Nebraska- The UNO organizations Campus Crusade for Christ, Greek Endeavor and Feminist Majority, sponsored a presentation titled “The Power of Porn,” last Thursday at the Milo Bail Student Center. The program was advertised as being aimed at showing the effects of pornography on American culture without taking a biased approach.

Power of Porn was organized and put on by Gene McConnell, a recovering sex addict and owner of Authentic Relationships International.

McConnell, one of two speakers at the program, shared his personal experiences with the audience about the consequences and turmoil brought on by his addiction to the sex industry. Having an honest conversation about the effects of pornography on culture was what McConnell stated would be the premise for the presentation.

“I am against censorship and am proud to live in a free society,” said McConnell. “However, to say that pornography has no effect on our culture is not an accurate assumption. It is not my intention to tell anyone what they can and can’t do, or what they can and cannot purchase. I just want to give you information from my experiences that will help you to make an informed decision.”

Throughout the week, promoters for the presentation handed out fliers for the event and put out white boards on which students could grab a marker and express their opinions about pornography.

The presentation provided facts and statistics that highlighted the social consequences that pornography has on the American culture.

Kimberly Drake, a former stripper and sex addict, was the other speaker at the Power of Porn presentation, giving an inside prospective on the sex industry from the eyes of a female.

“Six months into my marriage, I walked into the living room and saw my husband masturbating to a pornographic movie. I felt devastated and from then on decided I would do whatever I could to look like the women in those videos. I just wanted to matter to him,” said Drake.

Eventually Drake became a stripper and started abusing cocaine as a way to separate herself from the pain she felt from working in the sex business.

Zac Konrad, a junior at UNO majoring in music education, attended the program and described it as “amazing.”

“(McConnell) put a lot of depth into such a shallow subject and gave depth and meaning to the women who are portrayed as pieces of meat. His honesty about his experiences made it awesome,” he said.

“I thought the same things that he did before I went, but now I really have more of an open mind about all of the terrible effects that pornography has on people,” said Janelle Hislop, a UNO freshman majoring in engineering.