HERSHEY — In February, a state legislator called for the Penn State trustees to do something to stop sexually explicit student events.

On Friday, at the first Board of Trustees meeting since then, the trustees seemed to have other priorities.

In fact, several of them commended Penn State President Graham Spanier for holding his ground against Rep. John Lawless, R-Montgomery, and other lawmakers at the House Appropriations Committee meeting last month.

At the hearing, Spanier fielded questions about why the university allowed the student-run events Sex Faire and Cuntfest.

Spanier told the Trustees the meeting was "one of the most difficult appropriations hearings I have ever been through."

After Spanier's address to the board, several trustees made statements about the controversy.

"If speech is to be truly free, then we must be willing to tolerate speech that is offensive and with which we disagree," said Trustee David Jones, a newspaper editor. Applause followed.

Trustee William Weiss was supportive of Spanier but less eager to champion the students who organized the events.

"When individuals have rights, they also have responsibilities," Weiss said, citing Nelson Mandela. "I think we need to get on with the business of the university."

Faculty Senate leadership told the trustees that they have prepared two resolutions about the controversy.

One resolution commends Spanier for defending Penn State; another says the faculty members are committed to free speech. The senate will vote on the resolutions later this month.

In an off-the-cuff moment after Friday's meeting, Spanier joked about the reporters who swarmed him on a Capitol escalator after the hearing.

Laughing, Spanier pantomimed how he almost lost his balance when TV crews pushed microphones toward him.