I enjoyed Jim Morris's whimsical column about the return of spring to our campus. And as a male, I could empathize with him in his struggle to understand women. Despite this, I do not abuse women verbally or physically exploit them, or feel they are subservient to me. Nor do I consider any woman to be an "airhead" unless she has actually proven to be one.

I will grant that Mr. Morris's column treated sex casually and that some people probably found this offensive. That's fine. I did not.

However, Ms. Kopecki in the Collegian (April 2) accuses Mr. Morris of writing a "pro-rapist article." This, of course, is completely unfounded and, frankly, outrageous. Nowhere does Mr. Morris advocate forcing another person to have sex or even subjecting others to unwanted advances. To suggest that Mr. Morris's column might incite men to rape shows that gender bias is not a one-sided thing.

I do not wish to trivialize the problem of rape in our society, but Ms. Kopecki's attack on a harmless column only harms her otherwise just cause. She should use her rage in the fight over those issues where women's rights are actually being threatened.

Continuing on the general topic, the April 2 editorial opinion claimed that Playboy's up-coming Big Ten pictorial is a "dubious honor" for Penn State, and that it would "send the message that women are still not taken seriously as students, faculty and staff." I don't believe that.

Ever since living in an academic environment, for every interest or activity I've pursued, I have met a woman who was better at it than me. I can't afford not to take women seriously. So what better place than a respected university for Playboy to find women who are unquestionably as capable as any male?

Playboy focuses on the one indisputable thing that makes men and women different. Vive la difference.

Playboy doesn't display women as sex objects but as sexual beings. Yet even today there are societies where women are expected to repress this aspect of their personality. It is interesting to note that in countries like Saudi Arabia where women have no rights, Playboy is outlawed.

It is true that Playboy promotes the current stereotype of what physical female beauty is, but this stereotype is never permanent. The Rubens women may one day make a comeback in a centerfold.