AND MORE LOCAL REACTION. Friday's letters to the Northern Star express support for the publication of the Danish caricatures of Mohammed. The fourth letter raises an instructive point: not all practicing Moslems accept the Wahhabi traditions let alone the martyrdom heresies properly lampooned in the cartoons. The obligations of believers to marginalize the nuttier among them are, however, not well defined, even here.

Elsewhere around the academy, Wisconsin's chancellor John Wiley defended the Badger Herald's publication of the cartoons, noting, "[The Great State University of Wisconsin] has for more than 100 years championed the cause of free and open debate." He left it up to the newspaper editors to deal with any offended readers. (The Herald staff are unlikely to shrink from that. Years ago a columnist described the recently deceased Mao Tse-Tung as a "moon-faced murderer," something that brought the local com-symps out to protest.) Presumably, pace Marquette Warrior, the Daily Cardinal has the same obligation to deal with any offended Christians.

Marquette's Triumvirate is following the theoretical contortions required by the Bishop of South Bend and Fort Wayne to square academic inquiry with Catholic identity in deciding what offenses are beyond redemption, in this instance Eve Ensler's view of sexuality being contrary to Catholic teachings. Per corollary, Danish cartoons of Mohammed might be contrary to Moslem teachings, and subject to proscription.

Neither Northwestern nor Illinois at Urbana, two nearby universities that have avoided publishing, or have punished editors for publishing the caricatures, are so constrained.

SECOND SECTION: Steve at Left2Right has been thinking about the conflict of values inherent in proscribing Eve Ensler.

The better way is to publicly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Vagina Monologues from a Catholic perspective. A public image of censorial tendencies is not good for Catholic education, and censorial Catholic education is not good education.

Take that last sentence. Delete the two occurrences of "Catholic." Live by it.