Editorial opinion Towering' infernos A catastrophe is waiting to hap pen. And if you're a typical Penn State student who frequents State College bars, you 'could be its next victim. However, Monday night’s ac tion by the Municipal Council may help to prevent it. After months of consideration, the council decided to enforce the Department of Labor and In dustry’s occupancy standards for local bars and restaurants. The standards would reduce the num ber of persons now permitted in most of the bars. While some may bemoan coun cil’s move on the grounds that it limits their opportunities for a cold For pusher and priest, entrapment abridges ri The United States Supreme Court has recently handed down a ruling making entrapment of criminals by law enforcement officials a legal tactic. The ruling makes a travesty of America’s oft-boasted civil liberties, and shows the willingness of the highest court in the country and the supposed protector of constitutional rights, to compromise and actually negate those rights by allowing discriminatory and selective law en forcement techniques to be employed. Perhaps the saddest aspect of a sad situation is that en trapment is most often used in those ephemeral cases aptly called "victimless crimes,” including offenses like prostitution, illegal traffic in tobacco, and traffic in other controlled substances. Heroin, methamphetamine, morphine, and other drugs that can quickly destroy human lives and make an individual a threat to other members of society should be suppressed as a first priority of law enforcement personnel. But suppression should not go so far as to deny individuals their rights as American citizens. While murderers go free because of some slight inconsistency in legal, judicial or enforcement procedure, drug users are often convicted and incarcerated after being coaxed into buying and selling drugs supplied by undercover enforcement officials. Here’s how it works. Mr. X is looking to buy a quantity of an illegal substance. He encounters Mr. Z who offers to sell him a pound or two. Mr. X jumps at the offer. A price is set and the transaction is made. Now Mr. Z, who is an undercover agent, has grounds to arrest Mr. X for possession of a controlled substance (or narcotic, or whatever). But simple possession often results in a fine and probation rather than imprisonment, and when the agents set State College Attention all you imbibers of the demon rum! (This means you, for all of you alcoholics who were too busy getting blown-out to expand your vocabularies). Through a cruel twist of fate, the University, Pennsylvania State Liquor Control Board and the. State College Municipal Council have com bined to present you with a problem tantamount to finding your bottle of Bacardi Silver drained before halftime of the Penn State-Army game. After a student tried to reach im mortality (but only got as far as the Mountainview Unit of Centre Community Hospital), the University cracked down on dorm partying, and said no more alcoholic-type parties, for the rest of the summer. If this ban on getting bombed in your own room continues. Into Fall Term, it is going to drive a lot of people who were previously occupied in the pursuit of inebriation at dorm parties, into other places to do their partying. This means a whole lot more people are going to be doing their partying in the bars this fall. It almost sounds as if the Tavern Owners Association had planned the thing out, making a CIA-like pay-off to students so they would chua i A ' M#IK. C. ZflWJlWt •me TM/tvcou^^ MooOTHirOfc. IT 4VKO TO HK\)e 05> TO HfcS&ct OS / wiHM- £t-SH <LOOL.D TH€-V POSSISL-V \T *a©«. ?/" beer or a quick dance, there is much more to be considered. More than merely increasing the comfort and convenience of those inside, the maximum oc cupancy limits for bars will un doubtedly increase their safety. On any given weekend night, it may take a good five minutes to elbow your way to the restroom in the typical State College ‘watering hole.’ In the event of a fire, how long would it take for 300 persons to fight their way through tables, chairs and musical equipment to one tiny exit? It’s difficult to calculate, but the answer nonetheless adds up to disaster. ‘Firetrap’ is an ugly ex- Jack Daniels Tequila or Grain Punfch and cause the University to do what it did. But, not long after this decision, the Municipal Council voted to enforce strict occupancy codes in the local bars. This will severely cut back the number of you fuzzy-brained, staggering people that can be crammed into your favorite establishment, whether it be A, B, C, D, or E. Instead, you will have to stand outside (most likely in the usual fall drizzle that infects this part of the state) and hope that someone either passes out and is carried out or throws-up and is kicked out of trie bar so that you can take his place. