For majority of
students,
college life was
never that boozy
By Lorraine Laton
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
NORFOLK - "Animal House” is
dead. Truth he told, for a solid
majority of students, eollege life never
really was that hoo/y after all.
"It s the best kept secret on eollege
campuses," said Michael P. Haines,
campus health coordinator at Northern
Illinois University.
In fact, binge drinking has never
been the campus norm, Haines said.
Media reports and scare campaigns
have focused on the 37 percent of
collegians whom a 1997 National
Institute on Drug Abuse survey found
to be binge drinkers. That puts
pressure on those who don't want to
party hardy. Instead, colleges need to
show students that responsible
drinking is the norm and scrap
programs that preach that all drinking
is bad, he said.
Haines on Thursday drew a
standing-room-only crowd to his
somewhat politically incorrect, all day
"social marketing" workshop for
college students and health
representatives. It was part of
"Changing the Tide," the Virginia
Dept, of Alcoholic Beverage Control's
13th annual College Conference.
Representatives from 30 of Virginia’s
public and private colleges attended,
including Old Dominion University.
Norfolk State University, Hampton
University and Virginia Wesleyan
College.
The issue of campus drinking is
particularly touchy in Virginia, after
the alcohol-related deaths of several
college students last year. The state’s
legal drinking age is 21, but underage
drinking is widespread. Gov. Jim
Gilmore has earmarked more than
$30,000 for colleges to start and
measure the success of alcohol
awareness campaigns.
Setting the record straight, telling
the "good truth," and dealing with the
reality that most students will drink
no matter what, is the key to making
college campuses safer and better
places to learn, Haines believes.
“Students don't know that most of
them are not binge drinkers." Haines
said. “Students don't know that most
of them don't have a problem with
alcohol tit all "
At Northern Illinois, the focus is
teaching students that the norm is
responsible drinking or not drinking
at all - it's what 72 percent of students
do. A campaign that uses business
marketing tools has resulted in
reduced binge drinking for each of the
past six years, with an overall 35
percent reduction, according to
research done at the school.
Ads in the school paper give tips
for dealing with a drunk friend but
also point out that most NIU women
say they drink 0 to 3 drinks when they
“party." Another covers hangover
prevention with a height and weight
chart that shows how much a student
can drink and keep his blood-alcohol
content at a safe level.
Students are phoned randomly and
asked trivia questions about
information on the posters and can win
$25. Those who hang the posters in
their dorms are given $5. And in
random quizzes around the campus
students can win $1 instantly if they
correctly answer a question based on
the ad.
Brian Roinestad, 21, a Mary
Washington College junior who
attended the session, agreed that
perceptions need to be changed.
“There is so much peer pressure; this
would alleviate a lot of it.”
Haines says his non-traditional
approach is unpopular with those who
believe that abstinence is the best
message. But he points to research and
anecdotal evidence that shows that
college students have been drinking
for centuries. At Harvard University,
the country’s oldest college, a local
sheriff still leads the graduation
procession to control drunk students,
a tradition that lingers from Colonial
“Since the 1700 s alcohol has been
associated with college attendance,”
Haines said. "Students using alcohol
on campus is nothing new, nor is it
going to go away.”
The NIU program impressed Linda
Tisdale, Virginia Wesleyan College’s
director of health services. "It makes
Campus stunned after gay
student dies from savage beating
By Julie Cart
Los Angeles Times
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Students at the
University of Wyoming, already
shocked by the savage beating of a
gay student last week, returned to
school on Monday to find Bags on
the leafy campus riding at half mast.
The flags snapping in a cool fall
breeze sent a silent signal of more
horrid news to the student body.
“I looked up, saw the flags and
thought, Oh, my God, Matthew's
dead,' ” said Shannon Rexroat, a
senior who edits the campus
newspaper. “The entire campus is in
shock and outraged. I teach an
orientation class for freshmen. Most
of them can’t imagine anyone with
enough hate in them to do this. Many
of their parents sent them here
because it is supposed to be so safe.”
The death of Matthew Shepard, a
popular political science student, left
emotions raw in this windswept
prairie town. Shepard died early
Monday morning at Poudre Valley
Hospital, about 60 miles away in Fort
Collins. Colo. The 21-year-old had
been on life support since he arrived
last Thursday with severe head
trauma.
Shepard’s family, who had traveled
from Saudi Arabia to be at his
bedside, issued a statement urging
parents to hug their children and
enjoy every day with them.
