NEWS
Sex-survey phone calls a hoax
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by Katie Quaintance
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Students living in residence halls at the University of Wisconsin have reported receiving sexually harassing phone calls in the past few days under the guise of a Sex Out Loud survey.
SOL project coordinator Meghan Benson asserted that the organization is in no way involved in the phone calls.
“We really want to be respectful of students’ sexual lives and activities; asking them personal questions is not being respectful,” Benson said.
According to SOL intern Nikki Goergen, a female UW student called the organization concerning a phone call she had received Monday night. The student reported that a male caller, claiming he was conducting a survey about students’ sexual activities for SOL, asked her personal questions about her sex life.
“He asked her things like how many times a day she masturbates,” Goergen said.
Goergen said shortly afterward the student told the caller she felt uncomfortable with the questions and hung up. She later contacted SOL to enquire into the origins of the supposed survey, saying that other students in the residence hall had received similar calls.
Lt. Bill Larson of the UW-Madison Police advised students to immediately file a report with the police in the case of harassing phone calls. If a pattern develops in the calls, said Larson, the police can put a trace on the phone and catch the culprit.
“We do catch people doing this,” Larson said. “And for them, it’s a misdemeanor crime.”
Perpetrators face jail time and fines, according to Larson.
The content of the phone calls runs contrary to the mission of the organization, said Benson, adding that she does not want students to associate the calls with SOL’s work.
“Our goal as an organization is to make people feel comfortable about their sexuality,” Benson said. “We would never do something like that.”