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And because of the liquor contrdl board's decision not to declare State College a resort area (even if Penn State is the finest drinking school in the East), don't count on the initiative of private enterprise to save the day and build more bars. They can’t because the number of liquor licenses allotted for this area has already been issued. And what kind of (Ar ' V. • up this type of ploy, their goal is to remove a particular dealer or pusher from the streets. So, in comes Mr. Y, another law enforcement agent, who approaches good old Mr. X and asks if he could, perchance, buy some of the substance. Mr. X agrees to sell, a price is set, marked money is passed from Y to X, and the cuffs are on before he can holler “narc.” Mr. X is simply-a third party. The drugs are sold to him by enforcement people and he is approached by a law officer who asks for the substance. In this case Mr. X, a simple In- termediary, goes to jail. Who are the real perpetrators of the crime? In effect, enforcement officials are creating a crime as a means of prosecuting a particular Individual. To my knowledge, there have been no cases as yet Involving marijuana or other “soft” drugs. The law.enforcement people are correctly concentrating their efforts on removing patently dangerous drugs from the streets by removing pushers from circulation. Still, the stage is set, and should they so desire, enforcement personnel, whether local, state or federal, could use these tactics against any type of drug as well as against bootleg cigarettes (those without the tax stamp of the state in which they are to be sold) lottery tickets, and who knows what else. If in fact our Mr. X was dealing heroin or any other dangerous drug, then it becomes obvious that everyone Chet Wade pression - but it’s also a reality that must be faced. When exits are poorly-lit, unmarked, blocked or practically non-exjstant, the possibility of human lives being lost becomes overbearing. It remains to be seen how local police will enforce the occupancy regulations. Having law en forcement officers "bar hopping” as one councilman put it would simply be impractical. But one thing is certain - for the safety of their patrons, bar owners must abide by the limits. Municipal Council has taken the first step. It is now up to the proprietors to do the rest. George Osgood 'dry'town by Fall bar Is it that can’t serve majors, let alone minors? For you hard-core drunks, you have two alternatives the DT’s or 1 finding a new watering hole. The DT’s are not the most thrilling way to spend the day so most of the confirmed cases will be out in search of a new oasis. About the only local establishments in the student price-range that haven't already been, taken over by the younger set are the Tomcat (Red Neck City), the Post House Tavern (also a lot of sunburn there too) and the back of the ’My’ (the floors are very slippery from the customers drooling.) I hardly think that the current inhabitants of these places are going to get up and leave whenever the students start to move in. Instead, there are going to be some interesting conflicts between the townies and the students. The only other choice the students will have (besides -giving up drinking) is to travel out to the taverns and bars in Bellefonte and Boalsburg. But anyone who has ever found his way to places like the Boalsburg Steakhouse can tell you that unless you are a country and western freak, you are going to fit in there about as well as the Goodyear So, as the traffic accident toll rises this winter, maybe the three parties who had a hand in driving those undesirable drunken students out of town, will reconsider and welcome them back with open arms and a cup of black coffee. Otherwise, the independent action of three different groups is going to total up to some pietty sad days ahead. Bra, 'brawd,' brawless TO THE EDITOR: As a footnote to the "Bra Question" raging among brothers of a particular fraternity, according to Irish legend the brassiere was used in pre-Christian times in that country if it did not, in fact, originate there. Erin, a beautiful princess, wore her breasts bare as was the' pagan custom in those days. However, she attracted such a following among the young men of the court that the king became angry and decreed that henceforth all women must cover themselves. Hence the expression “Erin go bra” which in the Gaelic old spelling has come down to this very day! * -St Children of divorce TO THE EDITOR: Children of Divorce is a new organization for youngsters and teens who feel they want to share, compare and resolve traumatic feelings that, result from separation or divorce of their parents. I am founding this organization with the help of the following groups: Youth Service Bureau, Student Assistance Center, Campus Ministry, Women in Communications Inc., Womens’ Resource Center, Voluntary Action Center, school counselors and professionals. All adults, students, teens and parents are welcome to attend a brown bag luncheon at the Informal lounge in Eisenhower Chapel on Tues. Aug. 31, from 11:30to1:30. •RafiGHT YMWsmim, 60PDeLeeAXG, AFIfeR OF mm FtHfiUyOoMMl HIMSOLF.m benefits if he is taken off the streets. Even the pusher is better off, because he may shake his habit and, pardon the cliche, start a new life. The problem is that the end does not necessarily justify