WILLIAMSBURG, VA — While there are some who believe that by the time a person has entered college, s/he has matured enough to discuss complex topics, there are others who believe that some things should never be discussed. Among those topics are the real lives and experiences of sex workers – something the students of William & Mary university hoped to learn more about during yesterday’s stop at the college by the touring Sex Workers’ Art Show. In spite of efforts from Williamsburg General Assembly Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-York), the “embarrassment to our community” visited the college for the second time in two years and the topic of sex workers’ experiences was reintroduced to the academic environment.

Pogge told NBC 12 News that she feels the dialogue “actually drags down the reputation, the legacy, the decorum, and the dignity that is enjoyed by the College of William & Mary.”

This opinion puts her at odds with Greg Nichol, the president of the College of William & Mary, who told the Associated Press in January that while he hoped students could find an off-campus venue for the event, he also felt that its presence on campus would be in line with the college’s respect for the First Amendment and “defining traditions of openness that sustain universities.”

Although Pogge and her followers envision a night of meaningless debauchery, lewdness, and obscene performances, The Sex Workers’ Art Show is an annual, changing cast performance that tours the country in an attempt to “dispel the myth that they are anything short of artists, innovators, and geniuses.”

This is clearly not an opinion that social traditionalists want to have heard – especially not on college campuses. Some use the fact that student fees are involved as another reason to discredit the performances by porn stars, strippers, and other male and female sex industry workers.

In Pogge’s opinion, the show is nothing short of obscene, which is why she insisted that law enforcement personnel police last night’s show. Unfortunately for Pogge’s social aspirations, universities are exempt from obscenity laws. Unfortunately for the show, Williamsburg has dual authority over campus incidents and may not be exempt from city laws.

Organizers within the college scoffed at Pogge’s concerns, including Jay Squires of the Gay Community Center of Richmond, who informed NBC 12 that “If people expect a strip show, I’m afraid they’re going to be disappointed. This is a show that allows its performers to make important, valid, political and social points.”

In an attempt to mellow at least some of the alleged outrage that Pogge insists is rampant among those who’ve heard about the show’s visit to William & Mary – and to avoid distracting attention from the stage or age inappropriate uploads to YouTube — the college forbade all cameras during the performance, even those brought by the press. Ironically, this also infuriated Pogge, who concluded that such a decision was evidence of a “cavalier attitude regarding the First Amendment rights of the press.”

University representatives insist that all decisions were made after consultation with legal counsel and the Attorney General’s office.

Not surprisingly, the issue has become a political volleyball in play, with Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Manassas) joining Pogge in high profile fury. “Now I understand why Nichol can’t raise money for the university,” he informed the Capital News Service. “He’s spending his time inviting pimps, prostitutes, and dominatrixes on campus.”

Virginia voters might want to ask why their tax supported public officials are so confused about the purpose of universities, given that one of Marshall’s claims is that because the university is public property, it should not be allowed to host anything sexually explicit – yet that is precisely why the program is able to be viewed at the higher learning institution.

Nary a headline has appeared indicating that the cabaret-style program ran afoul of any laws during its performance, but Pogge’s moral sputterings are likely to find welcome in Staunton, VA, if nowhere else. It is there that Commonwealth Attorney Ray Robertson has launched a one-man attack against all things pornographic. Having levied eight felony obscenity charges against the owner of After Hours Video, as well as another six felony and four misdemeanor counts of obscenity against one of the shop’s cashiers, Robertson is keenly interested in anything that might be obscene within the state of Virginia.

“I wouldn’t go after Hair, because that has artistic value,” he informed the local media after learning about the Sex Workers’ Art Show and now-revoked obscenity charges against a mall Abercrombie & Fitch,” but this sounds bad because prostitution is illegal, and if you’ve got someone saying people ought to prostitute themselves, then they out to prosecute because that’s inciting someone to commit a crime.”

Not content to promote prosecution of potential thought crimes, Robertson has gone on to say that “I’m elated that they’re going after this stuff. If it’s patently offensive and doesn’t have any literary, political, scientific, or artistic value, it’s serious stuff. Not only is this stuff degrading to women, it leads to AIDS and STD epidemics, teenage pregnancy, and it goes hand in glove with drugs, because in both cases it’s people looking for a high, and they need a worse and worse version to get the same high.”

That’s a lot of opinions from a man who’s never seen the Sex Workers’ Art Show. And it’s these opinions that motivate its organizers and performers to keep speaking out and spreading the word.

Tonight the Sex Workers’ Art Show will be held at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA for those 18 years of age or older. From there it moves to Baltimore, MD, Washington DC, New York City, and beyond. More information can be gleaned at the cabaret’s website: www.SexWorkersArtShow.com.