Philadelphia-born actor Bradley Cooper made Pennsylvanians proud Sunday night by winning MTV's Best Male Performance for his role in the "American Sniper," the top-grossing movie of the year.

Most impressive was hearing Cooper thank others during his acceptance of the award. He dedicated it to the late Chris Kyle, who he portrays in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie and who would have turned 41 last week."It's because of you that we have brought awareness for what the men and women in the military do every day for us. Chris, this is for you," Cooper said. In an earlier interview, he said the film became more about the plight of the soldier and his family and that doing the role was completely "life changing."A graduate of Germantown Academy in Fort Washington in 1993, Cooper has had a brilliant acting career. The way he's conducted himself off camera and off stage is just as impressive.Cooper abstained from drinking alcohol since he was 29, saying that it would have "sabotaged" his life. He has been deeply involved with the Learning through the Expanded Arts Program, a nonprofit organization that teaches inner-city school children about acting.It's too bad that students on all of our high school and college campuses aren't given the opportunity to experience the emotions that Cooper felt in his portrayal of Kyle, the greatest sniper in U.S. military history.In just the past week, we learned that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a private science and engineering college in New York, postponed its April 10 screening of "American Sniper" at its student-run theater after a Muslim students' group requested that it be canceled.A RPI statement said the movie has caused "heightened tension across communities and college campuses nationwide, including violent actions and even murders, so instead of showing the biographical flick as a regular Friday night selection, it should be "coupled with an educational forum."That excuse is lame when you consider that the same theater has no trouble showing "The Losers," a violent movie about a stranded CIA team, and an advance screening of "Unfriended," a slasher movie about Internet bullying. To their credit, some students at RPI circulated a petition that the movie be shown.At Michigan, a screening of American Sniper was halted after some 300 students protested the film as "anti-Muslim" and celebratory of a "mass killer." After a national backlash, the university reversed the decision to cancel its screening.To his credit, head football coach Jim Harbaugh announced that he planned to show the film to his players, adding in a tweet that "if that offends anybody then so be it!"Royster Harper, vice president for student life, said the decision to cancel the movie "was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters."Hopefully, after seeing the movie, more students will recognize Chris Kyle as the true American hero that he is.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com