College athletes and students are not equal in the eyes of the media. A student athlete is considered a public figure, while the average undergraduate is considered a private figure. With all the privileges of being a student athlete such as full scholarships, early class registration and preferential choice in housing, also comes a great deal of responsibility.

The Collegian editors do not arbitrarily make this distinction in order to single out student athletes. Instead, the precedent is set forth by the basic principles of media ethics.

Thus, a football player is treated differently with respect to the media, as was the case with reporting Penn State offensive lineman E.Z. Smith's two underage drinking citations.

All Penn State athletes represent their entire respective institution. When an athlete at Penn State earns a high grade point average and is named to an Academic All-American team the Collegian reports it. However, when an average undergraduate student attains high academic standards, it goes unreported.

With the knowledge of how Penn State football coach Joe Paterno runs his program, it would not be surprising to see Smith missing playing time because of the incident.

If, at the beginning of the season, Smith, a projected starter, did not play, the public would question why. Hence, the articles were written and published.

Smith's off-field actions do have an impact on his on-field participation on the football team. The same cannot be said for the average undergraduate.