"The First amendment, again"

All the naughty nurses who advertise their services in the Orlando Weekly won't be able to resuscitate the alternative newspaper, at least for a little while. Police raided and arrested three advertising executives of the newspaper and charged them with promoting prostitution, according to an Associated Press article.

To sting the newspaper, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) had an undercover police officer call in and say "I'm a prostitute, I want to place an ad." The Weekly sold the space without question.

On top of three advertisers being arrested, the Weekly was charged with profiting from prostitution, which carries a 5-year prison sentence and a $15,000 fine.

While it's against the law to advertise illegal behavior, its important to remember that advertisers just sell the space; they don't collaborate with prostitutes and pimps, nor do they force people to buy the sexytime they advertise.

Ads for massage parlors, chat lines and escort services litter the back pages of Buffalo's Artvoice and The Beast. Are the Buffalo Police going to arrest them?

Earlier this semester, Health and Wellness Services came to The Spectrum, to inquire as to why advertisements for bars and alcohol were printed in our Freshman Orientation Issue.

Our response? We're not responsible for our reader's reaction to ads. On the contrary - people are responsible for their own actions. Newspapers aren't forcing readers to purchase the services advertised.

While it is wrong for a paper to knowingly do business with criminals, MBI should have given the Weekly a warning; the newspaper should have been told to clean up their act. Arresting advertising executives for doing their jobs and charging a paper $15,000 for arbitrating prostitution is a violation of the paper's right to free speech.

Since the Weekly did business with women of ill repute, they deserve that burning, itching feeling of shame while they wait for the positive or negative results from the legal system. Things should clear up soon for the Weekly, but hopefully they'll be more cautious in the future.

Thanks for the memories

Even if they weren't so great

In honor of Thanksgiving, The Spectrum would like to thank the Buffalo Bulls football team for their relative success this year. For the first time since joining Division I, the Bulls were stampeding through the MAC East race up until their loss on Saturday.

While Buffalo's loss to Bowling Green officially eliminated the team from post season play, the team still had many shining accomplishments that deserve recognition.

The Bulls had their first winning season at home since joining Division I in 1999.

Buffalo won four MAC games this season, their most wins in the conference since joining Division I.

The team exceeded expectations, as ESPN's preseason rankings put Buffalo in dead last.

Many players have broken records and made history, and their individual accomplishments merit acknowledgement.

Since joining Division I, James Starks has become the first Bulls' running back to rush for at least 1,000 yards.

Davonte Shannon became fourth Bull in Division I history to record at least 100 tackles in one season, and he is first freshman ever to do so.

Drew Willy set Buffalo's record for most completions in a season with 224 so far, beating the old record of 218.

Lastly, the fans who supported the Bulls unconditionally this season deserve a thank you. Whether by wearing blue, making signs or cheering as loud as possible, you've helped make this UB Bulls football season one of the best in recent memory.

Even though UB didn't make it into the finals, there's still one more game for those of you that wanted to be a part of history. Let's make this season go out with a bang, and see if we can surpass the 11,000 in attendance at the last game.

Let's go Buffalo!