The board governing Penn State's Dickinson School of Law decided to postpone its Feb. 7 meeting after a county judge ruled it is subject to the Sunshine Act and must open meetings to the public and press.

The chairman of the board has planned an appeal of the decision to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, but if the meeting seems to be that important to the public and press, why not open the meeting? What is there to hide?

The Sentinel of Carlisle and The Patriot-News of Harrisburg sued the law school and its board of governors to open the meetings, after a confidential memo recommending moving the school from Carlisle to University Park was leaked to The Sentinel. Dean Philip McConnaughay sent the memo to members of the Board of Governors in November. The board will make the final decision in relocating the school.

Closing the meeting concerning a very important issue, and excluding the public and students who pay to attend Dickinson, sheds a bad light on the board. The public should have a right to know the process of the decision. Shouldn't the board be wary of hiding behind closed doors? What message does this send to prospective students?

A suitable comparison would be closing Board of Trustees meetings here. Because the trustees discuss important information for the public, it would be an outrage to close such a meeting.

This entire debate gives the appearance of a strange agenda. If this is an issue that affects students (and it is), people want to know, and they have the right to know what decisions this body makes. If the board is "nonprofit," as it has claimed, then it is accountable to the state as an extension of Penn State. The board is also accountable to the students because our money is going toward the institution.

Additionally, why does the administration at University Park condone closing such an important meeting?

The bottom line should be to open the meeting. If there's nothing to hide, then it shouldn't be an issue.

Once again, Penn State does a great job of hiding information and throwing it out there after the fact. Continually holding back on pertinent information could eventually come back to the university in a bad way.

Not every situation will turn out peachy.