Last week, state Rep. John Lawless, R-Montgomery, announced radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger would appear via satellite before the state House Appropriations Committee in Harrisburg today. Lawless, who vehemently objects to Feb. 3's student-run Sex Faire, has since vowed to cut off Penn State's state funding until the university takes measures to ensure "community standards" are met. Schlessinger, who has already reproached the event on her national radio show, reportedly also will express her disapproval to the state legislators today.

Schlessinger has no connection to Penn State, Pennsylvania's tax dollars or how the state's appropriations should be distributed. The only function her appearance could serve is to make the appropriation hearings into an even bigger spectacle than they have are.

During her radio program, Schlessinger referred to Penn State as the University of Pennsylvania on several occasions. If she does not even know what school she is referring to, how much other research could she have done? One would hope her investigation went beyond reading newspaper headlines or Lawless' rendition of the educational event.

Schlessinger simply does not have the credentials address the committee. She is a radio personality with a Ph.D. in physiology. If Schlessinger is called on for expert testimony, why can't Howard Stern or any celebrity who wants to weigh in on the issue make a satellite appearance?

With no other stake in the issue, Schlessinger appears to just want some free publicity and name recognition. Lawless has already turned a small student-run event, which was funded by $50 of student money, into a state and national media ploy. Perhaps most surprising about Schlessinger's assault on the Sex Faire is her own history with censorship and free speech. Gay rights supporters launched a protest against her after she referred to homosexuality as a "biological error," "deviancy" and a violation of Scripture. When her TV talk show debuted in September, many major advertisers steered clear of the controversial host.

In October, Schlessinger apologized to the gay and lesbian community, saying her "poorly chosen" words may have been misunderstood as hate speech. Critics have called her apologies "luke-warm" and "lame," and the continued controversy caused her to lose sponsors.

Having fought for the right for her own free speech — as distasteful and uneducated as its content may be — Schlessinger seems hypocritical now in trying to censor a group of students like Womyn's Concerns, which sponsored the Sex Faire.

The outcome of the appropriations hearings will decide how much Penn State students' tuition goes up next year. These hearings are serious and greatly affect the university's 81,000 students. The hearings are no time for misinformed or uninformed celebrities with no connection or stake in the hearings to add their two cents. Schlessinger has a public forum to express her views. She should limit her public appearances to her radio and television shows and leave Harrisburg to the lawmakers.