Monterey Peninsula College professor David Clemens proposed a new course, "English 38—More or Less Human? A Study of Literature, Technology, and Human Nature." Students enrolled in the course would read contemporary classics such as A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? They would watch movies such as The Manchurian Candidate, Blade Runner, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, all the while pondering the question: What is a human being and what isn't?

However, the Curriculum Advisory Committee quickly rejected the course proposal because it violated Item 14 of the college's Course Proposal Outline, which requires that all new courses "include a description of how course topics are treated to develop a knowledge and understanding of race, class, and gender issues." In particular, Professor Clemens was told by Pat Lilley, chairwoman of the committee, that he wasn't using his course in a way that would expose the habits of "sexist males."

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