Last Friday, the owner of Pennsylvania Pizza and John Henry's bar submitted plans to the State College Design Review Board for a Hooters restaurant at 538 E. Colleve Ave. If the plan were approved, the restaurant would replace Pennsylvania Pizza.

The State College Design Review Board should consider carefully the possible ramifications an establishment such as Hooters would have in downtown State College.

First, the location of the proposed Hooters restaurant would make it one of the first things that people see when driving west on College Avenue into downtown State College. Is a Hooters restaurant the sort of welcome State College citizens want to give those visitors and potential students who happen to be driving down College Avenue to get into town?

Second, downtown State College has a college-town charm that took years of character and tradition to build. While the addition of a Hooters restaurant may not exactly ruin that, it certainly won't help either.

Third, and most important, Hooters and similar restaurants promote the exploitation and objectification of women. Although the restaurant may argue that it doesn't subjugate women, they aren't called "Hooters" for their love of owls. Their waitresses wear skimpy shirts and tight shorts. People don't go there just for the food.

"Claims that Hooters exploits attractive women are as ridiculous as saying the NFL exploits men who are big and fast," the Hooters' Web site says. NFL players, however, are hired and paid large sums of money for their athletic skills whereas Hooters waitresses are hired and paid minimum wage or perhaps slightly more for the bra cup size they wear.

While these waitresses are the ones who make the conscious decision to seek employment at a place that degrades women, no matter how much they deny it, it still doesn't make it any less sexist because some women are willing to do it.

No matter what anyone says, Hooters caters to a mostly male clientele. Its Web site has a "Calendar Girl of the Day," which has a "check her DNA" viewing option of the featured woman, which blows up the picture to enormous proportions. Where are the lifelike pictures of their famous chicken wings?

Instead of having a restaurant that caters to a specific gender, why not have a restaurant that welcomes everyone's patronage?

The addition of a Hooters restaurant would detract from the class and character that downtown State College took a long time building and should strive to keep intact.