It seems that Harris can't decide whether this is a moral issue or an economic one.

Where were these students when the University of Maryland....

Banned flying a flag out your window (fire safety)?

Banned t-shirts with curse words referring to arch rival Duke?

Forbid post game celebrations for fear of riots?

Created free speech zones?

Banned 'hate speech'?

Banned smoking anywhere on their campus?

The audacity of a state legislator to ask them NOT to use state facilities for hardcore pornos..it tramples on their free speech rights! It is against the principles of freedom of speech, assembly and protest! We had Ron Jeremy debating, but he didn't show us porn and we want porn!

Get real. Taxpayer dollars can't be used for political purposes, why should they be used for pornographic purposes? Rent a theater off campus. Host it on someone's basement big screen. Share it on file-sharing programs.

But don't ask state taxpayers to let you screen a porn on our state-funded property.

Is Senator Harris serious? If he gets his way, does that mean all those who are awaiting admissions decisions should blame him if we are not admitted -- which may not be for lack of academic merit, but rather the lack of funds to accommodate sufficient numbers of students in the various departments throughout the university system...

2010 is an election year harris, I'd think twice about trying to impose your morals where they don't belong...

If you value your constitutional rights, just be glad Senator Harris isn't Congressman Harris. Thank you Frank Kratovil.

I'd just like to say this...Senator Harris needs to do his research. While yes the Hoff Theatre is on school property and same with the building used for this evening's meeting, NO TAX DOLLARS WERE USED OR HARMED DURING THE EVENT! The film was given to the school to be screened for free. Students bought tickets, the money from the tickets for the original screening were to cover for using the Hoff Theatre. The Hoff is run, by the way, with student fees and not tax payers' dollars. As a paying student from the wonderful state of Maryland, I have no problem with my fees being used to bring culturally different and morally challenging films. Sure I may not be into porn, but having this being shown on campus is honestly no big deal.

If Senator Harris is so concerned about my well being as a female student at the University of Maryland, he should try to have fiercer rape and abuse laws pass that would give tougher sentencing to those who commit such crimes. Also, he could help the University get better lighting on campus. There are much bigger things in this world and in the state to take care of, rather than freaking out over the University of Maryland showing a free porno to interested members of the student body.

One more thing about Senator Harris, his bill will never pass. Why? Because the senate president is a UMD alum and I believe so is our Governor. It would be political suicide to spend the tax payers money on a stupid law that really proves nothing and it would be political suicide to offend students and alumni.

As for what Jason (comment above) is asking, those incidents happened in the past. We're a different generation of students. Banning stuff about Duke is common sense. it's called bad sportsmanship. We can still gather outside peacefully to celebrate victories. As for the flags, fire safety is pretty important. Smoking is different than speech. The big deal over the pornography is if the state can stop a movie from being shown, where are they going to drawl the line? Many people think books such as Lolita are pornographic, yet it is in our library and is taught in literature classes. So does the state have a right to censor educational opportunities? to censor art? to censor things that really won't cause harm to the community? Absolutely not.

Miller vs Cailfornia nuff said

I am truly sorry I voted for this buffoon in November. Never again.

Serious Andy? This is the big issue concerning you in the State Senate? Not the fact that people can't pay their energy bills...or maybe the fact that the state economy is contracting rapidly?....or even the crime you mentioned around the campus. Sure, you can just spread the misdirection that pornography=crime (if that was the case, Utah, which "consumes" the most pornography per ca pita, would have the highest crime rate in the nation). Why is Sex so wrong in this country yet a snuff film like the "Passion of the Christ" only gets an R rating?

I love the repeated use of the ridiculous phrase "hard-core pornographic XXX rated movie."

Let's be honest, Harris. You want to see it, don't you? Hypocrite.

Correct me if I'm wrong but only 30 minutes of this porn film was shown to maybe 200 students?
I DO hope the 200 students were totally independent of
a. Your parent's financial help
b. The state financial handout
c. The federal financial handout

To those who protested and answered yes to the above, I admire you with all my heart. Great going.
To the rest, look up the word shame.

I commend Mr. Harris for taking both a morally principled and fiscally responsible stand. If you attend a public institution in this State, you do so with the financial assistance of the MD taxpayers. We are investing in you in the hopes that you will become productive members of society (hopefully in MD) in the future. A College education is not some absolute right, as Mr. Daniels seems to imply; rather, a college education is a privilege that we as a society have gone to great lengths to extend to as many people as possible. However, if there is such largesse in our current education budget so as to provide resources for the screening of a porn flick, then, especially in these trying economic times, it's time for that particular school's budget to be cut. That is not to say that the higher education budget as a whole needs to be cut - perhaps an amount of money that was earmarked for these particular administrators' salaries and the cost of maintaining the student union (or whatever building it was where the porno was shown) should be reallocated to more deserving (and needy) State educational institutions, such as Towson University or the University of Baltimore. It's about time that college administrators come down from their ivory towers and start teaching our kids about real world issues, things like budgets, social responsibility and general human decency. Just because the first amendment protects a certain type of action doesn't mean that civilized people will engage in such an action. It's unfortunate that during these trying economic times the old 'Ag School is indoctrinating a bunch of hedonistic barbarians and expecting the MD taxpayer to foot part of the bill.

Aren't there bigger problems in this state than porn? Go back to work Andy and clean up our bay, reform health care, expand renewable energy, and I-don't-know about 30 other things that are wrong with this state. Sweet Jesus.....

I think it is appalling that the State of Maryland extorts tax money from me to support this type of unmoral activity, against my beliefs. At least in the end, everyone will have to give an account of their activities to God. I pray for their souls.

Geez!
Let's censor a film showing for legal adults 18 and over because of Father Andy Harris's morality. Gimmie me a break. Mr. Harris. Harris is grandstanding for his Bible thumping
Moral Majority crowd who want to dictate morality to the masses. That loss to Frank Kravotil still burning you up Father Harris!

There is nothing more educational than porn. Harris is a panderer.

The students should have shown the film on Saturday - it's a matter of free speech that was decided 40 years ago: The State does not have the power to decide what is indecent in the community, that is for the community to decide. If the state really did withhold funding, then the college should have countered by immediately canceling all athletic programs. I doubt the funding would have been withheld for long.

Colleges and Universities across the country show movies in campus buildings. Do you think Iron Man offers any educational value? But Harris doesn't decry showing other films at state schools. The only reason this is a big deal to anyone is because it's porn, and because of the loud, strong reactions conservatives (mostly) have to things they consider impure.

Harris makes a potentially relevant claim about studies linking pornography to violence against women. This could be a deal changer. But he fails to cite any sources, so I'm skeptical.

If commenter Luna is correct, and the students, between activity and admission fees, paid for the use of the building, then Harris's position is truly weak.

The government needs to stop trying to censor other people's lives. Your morals and religious views are your own. If something offends you, don't participate. Don't look. But it is not your responsibility to ensure that no one else does.

And to threaten to withhold funding from an entire academic institution because the administration left it up to each student to decide whether or not they wanted to pay to see this movie is ludicrous. It goes beyond overreaction. It's idiocy and abuse of power.

Will Harris next suggest that any student who attends the screening and has a scholarship should lose their scholarship?

Why don't Andy Harris & the house & senate work this fast on the BGE problem or the taxing issue or illgal alliens ?????

I am totally opposed to some bible-thumping politician using my tax dollars as a means of threatening the exercise of free speech on a university campus. Universities thrive on the free exchange of ideas, not their suppression. I do hope politicians will keep in mind that right-wing Christians are not the only people who pay taxes in this state. We all do.