Penn State under fire after controversial sex-education fair

By The Associated Press

02.27.01

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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Officials at Penn State University are under fire after allowing a controversial sex-education fair earlier this month.

Gov. Tom Ridge wrote university officials yesterday, saying they should have considered community standards in addition to students' First Amendment rights when they decided to allow the event.

Meanwhile, an outraged state representative, Montgomery County Republican John Lawless, says state officials should withhold Penn State's appropriation until university officials demonstrate more sensitivity to community standards of good taste.

Ridge criticized the university's process for deciding whether to allow events yesterday in a two-page letter to university President Graham B. Spanier. "I believe it is a false choice that Penn State must defend either free speech or community standards," Ridge wrote. "Instead, the University must develop systems and procedures that respect both."

Ridge's letter was released while he was in Washington, D.C., meeting with his fellow governors, as state lawmakers in Harrisburg opened hearings on Ridge's budget proposal to give Penn State $250 million in state funds next year — $111 million less than the university says it needs to serve its 81,270 students.

This year, the perennial debate over how much taxpayer support is enough is being overshadowed by fallout from the Feb. 3 "Sex Faire" at Penn State, which featured a risqué bingo game, explicit literature and anatomically correct gingerbread cookies.

Lawless, who is often critical of Penn State, videotaped the fair and plans to show excerpts to the House Appropriations Committee at its hearing on Penn State today.

Yesterday, as the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the university's funding, two Penn State professors of law and journalism defended the right of students to stage the event, citing several Supreme Court decisions upholding universities' First Amendment rights.

"We do not always agree with what our students say or do, and perhaps they could frame issues a bit more gingerly, but we do not — and legally cannot — attempt to limit their expression simply because someone might find the message distasteful or offensive," associate professor Robert D. Richards, co-director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, told a news conference.

But Ridge said in his letter that there were legitimate community concerns, particularly about the possibility of minors gaining admission to the fair.

Penn State officials provided a copy of the tape, nearly an hour long, to reporters last week so they could compare it to a five-minute version Lawless is expected to show.

It included footage of "orgasm bingo" — played by placing candy hearts on a grid of words describing either body parts or sexual acts — and an area where participants could fashion genitalia from construction paper.

The event also included a "Tent of Consent" that was supposed to be a place for students to spend two minutes alone after learning about consensual sex. It was closed by the university.

Last November, Lawless objected to a festival at the school with a name that included a vulgar four-letter reference to the female anatomy. That event, which featured self-defense workshops, a lesbian performance artist and a singer-songwriter, was underwritten by $9,520 from an activity account funded by a mandatory student fee.

The Sex Faire cost $50 to run and the money came out of the organizers' pockets, university officials said.

Speaking with reporters in Washington, where he was attending a National Governors' Association meeting, Ridge said that although he did not condone the event, he opposed withholding money from Penn State.

"We may believe that what they did was dumb or stupid, but that doesn't mean we should cut off funding or restrict academic freedom," he said.

Spanier apologized yesterday "to anyone who may have been offended" during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the university's funding. He acknowledged that the school could do more to balance students' right to freedom of expression with community concerns.

"It's always a delicate balance of trying to preserve a value that is very cherished by universities, but we also recognize that under the protection of freedom of speech, individuals may cross the line and offend some people," he said.