Free speech -- the cornerstone for the adequate participation of citizens in the decision making process.

Free discussion -- the only means through which knowledge is advanced and truth discovered.

Free expression -- the right which assures individual self-fulfillment and leads society towards a more stable, just community.

The key to all three of those concepts is the free exchange of ideas and opinions which occurs daily in newspapers through letters to the editor, editorials and columns.

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Sounds sort of lofty, huh!

It's amazing to think that the 20 or so inches above this column stand for so much, but it's true. And hundreds of readers every semester take advantage of the opportunity to participate in that essential exchange.

So many readers write in to The Daily Collegian that it makes the job of selecting, typing and editing letters pretty tough. But despite the leftist liberal conspiracy theory currently being espoused by our beloved The Lionhearted, there is a method to our madness. In fact the method is written down in the Collegian's Opinion Guidelines manual for all who care to read it.

However, in order to assuage fears that the Collegian practices idealogical manipulation or censorship I think it's time we unveiled the truth.

Yes, it's true.

The Lionhearted caught us in the act. In between classes and meetings and after handling reader, reporter and editor complaints, I personally go through the opinion files and edit every syllable, word, sentence and paragraph I don't like -- especially concerning letters about Christopher Columbus.

Not!

Here's how we really do things.

On the average the Collegian receives about 15 to 20 letters a day dealing with every topic under the sun. If the Collegian could afford the space, we would run almost all of them in order to reflect as accurately as possible the community's view. But we can't.

Due to lack of space, the opinion staff selects about 5 to 6 letters to publish each day based on the following criteria.

-- Subject material: The opinion editors must first consider whether the letter is relevant to a University audience. This is the most important criteria.

Sometimes viewpoint must also be taken into consideration. The Collegian has never rejected a letter based on its ideology. But when the Collegian receives 20 letters on Anita Hill in one week, the opinion editors try not to publish letters which repeat the same points over and over again.

And in order to keep things fair, opposing viewpoints run in proportion to the number of letters received for either side. That is, if the Collegian receives 20 pro-life letters and 10 pro-choice letters, then 2 pro-life letters and 1 pro-choice letter are published.

-- Timeliness of issue: This criteria is one of the basic rules of journalism -- don't run old news. Most topics are old news after one week.

--Quality of writing: The Collegian doesn't usually use writing abilities as a criteria. However, when an issue brings in a deluge of letters, the opinion editors choose the most clear and succint letters.

This brings up the issue on the burner -- editing letters.

All letters become Collegian Inc. property once submitted. And like The Philadelphia Enquirer, USA Today and most other newspapers -- including The Lionhearted --the opinion editors reserve the right to edit for length.

Besides correcting spelling mistakes and simple style and grammar errors, the only time the opinion editors delete from letters is to accommodate them in the tiny space above this column.

Usually that involves taking a file of about 35 to 40 newspaper inches and editing it down to 20 inches. Sometimes we do a good job of taking out redundant words or paragraphs. Sometimes we do a pretty bad job. And for that every opinion editor who has graced this fine establishment apologizes.

There is one big difference between the Collegian and The Lionhearted. The Collegian edits for libel and The Lionhearted edits for slander. Libel is written false defamation, and slander is the verbal form. Oh well, to each his or her own.

Most editing occurs before the letters are layed out. But we are journalism not math majors and sometimes miscalculations occur. When that happens, letters are edited on what is called a paste-up board. There isn't much leeway. It's either cut an entire sentence, paragraph or letter.

There you have it. That's how and why the Collegian edits letters the way we do. Not a leftist conspiracy at all -- just space problems now and then.