Police say Shepard was beaten,
lashed to a fence post and left to die
Domino’s sues UK campus over
Papa John’s debit-card contract
By John Cheves,
Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) Domino's Pizza
delivered a piping-hot lawsuit this
week to the University of Kentucky.
Judson Ridgway, owner ol the
Domino’s, is unhappy with the tasty
deal UK has offered to competitor
Papa John’s Pizza: As of last Friday,
students can charge pizzas to their
UK-issued debit cards sending the
bill to Mom and Dad, or whomever
pays their college bills but only if
the pizza comes from Papa John’s.
"This is a big deal. It means a lot
of money to whoever gets this
Numbers don’t lie. The
kids like our pizza.
Steve Hurt, owner of Mad Mushroom
contract,” said Ridgway, who filed a
lawsuit against UK Tuesday in
Fayette Circuit Court.
“If you’re a student and you’ve got
a $2O bill in one pocket and a debit
card in the other, and you’re hungry,
what are you going to do? Are you
going to spend your $2O? Or are you
going to buy a pizza with your debit
card, and then you still have your $2O
to party with?” Ridgway asked.
Corinne Geerken, a UK senior
from Ashland, seconded that idea
yesterday as she bought a pizza at the
Papa John’s on South Limestone
Street near campus.
“It’s just easier,” Geerken said,
paying for her pie with her debit card.
“As a student, I try not to carry a lot
of cash. It’s just more convenient for
me to say, ‘Just put it on my (UK)
Plus Account.’”
Domino’s lawsuit calls into
question the way UK chose its
primary pizza provider during the
summer.
Four pizzerias competed for the
debit-card deal: Domino’s, Papa
John’s, Pizza Hut and Mad
Mushroom Pizza. The businesses
submitted bids that specified the
commissions they would pay to UK
if they were selected.
Papa John’s came in last in this
category, with an offer of 15 percent;
the other three offered commissions
at least 24 percent.
But an informal campus poll placed
Papa John’s as the students’ first
choice, gobbling 44 percent of the
National Campus News
/ U Thursday, October 15, 1998 The Behrend College Beacon - Page 5
by two Laramie men who later
espoused anti-gay sentiments.
Authorities said the main motive
appeared to be robbery, but indicated
Monday that the charges against the
two would be upgraded to murder.
Shepard’s death brought
immediate calls for legislative
change both in Wyoming and
nationally. President Clinton called
the beating an “evil act” and urged
Congress Monday to strengthen laws
against hate crimes.
That call echoed even more loudly
in Wyoming, one of only eight states
I looked up, saw the flags and thought, ‘Oh, my God,
Matthew’s dead.’
that does not have a hate crimes law.
A bill that would have created extra
penalties for criminals who target
victims because of their race, religion
or sexual orientation died in the state
Senate in February.
Many in Wyoming, which proudly
calls itself the Equality State because
it was the first state to allow women's
suffrage, are now looking inward.
State Rep. Mike Massie, a
Democrat from Laramie, the who co
sponsored of three unsuccessful “bias
crime" bills, said he would try again.
"I hope we recognize the reason for
it and call it Matthew's Law - like
Megan’s law in New Jersey - so we
can have something positive come
vote, compared to Pizza Hut (25
percent), Domino's (13 percent) and
Mad Mushroom (5 percent).
UK vice president for fiscal affairs
George Deßin said the student poll
played a big role in UK’s final choice,
as did other factors, including price
and the pizzerias' ability to handle
high-volume sales.
Domino’s contends a random
survey of 200 students on campus is
not the statistically accurate way to
learn which pizza is the most beloved.
Mad Mushroom which joined
Domino's in a written protest to the
university in July, although it is not a
plaintiff in the suit makes the same
argument, said owner Steve Hart.
“We have a really strong hold on
the campus. We’ll do at least 30(
pizzas that go on campus a day, and
we don’t even open until 4 p.m ," Hart
said. “Numbers don’t lie. The kids
like our pizza.”
Deßin said he didn’t oversee the
student survey, but he thinks its
results are sound.
“If it’s 200 people at random, based
on a dormitory population of 5,300,
that’s one in 25 kids who we asked,
or 4 percent of the overall
population,” Deßin said. “I’d say
that’s pretty good.”
Domino’s also wonders if the
generosity of John Schnatter, Papa
John’s founder and chief executive
officer, played a role. Papa John’s has
given millions to Kentucky schools
in recent years, including $1 million
last November to the UK athletics
program.
