Free speech and porn

In the name of free speech, students at the University of Maryland, upset by threats from conservative state legislators to jerk $45 million in funding from the university and administrators who canceled the campus screening of a hardcore porn flick, continue to pump the polemic by plotting to show “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge.”
Sen. Andy Harris proposed a budget amendment to withhold funds from any state college or university allowing the screening of pornographic films. He argued that, “students would like to portray this as a free speech issue … it is not. This is about the use of taxpayer dollars … on something as detrimental to our society as hardcore pornography.”
But the notion that taxpayer money is being used to subsidize the horny whims of college freshmen is exaggerated, as tickets will be purchased to view the film. Clearly, only those who wish to partake in the pleasure will view Pirates II. Student groups like the Student Power Party and sympathetic professors correctly argue the screening represents the basic freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
Kenton Stalder, currently running for a student assembly position on the Student Power Party ticket, explains that the state set “a dangerous precedent” of infringing upon academic freedom. It looks like it takes porn to get students seriously talking about freedom of speech. In this instance, porn uniquely provided a ripe opportunity for education. Legislators, like Harris, have no place determining what appears in college classrooms; he simply has no feel for relevance to the college learning experience.