The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was established to protect our freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition. Freedom of the press does not exist to justify inflammatory and sensationalist fluff, such as the front-page article in Tuesday's Daily Collegian ("Johnson to face alcohol charges," Oct. 21). In the true American entertainment-news fashion, the Collegian chose to relegate more significant issues, such as local zoning debates and national Supreme Court cases to the inside pages to make way for what was essentially a glorified police bulletin with a public name attached to it. Apparently, an individual's involvement in athletic activities makes a poor decision into front-page news. I sympathize with this person, whose name and photograph appear next to descriptions of illegal actions -- even though he is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The unfortunate over-celebration of intercollegiate athletics is no excuse to throw journalistic integrity to the wind for the sake of a catchy headline, especially at the expense of an individual's public image. It should be the goal of the Collegian to transcend entertainment-news sensationalism and present issues that actually affect our lives.