Spending taxpayer money to visit and videotape Penn State's Sex Faire on Feb. 3 was "the price of doing business," state Rep. John Lawless, R-Montgomery, said last night on a television call-in show.

On the Pennsylvania Cable Network, Lawless defended his decision to record and publicize scenes from the student-funded event, which has sparked a month-long debate over the appropriateness of sexually provocative programs at Penn State.

"Would you rather me just sit in my office?" he said.

This week, the state House Appropriations Committee and viewers of yesterday's PCN show watched a five-minute excerpt from the video.

The state lawmaker said his colleagues would not have believed the details of Sex Faire, sponsored by Womyn's Concerns, if he and a cameraman had not taped it.

About half of the nearly two dozen callers last night commended Lawless' campaign to get rid of what he called "this little bit of cancer" afflicting an otherwise "outstanding institution." Some people described the recent event as "trash," "filth," and the product of "loose morals."

In certain answers, Lawless stepped away from his past appeals to rescind all state funding from Penn State because the administration allowed Sex Faire and Cuntfest to take place. He called his attacks "symbolic attention grabbing."

One caller asked Lawless what he hoped should be done instead.

"All the viewers . . . will call (Penn State President) Graham Spanier and the administration and say, 'Get rid of that program,' so that nothing like that happens again," he said.

In a release from the National Coalition Against Censorship, free-speech activists yesterday continued to urge state legislators to respect Penn State students' rights.

"Students attend colleges and universities to search for knowledge and to develop the capacity for critical judgement," said Iris Molotsky, a spokesperson for the American Association of University Professors. "When those responsible for safeguarding students' free inquiry and free expression attempt to curtail it, all citizens, not just students, can be harmed."

The call-in show included a clip of Spanier speaking to the appropriations committee Tuesday, in which he emphasized the unfeasibility of monitoring the hundreds of student activities that happen each year at Penn State.

Some of last night's callers quizzed Lawless on aspects of the university other than the events he found objectionable.

When two callers prompted him for facts about the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, he said he approved of the "cancer dance," but could not provide any further information about last month's 48-hour fund-raiser.

Dorothy Vanette (graduate-education), who identified herself as a nurse and also the mother of a Penn State sophomore, said the legislator had been "rude and belligerent" to her when she called him earlier this week.

On the PCN show, Vanette said she thought instilling morals is the responsibility of parents at home and not the university president.

When she reiterated her complaints about the prior phone call, he denied being rude to her and said, "Goodbye."

After the broadcast, Vanette said she contacted other local state lawmakers to report Lawless' behavior towards her.

Whether or not she personally thought Sex Faire was in good taste, she said it was appropriate to the audience of college students and should not be censored because of Lawless' objections.

"They did it on a level to relate to each other, not to us older people," Vanette said.