Pornographic Films and First Amendment Freedoms

Senator Andy Harris and Senate President Mike Miller challenged the showing of a pornographic film Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge last thursday by levereging $400 million of state appropriations for the USM institutions.  The student-led activities board that selects movies chose to air the film after they were presented with a free license from Digital Playground.

In response, the UMCP administration overrode the student activity board and stopped the showing of the film.  Outrage from UMCP students and others ensued.  The film has been shown at Northwestern, UCLA, and Carnegie Mellon already. Since, students at UMBC and UMCP have moved forward in sponsoring showings of the pornographic film, not for pure entertainment purposes, but to resist the infringement of academic freedom on college campuses. Many argue that the choice of viewing such a film is option, and it is not the job of the legislature to censor adult material from adults on college campuses.  Any step to limit explicit material is a step in the direction of limiting academic freedom and discourse.

The topic has recieved significant press:

• http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.porn03apr03,0,7632367.story
• http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.porn04apr04,0,2590515.story
• http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.porn05apr05,0,2964274.story
• http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/03/pornography
• http://www.diamondbackonline.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=6a52747e-0736-4e12-8730-6b13518d318e
• http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/04/sex_senators_and_stupidity.html
• http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2009/04/campus_sex_shows_um_panics_whe.html
  
• http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2009/04/06/News/Students.Push.On.With.Porn-3698133.shtml
  

Here's my view:  Viewing a pornographic film on campus in the student union is distasteful.  But this conversation is about much more.  It's about the innapropriate use of legislative authority.

Senator Harris' attempt to use the power of the purse to limit academic freedom and societal discourse at USM institutions is irresponsible and out of place.  The film cost no money to the university, and the student activities board thought it to be a positive component to the discourse on the UMCP campus.  While i find the movie distasteful, I fear of the potential for censorship to come on Senator Harris' and other's moral beliefs.  When dealing with adults in our nation, we have celebrated a long standing tradition of free speech.  Why should this change in campuses of public universities?  Additionally, the legislature should respect the administrative authority of the USM and the UMCP administration in governing public universities in Maryland on such administrative issues.  This move flies in the face of the principle of the First Amendment.