Orthodox Jewish University & Campus Newspaper Cut Ties Over Student Sex Column

The student council at Yeshiva University, a private Orthodox Jewish college in New York City, has cut its funding to a campus newspaper. The action came after the publication refused to take down a column detailing a sexual encounter between two students.

The YU Beacon, which is one of four campus papers, was written by an anonymous female. In her piece, the girl describes a sexual encounter with a young man at a Manhattan hotel. The writer claims that she's a 20-year-old who attends the Stern College for Women, one of the university's three undergraduate schools.

The article, entitled, "How Do I Even Begin to Explain This," expresses the young woman's regret over the incident. “The only thing I learn is how to do the walk of shame the day after,” she writes, continuing:

"My partner in crime improvises with the room key as a bottle opener and we gorge ourselves on Stella Artois and cable television. In between swigs, I glance over at him; my cheeks are flushed and my head feels lighter with every drop. Making him think I’m farther gone than I actually am helps me shut off my conscience when I kiss him hard on the mouth. That little pest of a conscience is screaming again when he starts taking off my dress, so I shut her up with a last gulp of beer."

In the end, the piece was seen as inappropriate by both university leaders and the student council. Funding was threatened if the piece wasn't removed or altered -- something newspaper staffers weren't willing to do. After YU Beacon staffers met with university personnel and the council, newspaper leaders decided to separate the publication from the college. This will essentially mean that the publication will not be entitled to a $500 reimbursement it receives each semester.

An announcement on the YU Beacon web site reads, "In light of recent developments, YU and The Beacon have agreed to separate. Over the next few days, you may see some changes as we update the site to reflect these changes. The Beacon will continue to publish as always."

Fox News has more:

Matt Yaniv, Yeshiva University’s associate director of media relations, said in a statement Thursday that the school did not pull funding from The Beacon.

“The Beacon received their funding from the school’s student government, who allocates funds to all student clubs,” he wrote in an email to FoxNews.com. “After posting an article that made many students uncomfortable, the student council president approached The Beacon editors on behalf of the students, asking them to take it down.

“After an amicable discussion between the two sides, The Beacon decided to part ways and become an independent publication.”

Rather than claiming that the argument was between the university and the newspaper, Yaniv claims that the school acted as a mediator between the student council and the editors. Because pre-marital sex is prohibited in Orthodox Judaism, the piece was seen as especially offensive.

(H/T: Fox News)