LETTER TO COLLEGIAN
- Macrh 2, 1994
Pornography
In response to the editorial "Wrongly silenced" I must say, I am sadly disappointed in the argument put forth, as well as the opinion it represents.
The argument -- that University officials, who decided a band's fliers were inappropriate, "failed to recognize" the political expression of the fliers, and hence were wrong in their actions -- is ludicrous.
Think about it. If "the University must remove itself from the business of promoting values" by not doing anything about the posting of offensive, pornographic material on their property, then they are still promoting values. Only then, they would be promoting the value that it is OK to publicly display pornographic material, which, by the way, is illegal. But that was never even considered by you. They would also be promoting the idea that it is OK to portray your viewpoint no matter how many people you offend, laws you break or people you hurt.
Yes, believe it or not, many people were offended by the fliers. Probably more people than those offended by Penn State Pro-Life taking a quote from the Talmud out of context, or those offended by Penn State Young Americans for Freedom's current signs which exploit the Bible.
I know I am not alone. As I walked into the building, a person in front of me shrieked, "I'm sick of seeing these naked people." People who want to promote "an open forum for political and social debate" should have the decency to portray their "content" without offending or corrupting other students.
In addition, you state that "any individual who finds Caesar Pink fliers unacceptable has the right to respond appropriately." How do you respond to literature you find unacceptable posted on your building? You throw it out. I feel that the actions of the University were completely justified.
If Caesar Pink and the Imperial Orgy was trying to offer a political opinion (which you seem to imply) by displaying naked people in erotic poses, then I'm sure there is a more effective way they could have gone about it. If they were simply trying to attract a particular type of audience for their performance, then they could have done so in a tasteful manner.
Do you seriously consider the fliers in question to be "responsible?" I feel that as Penn State students, we have the right to walk into a building and not be subjected to pornography, offensive propaganda or religious/racial intolerance.
This letter was inspired by the Willard preacher, who is out promoting Christian values every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in rain, snow and bitter cold temperatures. Why don't you do an article on him? He is much more newsworthy and interesting than a bunch of perverts or homosexuals demanding attention.
Darren Gordon
freshman-computer science
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