York first sparked controversy in February after an episode of Koala TV in which he engaged in oral sex with a consenting ex-girlfriend.

He later brushed aside a request to refrain from broadcasting nudity--He stripped on Koala TV a few weeks later--and the program was pulled off the air.

After complex debate over broadcasting jurisdiction among the school administration, student council, SRTV, and Koala TV, a period of détente ensued, and Koala TV found itself back on the air this Fall.

The student senate, meanwhile, passed a bill banning sex from SRTV programs.

On October 27^th, York, chafing at a restriction that he felt amounted to censorship, defied the ban by engaging in sexual intercourse on air with an adult-film actress. The segment ran for nearly thirty minutes and displayed every step of the interlude, from foreplay to ejaculation.

The school administration, which until then had left broadcasting jurisdiction resolutely in the hands of the student council, swept in and shut down the station. To date, the station remains shuttered.

During the saga, York has played two roles, that of artistic provocateur and that of political activist. On the set of Koala TV and in front of the cameras, he is the provocateur, attempting to jolt an apathetic and moribund campus. In the ensuing fallout, he is the activist, jockeying for position in campus politics and clamoring for First Amendment rights.

York , the artist, feels that the campus benefits from alternative outlets like The Koala and Koala TV. According to York, he approached UCSD Chancellor Marye Ann Fox in January and unabashedly said, “I’m thinking about taking The Koala in a different direction. I want to make it more like Hustler Magazine.”

He then requested that the decency debate remain a student issue. York claims that Fox indicated that the issue would be left for the students to resolve.

Although the administration stepped in, York doesn’t necessarily blame the Chancellor for flip-flopping. “She has really sneaky people under her who have been here for fifteen to thirty-five years,” he states.

York-the-artist says that having sex on camera isn’t something he’s all that self-conscious about. Referring to the October 27^th broadcast, York says, “I was mostly conscious about the lighting. I wasn’t too focused on the sex, per se, but more on making sure the video looked right.”

“The thing about pornography is, it is fantasy to some degree,” he continues, “and what you do on camera may not be the most pleasurable thing.” In fact, to combat the anxiety of performing and directing at the same time, York confided he popped half of a Viagra before the shoot.

Filming a porno, though, isn’t a completely insentient process. York, of course, chose the actress that he would have sex with on the air. “She kinda caught my eye,” he says. “And she was available for that weekend. It was very short notice.”

Some in the UCSD community have expressed concern over York not practicing safe sex during the episode. However, the Friday before the shoot, he drove up to the San Fernando Valley to get thoroughly tested for sexually transmitted diseases before meeting with a talent agent.

York, the activist, describes himself as a liberal progressive. “I’m a Larry Flynt liberal,” he states. “Pornography is the sharpest political tool you can use, and I don’t mind using it in that regard.”

He also considers himself an informed, politically engaged student. “I’m a rather educated guy when it comes to campus issues,” he quips.

Despite his defiant—and some would say, anti-social—persona on Koala TV, York says he empathizes with those who have been affected by the ban on SRTV.

“When I see the student run television get shut down, I certainly have regrets. But the more I think about it, the station was going to get shut down one way or another.”

“I regret putting a lot of people’s artistic visions on hold because the station shut down. But it’s better now. We have advocacy groups coming to our aid.”

York also has his supporters. “Surprisingly, the reaction from students has been really, really positive,” he claims. “But, as our lovely student government members keep claiming, ‘Oh, my god! People are ashamed and outraged by this.’ And by the people who are ashamed and outraged, I think they mean one or two at a student council meeting, and that’s it.”

“Since February, I’ve had my own gay following,” he adds.

York speaks candidly about his sexual orientation and dalliances with homosexuality. When asked if he considers himself gay, he says matter-of-factly, “I’m gay for pay.”

York grew up in Costa Mesa, in Orange County, and is the oldest of two boys. His parents are divorced, and York describes their relationship as amicable.

He concedes that his relationship with his parents, and mother in particular, has been strained since late October. He describes his father as being more concerned with his mother, “and rightfully so.”

“After I made the decision to go through with [filming the porn],” he states, “I went to them and told my Mom, ‘Yeah, I’m going through with it.’ She wasn’t that happy with it. I kinda walked out not on the best terms.”

He attempted to reassure his mother by reminding her that he had done porn before, in February, and that it was “no big deal.”

For now, York will pursue law and perhaps provide a respite to his weary parents; but the lure of the porn industry is never far away. “I’ve had a number of offers to go into the adult film industry,” he states. “I’d prefer to go into law, but I guess the adult industry is very, very lucrative.”

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Larry Knowles is the editor of Vyuz San Diego. He can be reached at lgkiii@vyuz.com.