Professor John Michael Bailey issued a statement today apologizing for permitting a live sex demonstration in a Feb. 21 optional after class lecture. He called for a “high-level discussion and debate” on the lecture “and the issues it has raised.”
The email marks a slight change from his first public statement after the demonstration became public knowledge. On Mar. 2, he posted written remarks online saying that, while it was “too early to say” if he had any regrets, he believed his students mature enough to watch the demonstration.
“To the extent that this event provokes a discussion of my reasoning,” he said, “I welcome it.”
The following day, after the story appeared in major news networks in Chicago and nationally, President Schapiro said in a written statement that he was “troubled and disappointed by what occurred.”
Bailey expressed disappointment with the abundance of exposure the demonstration has received.
“During a time of financial crisis, war, and global warming, this story has been a top news story for more than two days,” he wrote. “That this is so reveals a stark difference of opinion between people like me, who see absolutely no harm in what happened, and those who believe that it was profoundly wrong.”
Meanwhile, a number of Bailey’s students have started a petition in his support. As of 11 a.m. Saturday, 803 students had signed it.
More to come.