Recently I was visited by two of my good friends who I went to Penn State with. I was informed, while talking about what's new at State College, that there were a bunch of new stores and a hike in the movie ticket prices.

While that comes as no big surprise to me, I am still amazed that the company who owns all the movie theaters can act like a monopoly and still get away with it.

Throughout the years, the movie theaters in State College have showed select movies, ignoring ones that are controversial. That clashes with the idea of a college town, where freedom of speech is praised to be a valuable asset.

In addition, raising the prices of movie tickets continuously should be perceived as an act of monopoly. We all know that college students are not the richest people in the world.

Therefore, going to the movies at night should not cost about $7 per ticket in a small town such as State College. Currently, I live in Atlanta, which is arguably one of the largest cities in the United States. Amazingly, there is such a thing as a "student discount" at the movie theaters in Atlanta. Going to the movies at night costs $4.75 per ticket for students and $6.50 per ticket for adults.

I understand that operating costs for movie theaters in different towns are not the same. However, there should be student discounts at the movie theaters in State College.

And I do not mean matinees either. In addition, showing controversial movies will actually increase the profits for a movie theater. It is not fair to show only a select number of movies for an already-high price.