COLUMN: The law vs. the constitution

From Kent Malmros', "Everything Old Is New Again," Fall '99 From Kent Malmros', "Everything Old Is New Again," Fall '99Penn is not the only college campus dealing with alcohol-related issues. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has threatened to fine the University of Pittsburgh's student newspaper -- and theoretically, other Pennsylvania college newspapers -- for printing ads related to alcohol. Oh, and did I mention that in the process the state has gotten away with violating that constitution thing that governs this country? Pennsylvania Act 199 was passed two years ago prohibiting any university-affiliated publication from running advertisements that mention alcohol in even the most subtle fashion. Two weeks ago, The Pitt News decided they'd had enough and filed a lawsuit against the attorney general and the state's two liquor enforcement agencies. Harold Turner, editor-in-chief of The Pitt News, said that since they stopped taking liquor ads in 1997, they have lost upwards of $20,000 and continue to lose more daily. In addition to the immediate loss of advertising, there have been several new restaurants and bars in the area that have said they would begin to advertise if and when the law was repealed. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing The Pitt News, filed the lawsuit. A request for an immediate injunction against the law was denied by Judge William Standish. There will be another hearing for a preliminary injunction in about a month. Turner is confident that the intent of the founding fathers on his side. "It is unforgivably abhorrent," he said. "It is sickening. I have real trouble putting into words how I feel about this. The state has no place in saying what goes into our newspaper." The First Amendment of the Constitution is pretty clear. "Congress shall make no law? abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press?" The state has no right to say what goes in any newspaper. With all due respect to the Penn student body, which has been infuriated by the University alcohol policy, this is a much bigger problem. The law tells us we can't drink if we aren't 21, so the University is trying to prevent underage students from drinking. It's not great, but I can deal with that. The state, on the other hand, is telling college publications what they can and cannot print. Maybe I missed something, but don't they call that censorship? That's scary. After the law took effect in February 1997, the state Liquor Control Board issued an advisory to to the state's 17,000 liquor license holders. "No advertisement shall be permitted, either directly or indirectly, in any booklet, program, yearbook, magazine, newspaper, periodical, brochure, circular or other similar publication published by, for or in behalf of any educational institution," so says the section of the law dealing with the sale of alcoholic beverages. The New Deck Tavern couldn't advertise in the pages of the DP or sponsor the football and basketball programs because the "tavern" name would potentially be in violation of the law. It doesn't matter that a large number of the readers are over 21. Prior to this measure, the Pennsylvania Liquor Code prohibited the advertising of liquor prices. But the Pennsylvania courts decided this was unenforceable after the Supreme Court ruled a similar Rhode Island law unconstitutional. So Pennsylvania went after the colleges. For college newspaper, such a law could be very costly. But the fear of monetary loss is far less disturbing than the principles reinforced by this legislative action. "If you look around the world, freedom of the press and freedom of the speech are in some cases actual freedoms," Turner said. "In some places, where there is no freedom of speech, you are put in prison if you say something opposed to the government. In America it is important that we have those freedoms." If the state can tell us not to talk about the beer Sam Adams created, maybe next we won't be able to talk about his political views without violating the law. I mean, if we don't talk about beer, it will go away, right?