The Towerlight, October 8, 2009

ДОЗООиСПТСН FANS! | See page 15 Photos by Eric Gazzillo and Casey Prather/ / The Towerlight True freshman starting quarterback Peter Athens, Left, is currently backed up by true freshman Tommy Chroniger and sophomore Blair Peterson. Alert Are fans already calling for back-up? Expression on campus still under review by University DANIEL GROSS News Editor Following last year's adult movie screening at the University of Maryland College Park, the buzz about pornogra¬ phy is still around. Policies are now taking shape that may allow or prevent pornographic or subjective material to be screened on campus. The University Senate met on Monday to discuss the issue of free expression in film on University property. Members of the senate each expressed concerns, stat¬ ing that they do not wish to hinder the rights to free speech while at the same time making sure that certain content on campus does not hinder education nor does it harm individuals. There have been a number of options proposed as the University Senate plans to form an ad hoc committee to finish a draft to send to the University System of Maryland by the end of the semester. The department of campus life is also heavily involved, starting conversations with students and student groups to gather feedback for the Time, Place and Manner of Expression Policy. Associate director of campus life Teri Hall said content of expression is not the issue. "It all comes down to that it’s about the process. It’s not about the content," she said. "Content is never the issue. It’s not about what’s going to be said, it’s about ‘is it an appropriate place and will it interfere with classes.’’’ Hall explained that members of the University community, i.e. students on campus, have certain rights that others do not. She said that the purpose of the new Time, Place and Manner policy is to really make clear that students have those rights to hold public expression or demonstration events on campus. Campus life works with student groups to host certain events on campus after simply calling in to their office and want¬ ing to demonstrate. Outside individuals do not have this right to walk into cam¬ pus and host a demonstration or other form of expression, according to Hall. "The thing with student groups in particular is that you don’t need a reser¬ vation for space," Hall said. The University Senate has made it clear that they wish to form a policy that imposes on individuals freedoms in the least way possible. "What we want is a policy that most respects freedom of speech," chairperson of See FREE, page 9 Commentary ANDREW CONSTANT Assistant Sports Editor If you’ve been to one of the two home football games this fall, you have undoubtedly seen my face- painted friends and I in the front row with our massive banner, mak¬ ings tons of noise and causing ruck¬ us. If you’ve been to either game, you’ve also probably seen - let me see how I can put this nicely - erratic quarterback play from Peter Athens, Tommy Chroniger, and most recently Blair Peterson. Last Saturday’s defeat at the hands of the New Hampshire Wildcats was simply embarrassing. Other than the annoying fans and band members who made the 462- mile trip from Durham, NH, every¬ one who left Unitas Stadium prob¬ ably did so with their head held low or curses leaving their mouths. My friends and I were the latter, smattering the team with words my mother would smack me for saying and threatening not to come back for the Homecoming game against Delaware next week. (We’ll be there clad in black and gold, don’t be concerned.) But the 57-7 stomping raised a number of black flags, most nota¬ bly the terrible quarterback play from Athens, Chroniger and even Peterson. The play of our quarterbacks in the first four games of the Rob Ambrose era has been well below par. I don't fault Athens or Chroniger for their faults against Northwestern, because we don’t see speed like that in the CAA. (No disrespect towards Richmond or JMU.) But the uplifting win over Coastal Carolina wasn’t pretty enough to make me or anyone else say who should play QB for good. Athens threw an amateur interception that somehow didn’t affect the outcome of the game. And Chroniger coughed the ball up twice on his own. The rain-soaked contest against Morgan State didn’t bode well for either player as well. Athens gave it away twice and Chroniger didn’t take a snap from under center. A little more than a third into the season I realized we still haven’t named a clear-cut starting quarterback for the balance of 2009. Ambrose was quoted as saying, "We’re going to have a competition for the number two position," so one can assume that Peter Athens will be leading the Tigers out onto the field against Rhode Island on Saturday. But that third candidate to see the field, Peterson, is new to this discussion. We didn’t hear his name through¬ out the first three games, and the general consensus was that he was buried on the depth chart and he’d be holding the clipboard for the rest of time. But after we left "The U" with nearly two full quar¬ ters remaining, he actually got into the game and did his best to lead Towson down the field. He’s more than qualified to do so. "I think they should give [Peterson] a shot,” URG President and face-painted fan Matt Sikorski said. "He is after all the most expe¬ rienced in terms of practicing with the team over the past few years. Plus when I read about him, it seemed as though he was pretty legit. So, give him a shot, if he does well keep him on the field. If not, move on to whomever is next on the depth chart." But Sikorski’s one of the few See FANS, page 23 The play of our quarterbacks in the first four games of the Rob Ambrose era has been well below par.