Last Wednesday, Tyler Kruze, a night DJ at Z104 FM, requested listeners text message their nude pictures to him to win fourth row tickets to a Sean Kingston concert. The contest was reported to be completely impulsive and unplanned. Mike Ferris, the operations manager for Clear Channel Madison, was pretty nonchalant after the incident, laughing it off as completely harmless. As harmless as he believed it to be, an outcry from the public proved it to be more controversial than Kruze anticipated.

It’s pretty ironic that a scandal like this would center on tickets for a Sean Kingston concert. His first hit song “Beautiful Girls” repeated the word “suicidal” over and over and over. I won’t review the music, though. We don’t want another David Archuleta debacle.

Many viewers raised questions about the possibility of child pornography. Outrageous, but they may have a point. There was no way to confirm the age of the people who sent in photos — seven photos, by the way. Ferris remarked that the only way to verify the ages would be to just look at the photographs — as if the anatomy of a 17-year-old differs so greatly from that of an 18-year-old.

Regardless of age, the message being sent is inappropriate. By offering concert tickets as a prize for sharing nudity, Kruze inadvertently suggested that getting naked will get you what you want. Getting naked will get you an A. Getting naked will get you a boyfriend.

The contest also endorsed a fairly new phenomenon called “sexting.” Sexting, thanks to picture messaging capabilities, allows people to take pictures of themselves or others nude or engaging in sexual activities and send them to their friends or enemies. These “sexts” can be sent in jest, seduction or they can be sent as a cruel joke or blackmail.

“Sexting” has also been unwittingly advocated in a recent “90210” episode. For parents of high school students, the idea of sexual text messages is a very serious and daunting subject. When Kruze suggested this type of message would help listeners to win a contest, he crossed the line between entertainment and pure vulgarity.

The contest also insinuated the better you look naked, the better off you are. Kruze stated that “the best picture” would win the contest. His definition of the best picture is up to the imagination, but his words hinted that the most rockin’ bod’ would win. The contest merely augmented the negative effects of media on body image.

While all these accusations are potentially very serious, in all likelihood, these implications had little to no effect on anybody, including teenagers. Considering that only seven pictures were sent in, it is clear that most listeners didn’t think it was appropriate or necessary to exploit themselves for concert tickets.

The worst part of the whole scandal isn’t the scandal itself; it’s the apology. The operations manager did not show any signs of apologizing, and though DJ Kruze did apologize, it was only after he had heard the accusations about his behavior. His apology was at best, insincere. Since it is clear he isn’t being reprimanded for his actions, he isn’t really feeling too bad about the situation. Assuming a decency violation is not issued, the only “punishment” he received was to say two empty words.

On the converse side of the issue, some parents and listeners believe the DJ was just having some fun and listeners shouldn’t take things so seriously. Even though Kruze’s actions were impulsive and immoral, let’s cut the guy some slack. He used his right to free speech to propose a nude photo contest. He didn’t force anyone to send in a picture. He didn’t threaten anyone. He made a mistake. He’s made his apologies and it’s time to move on.

Z104 is generally not the place to go to learn about highly moral subject matter. Common subjects of discussion are sex and partying. If parents don’t want their kids subjected to this kind of talk, Z104 should be banned. Easier said than done, I know, but once a kid is 15 or 16, the battle is lost anyway. The issue has transcended Tyler Kruze’s actions; there are moral obligations on both sides of the speakers.

The best part of the whole story? According to Ticketmaster, the concert is cancelled.

Jaime Chapman ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.