Terry B. Mobley of the UK
Development Office agreed
yesterday that Schnatter is a supporter
of school athletics but said the fix was
not in when picking a pizzeria.
Schnatter hasn’t “given enough to
the university to just automatically
get any kind of pizza contract,”
Mobley said.
In the future, UK might open the
competition to all interested pizza
peddlers if it gets the hang of handling
off-campus dining by debit card,
Deßin said. The school still is
experimenting at this poin’, lie added.
That makes the most sense to Craig
White, a UK junior from
Georgetown.
White, who orders pizza about
once a week, said he doesn’t care who
arrives at his door, but “it’s better to
have an option than to have someone
who’s got a monopoly on the
students.”
out of this tragic death."
On campus, yellow ribbons marked
with green circles, signs of sympathy
lor Shepard, could been seen wrapped
around ponytails and tied to
backpacks. Many students and faculty
were wearing "Straight but not
Narrow" buttons. All over, impromptu
discussions of attitudes about
homosexuality were taking place.
"Is there approval of homosexuality
in Wyoming? Absolutely not. Is there
social activism against it? No,” said
Susanna Godwin, director of the
university's Ethics Center. “Laramie
Shannon Rexroat, Universtiv of Wyoming senior
is a fairly comfortable place to live.
So I thought."
Shepard’s death coincided with the
first day of Gay Awareness Week on
the 10,000-student campus. Steve
Hassheiderand Phil Underwood were
working at the table sponsored by the
campus’ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgendered Association.
“We’ve been getting a lot of support
around campus,” said Hassheider,
watching a parade of denim-clad
students shuffle past his table in the
Student Union. "Last year you could
see people veering away from the
table, afraid to even be seen near it.”
Hassheider was heartened by this
reaction but said he and his friends
Police blotter: A
campus
Compiled By Peter Levine
Campus Correspondent
University of Wisconsin
College Press Exchange
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. (CPX)
—According to the Daily Sundial,
a woman at California State
University at Northridge reported
to police on Sept. 15 that she saw
a man on campus clutching his
abdomen as if in pain. The woman
said she ran in the direction of
campus police to get the man help.
As she looked over her shoulder,
she spied the man unzipping his
pants and exposing himself. The
woman said the man chased after
her while yelling obscenities. She
told police she ran home and was
unharmed.
BOULDER, Colo. (CPX) A
couple living near the University
of Colorado at Boulder told police
on Sept. 18 that they awoke to find
a drunk student passed out in their
bathroom.
According to The Campus
Press, the student, a 19-year-old
male who lives on campus,
apparently opened the couple’s
front door, unlatched a chain lock
to let himself inside and wandered
into the bathroom, where he
passed out.
One of the victims told police
that he heard a loud noise in the
middle of the night but went back
to sleep. He found the student
when he awoke to use the
bathroom at 6 a.m.
The student was treated for a cut
on his head and charged with first
degree criminal trespassing.
CINCINNATI, Ohio (CPX)
Five students at the University of
Cincinnati who were accused of
breaking into the Cincinnati Zoo
to ride the camels pleaded no
contest to criminal trespassing on
Sept. 28 and were fined $l5O each.
At about 3:30 a.m. on the
previous night, the students had
managed to scale two fences—one
surrounding the camel pit
before security guards caught
them, police said.
know to be discreet about their
sexuality in Laramie.
Underwood, a social work student,
worried that the show of support will
turn out to be short-lived. "Our
greatest concern is that the
authorities in Wyoming are going to
back off, saying it is was an isolated
incident,” he said. “No hate crime
bill, no more awareness."
Jeannie Crofts, a 20 year-old
student who grew up in Wyoming
said she’d seen gay friends in high
school beaten up but never imagined
such anti-gay brutality was possible
here.
“I think about him out there, tied
to a fence for 18 or 20 hours - what
was going through his head? It's too
terrible for me to even think someone
would do that.”
Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron
McKinney, 22, were charged with
kidnapping, aggravated robbery and
first-degree murder, charges that
could bring the death penalty. Two
women described as the pair’s
girlfriends, Kristen Leann Price, 18,
and Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, have
been charged as acessories after the
fact to first-degree murder.
