Gold's Gym, protesters reach an agreement

PROVO — An accord has been reached between Gold's Gym and a group of protesting Utah Valley college students who say some of the gym's activities are sexually provocative.

Five student-run anti-pornography organizations, recently joined as the Stand for Decency Coalition, have been gearing up for a week and a half to protest today outside the gym's Provo and Orem locations. Members of SDC are primarily students of Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College.

The student coalition presented Kirk Livingstone, the gym's state director of operations, with a lengthy petition containing about 1,000 signatures, a list of four requests and a choice: comply or be protested every week until "the end of days."

Internationally, Gold's Gym owners may have rolled their eyes, but locally, the club acquiesced.

"It's gigantic, isn't it?" said the group's spokesman, Jesse Yaffe of the students' victory. "There's been a huge change of heart and I'm impressed with him (Livingstone)."

When Yaffe and other group leaders met with Livingstone no agreements were made, only understanding of the relative positions. Since then, the group has appeared in local and national news; Yaffe was interviewed on CNN's World News live.

After a week of media hullabaloo, Yaffe called Livingstone Thursday — two days before the planned protest — looking for an official response.

"He basically said they've already made changes to the music videos to a more wholesome and conservative kind." And, according to Yaffe, Livingstone said he is working toward a plan with ClearPlay, a movie filtering service, to incorporate in Utah's gyms and eventually in gyms across the Unites States.

Livingstone did not return several calls for comment Friday and an Orem gym manager declined, through another employee, to comment.

Even after its success SDC did not call off its gathering and will still meet today from 10 a.m. to noon at 460 N. 900 East in Provo. But instead of displaying critical signs, the students will carry placards reading, "Thank you Gold's," changing the nature of the protest to a "thank-you rally."

However, the group intends to continue its battle for decency. Their two-week local battle has emboldened them to speak on a national scope. They intend to launch a pro-decency movement on behalf of all America's youth, leaders said.

Yaffe, who spoke against society's "objectification" of women's bodies, also responded to questions as to why the protesting students didn't use their respective colleges' workout facilities instead of going to commercial gyms if they object to how those gyms are handled. He said the colleges have more restricted hours and that there are fewer women working out at those facilities, minimizing the potential for problems.

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E-MAIL: jhancock@desnews.com