Photographs posted on Penn State College Republicans chair Brian Battaglia's Web site have prompted a heated debate in the community.

The photos were taken at a Halloween party and depicted one man dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another man in blackface dressed as Undergraduate Student Government Vice President Takkeem Morgan.

It is clear that the College Republican members had the First Amendment Right to wear controversial and racist Halloween costumes. But this is not an argument about First Amendment rights. It is about community members having the right to question the character of their student leaders.

Brian Battaglia, chairman of the College Republicans: what a disservice you have done to this community. It is an embarrassment to Penn State and the students who attend it. It is disturbing to see photographs that trivialize racial issues that have plagued this country. It does not matter if it was a joke.

It is sad that the actions of a few so negatively affect an entire community. This is one more blow to Penn State, perpetrated by the actions of a few. This is not an issue of conservatives versus liberals. It is not an issue of Black Caucus versus College Republicans.

This is about an entire community that should be outraged at the actions of its representatives.

The College Republicans are not being targeted. The costumes and the posting of the photos would be unacceptable from any group or person at Penn State.

These photos hurt the entire Republican community at Penn State. Actions such as these help perpetuate negative stereotypes of Republicans. The backlash from this controversy will also likely hinder proactive Republicans from achieving legitimate goals.

We applaud the people who have stood up and shown that this is not a reflection of all Republicans and who have chosen to branch off from the current group, to form a new group that will not stand for such outright stupidity.

We applaud the university and President Graham Spanier for standing up and acting quickly to condemn the actions of the cowardly members of the College Republicans who chose to humiliate their university.

Battaglia and members of the College Republicans are correct when they assert their First Amendment rights. But why are they choosing to use racist and homophobic photographs to show Penn State they have First Amendment rights? Your constitutional rights have never been in question here, but your integrity, now that is something worth questioning.