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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 1985)
6++ , J- na ++ 3. IJL I VJ -tt~ u. National commission studies pornography's effects By WENDY JOHNSON Staff Writer A t the verbal request of President Reagan, Attorney General Edwin Meese ap pointed an 11-member commission on pornography in May 1985. The commission's task — to study the ef fects of pornography on human be havior. "The president said he had heard from many segments of the country on this issue and thought it was something that needed to be looked into," says Dee Kuhn, spokeswoman for the commission. Pornography was last studied by a national commission in 1970. The earlier commission found no corre lation between pornography and crime. The present commission, however, has made a "tentative pro posed finding" that pornography has become more graphic, more vi olent, more sexually explicit and more accessible since it was last studied. But Philip Nobile, editorial director of Penthouse's Forum magazine told the Houston Chronicle that he fears the commission has already made up its mind to recommend "repres sive, anti-constitutional legislation" to combat pornography. Kuhn, however, says the panel is merely on a fact-finding mission. "The Attorney General told them (they) must stay within the First Amendment," she says. "(Members of the panel include) a professor, social scientists, a rever end, a woman from Woman's Day magazine, and a lawyer — all have touched the field," Kuhn says. "That was the main criterion, that they al ready be involved in some way." Henry Hudson, a prosecutor from Arlington County, Va., is the chair man of the panel. Panel members make themselves available one week per month to travel to various cities to hear testi mony. Panelists also have regular full-time jobs. The commission must hear all tes timony before reporting its findings to the Attorney General in June 1986. The Attorney General will evaluate the findings and report to the presi dent if any action is to be taken. The commission will hear testi mony in six cities around the country from people on both sides of the is sues. The cities were chosen to give a cross section of the country. E ach of the six hearings will be on a different aspect of pornography. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the commission was in Los Angeles to hear testimony on the production and distribution of por nography. Members heard from tal ent scouts and agencies on such subjects as how pornography is per formed and how the performers are paid. In September, the commission was in Houston studying the social issues involved in pornography, specifically the relationship between the use of pornography and anti-so cial behavior such as rape. The commission listened to testimony from 24 social scientists, police offi cers and alleged victims of pornog raphy. Only two of those testifying were from Houston. The next hearing will be in Miami, where child pornography will be studied. The final hearing will be in New York on Jan. 21 and 22, and the subject will be the alleged involve ment of organized crime in pornog raphy. The commission has no subpoena power, and a very small budget, so it must rely on volunteers to testify or submit written testimony. Written opinions and information on the committee's subject may be sent to The Attorney General's Com mission on Pornography, 320 First St. SW, Suite 1018, Washington, D.C.20530 □ Woman dyes dogs' hair to make clothes By VIRGIL SWING Associated Press SAGINAW, Minn. — While most dog owners toss the loose hair in the garbage without a second thought after grooming their pets, Peggy Swan is recycling that hair into clothing for family and friends. The Saginaw woman spins yam from the dog hair, dyes it with Kool- Aid and creates sweaters, hats and vests that are soft to the touch, com fortable to wear and appealing to the eye. "I kind of like the grape and lem onade myself," she says. Making clothing from animal hair isn't unheard of — after all, that's what wool, angora and mohair are. at ease * £ the 5 place s to S see and s < be 'N seen s to advertise s call 845-2611 But, Swan says, "You don't want to be ordinary. I like to do different things." Swan says she read about the techniques of spinning dog hair into yam and dyeing it in magazines. The practice of spinning dog hair into yarn is quite popular in some areas, she says. "In Alaska, you have to buy it (dog hair)," she adds. The Swan family once raised Samoyeds, the large, white, long haired dogs popular in Alaska and other northern climates. It was dur ing that time she learned about spin ning dog hair into yarn in a mag azine for Samoyed owners. Coincidentally, this came not long after Swan had learned to use a spinning wheel and not long before she read about the process of dyeing the yarn. So it's logical that her mind brought a spinning wheel, dog hair and Kool-Aid together into an un usual knitting art. Here's how it works: Swan gets dog hair from dog owning friends, relatives and others aware of her hobby. She's tried Samoyed, malemute, Newfound land, elkhound, Shetland sheep dog, husky and poodle hair, but likes Samoyed best. The hair is easily collected by brushing shedding hair off the dogs, she says. Swan used to wash and comb, or card, the hair herself but now sends it to a St. Peter, Minn, firm specializ ing in the process. Then she turns the hair into yam on her spinning wheel. Swan says spinning dog hair is not much differ ent from spinning other material. Some of her garments are pure dog hair, but she usually mixes it with half wool because the blend is easier to spin and to extend her sup ply of dog hair. The yam can be dyed with sugar- free Kool-Aid (she's tried lemon- lime, lemonade, grape, black cherry and raspberry), or with cof fee, tea and onionskins, Swan says. The yam knitted into garments usually is four-ply, meaning four strands of yam from the wheel are intertwined by running the wheel backward. The techniques for knit ting dog hair yam are no different from those for other yarns, she says. When the garments are done, Swan doesn't try to sell them. "You couldn't get enough to pay for your time," she says. "So they end up as presents." □ Taylor’s Country & Western Dance Classes Beginning C&W Dance Wed., Nov. 6,13,20. Dec. 6:15-7:30 p.m. $15 Advanced C&W Dance Thurs., Nov. 7,14,21, Dec. 5,12 6:15-7:30 p.m. $15 Jitterbug Mon., Nov. 4,11,18,25, Dec. 2 6:15-7:30 p.m. $15 to stay and dance free after each meeting! Nonstudents must purchase an additional $2 nonstudent identifiation card. Registration is now being taken in the University Plus Craft Center, located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center, 845-1631.