John Gechter, a student at Grove City College--known asGCC)-- was suspended from school this week when he was discovered working as a gay porn star, according to Fox News.
Gechter had been acting in porn for two years, and had successfully kept it a secret, until one student, using one of GCC’s campus computer illegally, happened to find John at work as Vincent DeSalvo, his pornography alias.
Upon recognizing Gechter, the student reportedly sent the images in a email to a couple of friends. Eventually, the email ended up reaching the entire student body and, of course, on the computer screen of the school’s administration.
Grove City College, a self-described “Liberal arts Christian college,” has since suspended John for sexual misconduct, participating in a public display of pornography, and violating the values of GCC.
But Gechter says its GCC who is violating his rights.
According to Fox, John Gechter began modeling when he was 19. Upon entering school, he had been working four jobs to cover living expenses and tuition but modeling made better money.
One day, Gechter was approached at a shoot by a man who told him he had a great look for porn, and that he could make much more than he was making now. Tired of scraping by with the little he could afford, Gechter immediately took the offer.
Soon, Gechter was attending class during the week and flying out to Miami, LA, and Chicago on the weekend as Vincent DeSalvo making three to five thousand dollars per scene.
For two years, no one at GCC knew Vincent DeSalvo existed, not even John’s roommate. But now, Gechter has been suspended indefinitely. Gechter wasn’t ready for the strict punishment he has received. “I never considered the school would kick me out for doing something legal,” he told WYTV.
But even worse has been the treatment he has received from fellow students. He says he has received about 150 hate mails and walking on campus is now accompanied with looks and stares. One student even threw fruit at Gechter.
“Students were the first ones to condemn and judge me, and I was really saddened by their response,” he told the Herald.
Gechter has since withdrawn from GCC stating that he already has 135 credits, and will finish elsewhere. His degree will still come from GCC, via the mail. He has also decided to sue the school for damages and the individual students that sent hate mail for slander and defamation of character.
His lawyers assert to the Miami Herald that Gechter has “faced significant discrimination and an unfair ultimatum in the situation regarding his expulsion...Even if John were an actor in the adult industry, in no way is his image as a performer associated with anything on campus...In fact, the identity of performers is a priority in the adult industry and it would be extremely difficult to prove if the person performing in these materials is even John, much less associate him with the college.”
Ms. Clingensmith, GCC’s communications director, said, “We are one of the most conservative Christian colleges in the country, so why would he be surprised this would cause a stir?”
Our Take
Perhaps it is a little naive to assume that working as a gay porn star wouldn’t upset a conservative Christian school, but surely, the initial punishment does not fit the crime.
It’s certainly true that GCC student code of conduct states that students are not allowed to engage in promiscuous sexual behavior. However, the code of conduct does not state that promiscuous behavior is even grounds for suspension.
Although it does say in the code of conduct that students must be courteous and respectful to one another, the hate mail, absent of punishment save for the John’s lawsuit, is evidence that that value is not being adhered to either.
When Ms. Clingensmith was told of John’s ostracism, she said the faculty and staff had seen him working out in the gym and eating in the cafeteria. “If he felt that threatened, he would not go to these things,” she said. Another student commented, “The school’s intolerance has become more pronounced because of this incident.”
Say what you want but if it looks like a duck, quacks like duck, it probably is a hypocritical duck.
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