Anti-Porn Effort Stalls at Massachusetts College

Despite fliers posted all over the Smith College campus from a group opposing a proposed adult superstore, many students say they don’t support efforts to keep the store out.

Of those students interviewed by The Smith College Sophian, many said they believe the store should be allowed to open. Smith College is an all-female liberal arts college with an enrollment of about 2,600 students.

Last July Rhode Island-based Capital Video Corp., a part of adult entertainment giant Metro Global Media, announced it planned to open a 6,000-square-foot store in the city’s downtown area.

Store opponents who include residents and some local feminist groups said they object to the adult videos which they say are addictive, violent, degrading to women, but also capable of influencing those who watch them.

Jendi Reiter and Adam Cohen launched a campaign against the proposed store by starting the group No Porn Northampton, which recently began distributing fliers throughout the small Smith College campus. But so far, students have not come on board with the couple.

According to the newspaper, no students have joined recent protests against the proposed store and even the school’s feminist groups have remained silent on the issue.

Ellen Feiss, a freshman student at the college, perhaps typified student sentiment when she said that as long as the store is presented well and doesn't look “creepy,” that it should be allowed to do business.

Likewise, Kim Meskinen, a junior, told the newspaper that although she heard about the controversy, she felt the shop would not be a detriment to the community as long as its done “tastefully.”

But sophomore student Emily Yen said she opposed the business she felt it would attract crime to the area.

Yen said she wrote to Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins to express her opposition to the store.