The on goings of the Kobe Bryant case brought issues regarding sexual consent and celebrity status to an open forum held at the Forest Suite in the University Union on Monday.

The discussion titled “He said-she said: The Kobe Bryant Trial,” was sponsored by the Multi-Cultural Center and was the second of two discussions held this semester.

The longest discussion at the forum centered on sexual consent.

Jessica Heskin, educator and advocate for sexual assault at the Women’s Resource Center, said at the forum that it was the duty of the people involved to read facial expressions in order to decide whether the sex is consensual.

She brought up emotions, as well.

She said that if someone is crying in the encounter, then that should suggest the sex is not consensual.

Quincie Robenson, a student attending with her ethnics class, disagreed with that comment.

“You could be crying because it’s the best sex you’ve ever had,” she said.

Leonard Valdez, facilitator of the event and director of the Multi-Cultural Center, said when it comes to sex for him, it is “wait and see.”

Valdez said the discussion was important because he wanted students to discuss this topic openly.

“Too many times we have issues that we don’t discuss,” Valdez said. “It’s OK to have these differences.”

All topics discussed at the forum were based on the Bryant case.

Charges against Bryant in a criminal case were dropped, but Bryant now faces a civil trial where the alleged victim said Bryant raped her.

Another topic discussed at the forum dealt with celebrity status in cases like the ones of Bryant’s.

Valdez said he could not remember a time when someone had anything bad to say about Bryant before the trial.

“The guy was pretty much on a pedestal,” Valdez said.

Valdez also pointed out that the alleged victim has received death threats and not many women would admit to being raped by a celebrity.

Most of the nearly 50 people in attendance were from classes for assignments, leaving half of the 100 seats empty.

Kimberly Solkes, a student assistant at the Multi-Cultural Center, said she expected near 100 people to attend.

The advertisement for the forum consisted of fliers and a note on the center’s Web site.

However, the flier and the Web site mistakenly noted that the Forest Suite was located on the third floor of the Union when it is actually on the second floor.

Valdez said that he takes full responsibility for this mistake.

Other than forums, the Multi-Cultural Center, located in the library, provides an assortment of books and movies, Solkes said.

She also said that the center is going to have many guest speakers for Black History Month.