the means, and that appears to be the 'reasoning employed by the'Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of entrapment. Entrapment is used in other areas, too. In attempting to curb prostitution in large cities, law enforcement agencies have adopted a new tactic made possible by the ruling. In the past policewomen would dress as prostitutes (How does a prostitute dress? I don’t know; use your imagination.) and .iang around likely spots waiting to be propositioned by the unsuspecting john. That was bad enough. Now the same policewomen strut their stuff, verbally, soliciting business. When dear john gives in to lust and temptation, the badge flashes and the cuffs go on faster than he can holler “screw job." The Adam Smith rationale behind this is evidently that if you can’t deal with the supply, deal with the demand. Efforts to remove prostitutes from the streets have, in recent years, been futile. In the first place, there are vast numbers of them in many metropolitan areas. And if they are busted, they are usually out of jail the same day they go in. Finally, they knpw their business and are very careful. Some cities, like Boston, have virtually ceased enforcing laws against prostitution if the hookers remain within the confines of a certain area (In Boston, it’s the^infamous Combat Zone). So, enforcement officials attack the prostitutes’ customers so that the girls’ business will fall off and they will be forced into a more honorable profession (meter maid, for example). blimp in a phone booth. And if you think that steer they have standing outside looks big when you go in, you should see the proportions it takes on after you spend some time sucking up the suds. Its enough to make you stop drinking. Driving around, half-loaded, on the goat trails that pass for roads in some parts of the Centre Region, trying to find a place to get the other half loaded, is certainly not going to be any picnic. It Is hard enough to negotiate some of the sharp curves and steep hills in the middle of a sober, sunny afternoon. But, with the University’s, municipal council’s and liquor control board's “blessing,” a large number of students will find themselves tooling the high ways in search of the night cap they could find .before, right in the confines of State College. Letters to the Editor J.D. McAulay Professor of Education Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that theirijuslness Is falling ' at all. g But that’s not the issue. The most unhejjjthy aspect of the V situation is the entrapment of “innocent”|citizens who have actually only committed a crime through 2n overbroad legal detnition and not in any substantive sens® There is truly no', ' victim, except for the John who victimizes himself by accepting 1- * the offer of the policewoman. Prostitution can admittedly cause serious problems in a given area, especially when it is - run by organized crime. It certainly taints the locale In which it'' is carried on. But a more reasonable solution to the problem must be found. Americans hold their civil liberties among their most prized '' possessions. The'Constitution is held in reverence by the vast 4 majority of the' population and its provisions have given the v groundwork for building the greatest country on earth, a place -1 , where all men are ostensibly created equal and freedom is the" national ideal. Enough platitudes. I’m sure you get the point. The central ’ issue is that the recent ruling is unfair at best and abridges the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for every American,, whether pusher or priest. The problems that the ruling was* designed to fight clearly are serious and should be dealt with vigorously by law enforcement agencies. But they should be ~ dealt with in a straightforward manner while maintaining the, viability of human rights and the dignity of the respective law • enforcement departments. Although the Supreme Court seems to feel otherwise, there is no room in American legal affairs ~ and law enforcement techniques for trickery and out and out entrapment. - fATtr AIN'T OIG We’ll brainstorm and choose an advisory board for Children of Divorce. ' Keystone Foods has offered free donuts for a fund raising donut eating contest in October. Ideas so far are: we should have 4 age groups, children should have one-to-one and group contact; counseling should be about 10 weeks long, using -trained professionals and student buddies who have experienced divorce. Questions will be handled by Herman Stenger at the Youth Service Bureau, 237-5731. Talking about bad and good feelings during divorce will help all ages grow. JANICE SELINGER Summer Editor BOARD OF EDITORS: EDITORIAL EDITOR, Janie Miisala; NEWS EDITOR, Paula Gochnour; WIRE EDITOR, Laura Shemick; COPY EDITORS, Debbie Fitch, Mike Joseph; SPORTS EDITOR, Bob Buday; PHOTO EDITOR, Barry Wyshinski; WEATHERMAN, Scott Chesner. Mailing Address: Box 467, State College, Pa. 16801 Office: 126 Carnegie FOR BOTH OF U* / * '^^SSHUSy Lucy Jordan 6th—lndividual and Family Studies NADINE KINSEY Business Manager
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