This letter is in response to Mark Fallet's letter from Feb. 28, regarding hate mail and the Sex Faire.

While it is true that "everyone is entitled to their opinion," there is a huge difference between the material presented at events such as the Sex Faire and the material appearing in the racist hate e-mails and letters.

Events put on by women's groups on campus are to inform people about women's issues, such as campus safety. The content presented sometimes shocks people, but there is nothing in the word "vagina" that is harmful or threatening.

A vagina cannot hurt you or damage you emotionally, although one may be uncomfortable when the word is spoken.

Hate mail, on the other hand, is meant by its very nature to insult and scare those who receive it.

Often in hate mail, such as the ones that were sent to some Penn State students, contained threats to their safety.

This can hardly be regarded as free speech. The hate mail was not "discussing" race; rather, it was bashing and threatening those who were of another race.

It is a shame that today in the 21st century, the public becomes more outraged by pictures of vaginas and events like Cuntfest, than they do when some students are still experiencing hate and victimization because of the color of their skin.