Shepard on Tuesday night attended
a meeting of the campus gay and
lesbian organization, which was
planning Gay Awareness Week. At
the meeting, the group’s president
told of an incident in which he was
harassed near the campus’ Fraternity
Row and advised students to be
careful.
crime briefs
BOSTON, Mass. (CPX)
Talking in class won’t necessarily
get you extra credit
' Just kSk the Boston University
student who, on Sept. 25, got
smacked in the head by a woman
who repeatedly asked him to pipe
down during the professor’s
lecture.
According to the Daily Free
Press, the man was not seriously
injured, and the woman fled
before police arrived.
MADISON, Wis. (CPX)
According to The Badger Herald,
a judge has ordered a student at
the University of Wisconsin at
Madison to stay away from Gov.
Tommy Thompson until charges
of disorderly conduct against the
student are settled.
Ben Manski, a senior known for
his campus activism, has pleaded
not guilty to the charges. He was
arrested after police said he
repeatedly shouted “What about
democracy, Governor?” during a
Sept. 10 speech Thompson
delivered at the university.
Manski said he shouted during
Thompson’s speech because the
governor has denied students’
requests to meet with him.
The ruling allows Manski to
participate in protests and to
write editorials against
Thompson, said his attorney,
Jordan Loeb.
“But, if you were thinking about
going golfing with the governor,
it is off,” Loeb joked with Manski
after the hearing.
If convicted, Manski faces a
$l,OOO fine and up to 90 days in
jail. His next court appearance is
scheduled for Nov. 4.
Another student, Erin Clare
Quinn, also was arrested for being
rowdy during the event. She said
she will fight the $240 ticket she
received not because she wants
to make a political statement, but
because she can’t afford to pay it
“I hope it’s reduced, or they
won’t get any money from me,”
Quinn said. “I’d rather eat than
donate to the Department of
Corrections.”
After the meeting Shepard asked a
female friend if she wanted to stop at
the Fireside Bar. a popular lounge. The
friend begged off, saying that she had
to study.
At the bar, police said, Henderson
and McKinney, both high school
dropouts, told Shepard that they were
gay in order to lure him outside. They
left in McKinney’s truck, beating
Shepard as they drove. Once they
reached the edge of town, police said,
the men lashed Shepard to a wooden
ranch fence and continued beating
him, smashing his skull with a .357
magnum handgun. Shepard continued
to beg for his life until he lost
consciousness.
Shepard remained by the side of the
road for 18 hours until mountain bikers
noticed him.
Police say the men stole Shepard’s
wallet and shoes. But McKinney’s
girlfriend told the Denver Post that
McKinney said that Shepard had
embarrassed him by making a pass at
him in the bar. To get back at the
student, McKinney and Henderson
decided to take his money.
Shepard grew up in Casper and lived
abroad until deciding to return to
Wyoming and attend his father’s alma
mater. Shepard’s father, an oil rig
safety instructor, took a job in Saudi
Arabia and Shepard finished high
school at a boarding school in Lugano,
Switzerland. Shepard, who spoke
Arabic and German, wanted to pursue
a career in the foreign service.
look at
ATLANTA, Ga. (CPX) Police
at Emory University said one
student could have avoided a whole
lot of trouble on Sept. 20 if he had
simply walked home after having
too much to drink.
According to the Emory Wheel,
police spied the man lifting bicycles
over his head and throwing them
to the ground. Officers said the
student broke into a run as they
approached him. Once caught,
police said the student told them,
“I only had a few shots.”
Police also reported that the
student told them he was “born in
1980,” but produced a driver’s
license stating he was older.
Police charged the student with
public intoxication and possession
of a fictitious license and jailed him
for the rest of the night
“Usually it takes behavior other
than the appearance that you have
been drinking before we will arrest
(you),” said campus police Chief
Craig Watson.
AUSTIN, Texas (CPX) A
junior at the University of Texas at
Austin has been charged with
manufacturing fake IDs and wiling
them to high school and college
students for $lOO each, the Daily
Texan has reported.
Travis Wade Scott, a computer
science rntyor, was arrested Sept
28 after police searched his
apartment and found several fake
driver’s licenses and computer
equipment believed to have been
used to make them, said Tela
Goodwin Mange, a spokeswoman
for the campus’ department of
public safety.
According to the Daily Texan,
police had investigated Scott for
nearly a year after fake IDs bearing
certain similarities turned up
throughout the Austin and San
Antonio area. Several minors also
named Scott as the person from
whom they purchased the fakes,
Mange said.
While she declined to say how
many fake IDs Scott may have
produced, Mange did say he is
believed to be a part of a large
forgery ring and that additional
arrests are likely.