Students know what offenses will result in a citation ranging from underage drinking to having an open container of alcohol, but masturbating in the showers was not one of them.
In the past couple of weeks, students may have seen signs posted in campus bathrooms with an official Miami University logo stating that masturbating in the showers is now a code one violation. The signs have two bullet points, one addressing the fact that the pipes are not meant to handle semen and the other stating that semen related costs run into the thousands each year.
"This is obviously a prank," Chris Taylor, associate director of Ethics and Conflict Resolution, said. "This is actually the third or fourth university this has happened to in the past year. The people who did it probably saw it on the Internet from another school and thought it would be funny here too."
Because these signs display an official Miami logo, it could potentially become a problem for the university, since the message posted has nothing to do with the university.
"They probably meant it all in good fun, but it becomes a problem when using an official university logo," Taylor said.
As with anything, Taylor said while the signs amused some students, others were probably offended as well.
This isn't the first time the official Miami logo has been used for unofficial purposes.
"We've seen this before particularly around Green Beer Day when people make T-shirts and use the official Miami logo," Taylor said.
He said there have also been problems where people have sent letters to specific students pretending to be an official letter from Miami.
Unlike the wide knowledge that the university does not endorse Green Beer Day, it isn't as obvious that these signs are not official.
The sign was posted on Tosh.0's website, a host from one of Comedy Central's shows, titled "Dorm Rules."
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
"Personally, I thought it was kind of funny," first-year Stephen Weber said. "I saw it on Tosh.0 [and] I wouldn't personally do it and I wouldn't tell my friends to do it but I don't think it's that bad."
Not all students think the issue can be ignored because it isn't an official notice from the university.
"I don't think it would have been such a big deal if it wasn't on Tosh.0," senior Lacey Lown said. "People need to know it was a prank, I saw it and just thought it was some dumb RA not thinking."
The sign ends with the statement, "Please masturbate in your own rooms." Students should ignore all these signs, as they are not true, although the last statement is still something to consider.
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.