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A statewide student advisory group this weekend unanimously rejected plans to impose a policy on the showing of pornographic movies on campuses of Maryland public colleges and universities.

"We took a nuanced position to oppose any policy" but to make recommendations because the group recognized that officials plan to adopt a policy, said Brady Walker chairman of the University System of Maryland Student Council, which advises the chancellor.

Not every school in the 11-member University System of Maryland had a representative at the meeting Sunday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Catonsville, where the vote was taken.

The policymaking was precipitated by state lawmakers who, in April, reacted to the news that a film billed as XXX-rated was being shown in an on-campus theater at the University of Maryland, College Park. They required Maryland public universities and colleges to adopt a policy for showing films deemed obscene on campus or forgo funding.

The policy would be the first of its kind among universities in the United States.

Opponents argue that the First Amendment, which protects free speech, is the only policy needed.

It's likely that some educational component will be required in the policy, said Robert M. O'Neil, director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression in Charlottesville, Va., who is advising the Attorney General's Office on the issue.

But the vote reflects the position of student government on each campus, Walker said.

"Recognizing, unfortunately, that there will be [a policy] we offered suggestions," Walker  said.

Those recommendations include that the policy does not limit freedom of expression, that it not be ambiguous about what could be restricted, that the Board of Regents conduct an annual review of the policy, that the policy designate who would decide whether it applies to a film showing and that the policy define what constitutes an educational program if one is required.

They also want to make sure students are involved in shaping the policy at each campus, Walker said.

The board of regents plans to discuss recommendations at its Oct. 23 meeting, and Chancellor William E. Kirwan has been gathering reaction and suggestions from presidents, faculty, staff and students at each of the 11 member universities with the aim of drafting one policy for all University System schools, said Ann Moultrie, a USM spokeswoman.

One option under consideration is to require a group to design and present an educational program when it shows an "unrated film" at the university.

Movies commonly referred to as X-rated do not have a Motion Picture Association of America rating. Neither do many old or documentary films, which concerns Laura A. Bayless, St. Mary's College of Maryland dean of students.

"The question is how do we satisfy the General Assembly and preserve academic freedom on campus," said Brady Walker, chairman of the University System of Maryland Student Council, which advises the chancellor.

"The policy won't ban anything — that's important to say," said Walker, a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore.  

The deadline for universities to adopt a plan was moved from September to Dec. 1.