The First Amendment may prevent further punishment against a student who sent a message criticizing gay men and lesbians over an international computer network, but it does not prevent the University from criticizing the action.

Nor does the amendment prevent the University from taking strong action to counter such future situations.

University administrators decided that James Whitehead, who sent a message titled "Why should one kill homosexuals?" over the BITNET computer system in March, legally cannot be punished beyond the initial revocation of his computer privileges.

That decision -- legally and constitutionally speaking -- may be appropriate. As the U.S. Supreme Court recently noted, the First Amendment must protect the rights of those who use offensive forms of speech or expression in order to protect the rights of all citizens.

However, a University is also a place of learning and has a special responsibility to educate its community.

Although the administration cannot punish Whitehead, it should speak out strongly against the content of the statement and stand behind gay men and lesbians in the face of such hatred. Such actions would start to put meaning behind the slogan "Homophobia has no place at Penn State."

With an estimated 10 percent of the University community facing discrimination and harassment based on a lifestyle preference, a statement describing Whitehead's message as "inappropriate" use of University computers is simply insufficient.

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund attorney Sandra Lowe criticized the University's actions as slow and non-committal, noting that a letter describing the message as "repugnant and threatening" came 30 days after the incident.

That delay suggests the University's main interests were legal and political, rather than showing real concern for gay men and lesbians on campus and in the community.

Whatever constitutional protections Whitehead may have, the University should have used its constitutional rights to fulfill its educational obligation. The University must speak out strongly and work to end the hatred that led to this use of First Amendment rights.