At 'cocks not glocks' protest, students carry sex toys instead of guns
This post contains many, many images of realistic-looking sex toys and is therefore NSFW.
School starts at the University of Texas in Austin Wednesday and this semester there will be something striking hanging from the bags of students across campus: big swinging dicks.
A bunch of students are staging a protest -- with the snappy catchphrase "cocks not glocks" -- to express their dismay at a controversial new state law allowing handguns to be carried across campus. Their weapon of choice? Giant dildos.
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The group formed last fall and they're not messing around when it comes to plastic penis distribution.
Over 4,500 donated dildos were handed out ahead of term, the Texas Tribune reports, in an effort to highlight the fact that licensed students and staff can now carry concealed weapons into classrooms and most buildings.
Heaven forbid the penis.
"Starting on the first day of Long Session classes on Aug. 24, 2016, we are strapping gigantic swinging dildos to our backpacks in protest of campus carry," organizer Jessica Jin wrote on the event's Facebook page.
"The State of Texas has decided that it is not at all obnoxious to allow deadly concealed weapons in classrooms, however it DOES have strict rules about free sexual expression, to protect your innocence," she adds. "You would receive a citation for taking a DILDO to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class. Heaven forbid the penis."
The university's rules on speech, expression and assembly state that "no person or organization will distribute or display on the campus any writing or visual image, or engage in any public performance, that is obscene." We've contacted school officials to find out if students engaged in the protest would be subject to punishment under its obscenity rules and will update this post with a reply.
The dildos have been popular. The full supply vanished in 23 minutes, the Tribune reports, with 200 a minute flying into the hands of sympathetic passersby. Companies like Hustler Hollywood and HUM vibrators were among the donors.
One man juggled several inches of plastic in the dappled shade of a Texan summer's day.
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However, one of the organizers Ana López said she wanted to make sure that students didn't treat the protest as a joke.
“This isn’t just a local issue,” she said. “Gun violence is a public health issue that affects everybody. It resonated with a lot of people, and since certain groups had the props we needed, they generously decided to reach out and help.”
"It's not a hunting environment but a learning environment."
The legislation was passed in 2015 and Governor Greg Abbott signed it into law in June. The University says it estimates that fewer than 1 percent of students have a license to carry a gun.
The law has not been popular. Dean of the school of architecture Fritz Steiner resigned and moved to Philadelphia earlier this year following the legislation's passage. "There's not a bunch of quail or pheasants running around campus. It's not a hunting environment but a learning environment," he told NPR.
Three other professors have also tried -- so far unsuccessfully -- to block the law.
Grassroots campaign group Moms Demand Action was also present on the campus Wednesday, voicing its opposition to the new law.
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The protest is scheduled to continue until Sept. 6.
Update: Aug 24 2:31 p.m. PT: The University has sent Mashable a statement:
As an institution committed to the creation of knowledge, UT Austin firmly supports free inquiry and robust discussion of issues. Political protests occur on campus regularly representing a wide spectrum of ideas and positions. The university has well established processes for reserving space, guaranteeing the free speech rights of members of our community and maintaining safety.
UT Austin students are free to express themselves peacefully on all issues. The planned protests around campus carry appear to be examples of protected political speech. We ask that the conversations around this issue remain civil. We encourage students of all opinions to be a part of this and other discussions of public policy.
Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
