Let’s talk about porn. The porn industry is huge, and because it is so easy to access nowadays, more and more people are watching pornographic videos. The industry is controversial to say the least. Ever since the 1950s, there has been an intra-feminism debate over porn. Some feminists view porn as liberating. Other feminists see it as an industry that is built on the degradation of women.

There have been many porn stars who have spoken out against the porn industry and the abusive behavior they were forced to go through. For example, Jenna Jameson was the most famous and successful porn star. Now she is one of the biggest anti-porn advocates. In her book How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale, Jameson gives personal accounts of the abuse, physical and emotional pain she endured, drug use and the people who constantly took advantage of her in the porn industry.

In her autobiography Jameson writes, “Most girls get their first experience in gonzo films – in which they’re taken to a crappy studio apartment in Mission Hills and penetrated in every hole possible by some abusive asshole who thinks her name is Bitch.”

Jameson is not the only porn star that has spoken out against the porn industry. There have been many other stars that have reported on the drug and alcohol addictions, abuse and the STIs that are prevalent in the industry.

Right now, porn caters primarily to men. Even the camera is from the man’s point of view much of the time. This could contribute to why so much violence and commodification is directed towards women. Too many times in porn is a woman called a “bitch,” a “whore” or a “slut.” It is like pornographers want their audience to think that this behavior is okay.

Now, I’m not saying we should get rid of porn. A lot of people would be pissed if we got rid of porn. Plus, it would never work. It would be like the abolition of alcohol all over again. People would find ways to get it. Besides, porn could potentially be liberating to women and teach us to embrace our bodies and our sexuality.

Porn has the potential to show the world a sexy powerful woman instead of what it shows now: a submissive object ready to be used and disposed of. I saw a video of a young porn star dancing sexily with a hula hoop, and while there was no actual sex involved, that video was sexier and more empowering than any of the videos depicting women as just something for male porn stars to play with.

But the majority of porn now is demoralizing to women and in no way liberating. Porn commodifies women, making them seem like objects ready for the taking. And with so many videos depicting violence and rape, the porn industry is practically condoning sexual assault and sexual harassment. That part of porn needs to stop.

I understand that people, including women, have their kinks, and some kinks can be rather violent or demoralizing (i.e BDSM). It’s great that people can explore these kinks without judgment. Feeling comfortable with sexual preferences and kinks is always a good thing because people should be able to embrace their sexuality. These scenes could appeal to a women as well because, guess what? Women like sex too.

So I’m conflicted about porn. I want videos that depict women in powerful, sexy ways. I want the sex depicted in the videos to be consensual. I want the men that work in porn to not be creepy, demanding and disrespectful to their female porn stars like the way Jameson depicts them to be.

Porn has the potential to make women feel good about themselves and their bodies. So really what I want is female friendly porn. Porn that doesn’t make me feel horrified because of the way the woman is treated. I’m not anti-porn, I’m just against the mistreatment of women. Porn should be fun for us too.

My Spanish education mostly consisted of learning then relearning basic vocabulary and faking the language in order to pass. Taking Spanish classes felt pointless. I felt like I was just taking the class for a grade, not to actually learn a second language.

Here at the UO, students spend 50 minutes four or five days a week in a classroom, and that is the only practice all day they get with the language. It is difficult to learn in this format because a student is only focusing on Spanish for a short time.

In Tim Ferriss’ article, “Why Language Classes Don’t Work: How to Cut Classes and Double Your Learning Rate,” he makes the point that you can learn conversation, but you cannot be taught it in a classroom setting.

“Grammar can be learned with writing exercises in a class of 20,” Ferriss writes. “Whereas ‘conversation’ cannot be learned in anything but a realistic one-on-one environment where your brain is forced to adapt to normal speed and adopt coping mechanisms such as delaying tactics.”

Basically, he is saying that language classes are important for grammar, but to get a full grasp of the language, one should get practice in a native environment. Business administration major Lauren Hayashi has seen just how much learning occurs when taking the plunge into a new environment.

Hayashi got the chance to study abroad in Guatemala, twice. The first time she went, she didn’t feel confident speaking Spanish. Eight months later, she travelled to Guatemala again, and this time she felt like she was much better at speaking Spanish, but she hadn’t taken any classes in between visits.

“For some reason I just felt way more comfortable speaking,” said Hayashi. “A lot of the people I saw were the same people, and they were like ‘wow your Spanish got so much better!’ And I was like that’s weird because I haven’t taken any classes.”

Traveling abroad and being immersed in a new culture can help tremendously when learning a second language. But not everyone is that lucky, and language classes can get discouraging when you aren’t keeping up.

After my sophomore year, I gave up on learning Spanish because, after many years of trying, I never felt comfortable enough to raise my hand in class and speak. I regret the decision to quit because I think learning another language is important, but I wish my Spanish classes had been taught differently.

At the UO, faculty members in the Department of Romance Languages are working hard every term to make sure students can get the best out of their experience.

“Every year, we try to improve our program,” Spanish professor Laurie deGonzalez said.

An improvement that was made to the program recently, according to deGonzalez, was to the oral exams given to students.

When I was in Spanish, the way the oral exams were given was you were partnered up with a classmate to have a five-minute conversation in front of the professor. It wasn’t a good way to determine speaking ability because everyone would memorize the responses they would give to pre-prepared questions.

Now, the oral exams are given in a way where the professor asks the students questions that require lengthy answers. It is impossible for a student to memorize what they want to say because they won’t know what they are going to be asked, so the student actually has to have a good grasp of how to speak Spanish.

They can’t just fake it, like I did.

According to deGonzalez, the Spanish program has also worked on other changes to its program. A few changes include giving students worksheets to complete before any quizzes for extra exposure to the language and having professors ask students questions that actually interest them, not just about the cultural aspect of Spanish.

Making improvements, such as these, is important so students are getting the most out of their Spanish education. While it is more difficult, deGonzalez believes that it is possible for students to learn Spanish without studying abroad.

“If you give the right type of homework, and this is where we are trying to hone in right now, the right type of input, the right type of homework, and students are enthusiastic, conscientious, and doing their work, I think it could happen,” deGonzalez said.

I wish I had enjoyed my experience with Spanish more. I wish I had been more enthusiastic about learning the language. But with these constant improvements, Spanish classes at the UO are becoming more effective and I hope they continue to improve in the future.