Over the years at Penn State, we have seen a dramatic encroachment on our rights in the name of "health and safety" and commercialization. A few years ago, officials tried to move Gary Catell, the Willard Preacher, from the Willard steps saying he was creating a "fire hazard." That was a result of the university enacting AD51 in 1999, regulating when and where people could gather on campus. You have eight locations to choose from, but you first need to fill out the appropriate forms.

In 2000, the university enacted AD52, regulating which Web sites university Web pages can link to. Approval is based heavily on whether or not the site you wish to link to is a competitor of one of Penn State's corporate sponsors. The university just recently issued guidelines for student-run events that would prohibit much of what goes on in some Penn State classes if they were applied the same way.

Now the university enacts AD57. Camping has been a form of political protest on college campuses for decades. Most notably during the anti-war demonstrations in the '70s, the divestment campaign against apartheid in South Africa in the '80s, and now the current movement to democratize economic globalization and to protect the rights of exploited workers to unionize.

Penn State, the defender of students' rights to free speech? That's what the administration claims when the national media is focused on them, but it's just empty rhetoric and savvy public relations. Don't be fooled.