because of his acute money problems (exacerbated by the irs affair), southern took an adjunct lectureship in screenwriting at new york university, where he taught from the fall of 1972 to the spring of 1974; although popular among students, he was ultimately dismissed for holding his classes in a local bar. his students included amy heckerling (who directed "fast times at ridgemont high" and "clueless"), literary agent nancy nigrosh, and hollywood biographer lee server. southern began writing for "national lampoon" in november 1972 and served on the jury at the 1972 new york erotic film festival with william s. burroughs, gore vidal, and sylvia miles.