The MSU community missed an opportunity to deal with the important issues of racism when university officials censored the play “SubUrbia.”

The Department of Theatre production was scheduled to run for more than a week, but was cut to one performance Thursday after some university officials expressed concern about its content.

The play, which centers around a rock star and his three friends who hang out at a neighborhood convenience store, includes two Pakistani characters who face discrimination.

It’s understandable why some might feel uncomfortable about the play, but that doesn’t mean censorship is the right solution.

Ethnic discrimination is a sensitive subject for our community, especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Some students of Muslim and Middle Eastern heritage have wrongly been the victims of discrimination and hate because of fear that has spread throughout our nation.

Censoring this play is an example of why racism and ethnic discrimination continue to spread. Rather than allowing issues to be raised and discussed in our university setting, officials decided the best course of action was to muffle this production’s messages.

Officials should have allowed this play to continue. If there are concerns about the play’s content, panel discussions could have been held after each showing, like the one after Thursday’s solo performance.

We know racist behavior is unhealthy, but what’s more unhealthy is not dealing with the monster. Facing racism is the only way to change it. This play brought our community the opportunity to hear different reactions to racism, and learn from them.

That’s the core of a university community. The most important thing is to acknowledge problems and work toward a solution. But censorship on a college campus gives the impression of a democracy turned into a dictatorship.

Racist behavior of any of the characters in “SubUrbia” should never be tolerated, but until we face those behaviors head-on, we can never conquer them.