active teenagers. Birth control became part of the sex education curriculum. Somehow we old establishment characters weathered it all without too much cultural shock.

But classifying pornography as a credit-earning course at UNLV threw this elderly citizen into a state of disbelief. Women's Studies 499: Porn in the USA is being taught for the first time this year.

"We want students to think about porn differently," one instructor stated. "We want them to evaluate it, to be able to deconstruct it, and see the problems with it."

Sort of like trigonometry.

Dr. Carol Harter, the UNLV president who knows the value of good press, recently forwarded a copy of a Los Angeles Times article that told of the steps being taken to improve the academic stature of UNLV.

The article was upbeat, although it did not mention the academic benefits offered to students who delve into the study of pornography.

What a country we live in. Kids can't offer a prayer to the God of their choice, but they can study the career choices offered by Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt.

Will the NCAA ever let up on UNLV? Now there's something that could become a course of study for the athletic department.

No other program in the nation gets such minute surveillance, which certainly has its effect on recruiting.

Jack Milligan, who came to Las Vegas in 1939 and graduated from Fifth Street Grammar School and Las Vegas High, is spearheading a 50th class reunion for the Las Vegas High graduates of the class of 1951. It will be held in the summer of 2001 and organizers want to get a head start to ensure success.

Milligan needs help in locating members of the 1951 graduating class. Contact him at 453-2163.

This week saddened staff members from the Sun said goodbye to a beloved friend and co-worker.

Photographer Ken Jones was a Sun legend whose gentle disposition and professional integrity left a legacy for all young journalists to follow.

Too often success is measured by great wealth and power. Ken Jones had neither, nor did he aspire for more than to be a decent individual, good husband and father, and loyal friend.

He was all that and more to those who had the privilege of knowing him.

A recent article about Billy Wilkerson, whose son/biographer claimed was the "Man Who Invented Las Vegas," prompted a response from longtime resident Raoul "Johnny" Dixon:

"Prior to my induction into the Army, ending of the year 1942 and beginning 1943, I was employed as a dealer at the old El Rancho Vegas hotel. Ben Siegel, Nick the Greek Dondalos, a restaurant owner in Hollywood (I believe he was called Count Ratterman), Al Smiley (he was sitting next to Mr. Siegel at the ending of his career) and Johnny Rosselli visited the El Rancho several times trying to make a deal to buy the establishment from Thomas Hull, who also owned the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel.

"In other words, Mr. Siegel was very interested in Las Vegas, maybe prior to Mr. Wilkerson's endeavors?"

Dixon's memories remind me how many people are still in Las Vegas who remember earlier times. Their memories should be recorded for posterity.

A Sun reader suggests that April is not the time to ask what you can do for your country.

It's time to ask your country where your taxes go.