The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 3

The Salina Journal Thursday, April 11,1985 Page 3 State colleges grapple with drinking age issue By DAVID CLOUSTON Staff Writer Amid the legislative battle over changes in Kansas liquor laws, one group waits, anticipating the outcome like tavern patrons dreading a cry of "last call" from the bar. Because the federal government has threatened to withhold highway money from states that do not raise the drinking age to 21, colleges are preparing for such a step. They are being joined by representatives of America's major breweries, who have switched their college marketing techniques to include less on consumption and more on brand recognition. At most of the regents' schools, committees are' being formed to deal with changes a higher legal drinking age will have on the way students consume beer. They include changing the rules that let students have beer in their dormitory rooms, limiting the places on campus where beer can be bought and sold, and, in some cases, doing away with brew at campus activities.

The majority of regents' schools allow 3.2 beer to be consumed in students' rooms. Beyond that, the schools have different policies. At the University of Kansas, beer is sold in the student union and at Bird Union on campus. At Kansas State University, beer is not served at campus events and is available only at dormitory functions with permission from the dorm council. On the other hand, Fort Hays State University sells beer at the Back Door, restaurant in the basement of Custer Hall, and, beer is served, along with soft drinks, at many campus events.

Kansas Technical Institute, Salina, allows no beer on campus, either in student rooms or at school events. "My advice to the schools has been 'wait and see what the.Legis- lature said Jean Sagan, assistant attorney for the regents. "It's pretty hard to speculate at this point what changes will need to be made." Of the schools that allow beer, none has expressed support for total prohibition for students. But enforcing a higher legal age could be tough. "It's going to be a lot more difficult when you have a roomful of people (at campus events) with different ages and you allow beer to go into a common area," Sagen said.

Policing students' rooms is another matter. "I don't know that there's any way to enforce it," said John Webb, Emporia State University Vice President for Student Affairs. "It's always been my feeling you shouldn't have any rules you can't enforce." Photo Illustration by Tom An expected raise in the drinking age could cause headaches for state colleges. Webb said officials at the regents' schools have discussed ways to control beer In the rooms. Webb said the group hopes the Legislature will adopt a gradual approach to raising the drinking age, moving from 18 to 21 over a three-year period.

That would allow students who now live in dormitories, most of whom are freshman and sophomores under the age of 21, to be "grandfathered" into compliance with the law. "It would also give us more time to make adjustments," Webb said. "The first step is going to be for all of us to understand exactly what the law is, and the second is to figure out how we're going to live by it." Webb favors adding students' advice on the matter. "You're more apt to control people's behavior if you involve the people affected by it," he said. Chester Peters, vice president for student affairs at Kansas State, described a situation where two people share a room and one is of legal age and the other is not.

In such a situation, a ban on beer consumption would be one way to handle the problem, Peters said. "I'm not going to preclude what action we may take until the Legislature says what it's going to do," he said. "Much of society today depends on knowing the law and obeying it without someone standing over you." Bill Jellison, vice president for student affairs at Fort Hays State, said schools that sell beer at cam- pus events face an enforcement problem. "We're looking at two concepts," he said. "The first is to not allow it (beer) and the second is to develop a better policing procedure.

"The only way we could continue to serve beer is to develop a monitoring system, which is an almost insurmountable task." Jellison foresees headaches for administrators charged with keeping beer out of students' rooms. "It's going to be more of a rule- infraction problem, which could lead to suspension, I suppose, if it happened repeatedly," he said. "Prior to the mid-'70s, when there was a ban on beer in the rooms, I can tell you it was a day-in, day- out disciplinary problem." Some schools have opted not to develop new enforcement procedures. Marymount College, for instance, has allowed 3.2 beer in students' rooms and at campus functions for about 10 years. Should the legal drinking age be raised, however, Marymount will ban beer on campus.

"Our feeling is it would create such a management problem for us, the cleanest way to deal with it is just to eliminate it altogether," said Todd Reynolds, Marymount dean of students. Along with prohibiting beer, Marymount also will try to promote events where drinking is not an activity. Officials at Kansas Wesleyan and Bethany Colleges said beer already is not allowed on their cam- puses. But just because a school prohibits beer does not mean students will stop imbibing Milwaukee's finest. Some school officals are worried that students, faced with not being able to drink on campus, simply will drink elsewhere.

"It may mean more programming off campus, which students will be driving to and from," Jellison said, noting an increased potential for accidents. Jellison's views are echoed by John Shafer, head of the governmental affairs department of the Miller Brewing Co. in Milwaukee. "I really don't think it (prohibition) is a viable solution to the abuse problem," Shafer said. "It's sad because it leads people to think a solution has been found when it really isn't one." Rather than solving problems, a beer ban creates new ones, said S.

Lynn Massey, manager of college marketing for the Adolph Coors Co. in Golden, Colo. "The college kids generally do what they please you're not going to legislate all your problems away," Massey said. "You're not going to change their per-capita consumption. You are going to change their consuming habits by closing off clubs and forcing them to go to their cars." The college market for beer has gone flat, Shafer said.

Consumption of 3.2 beer has fallen, partly because of an increased emphasis on health and diet and less acceptance of public drunkenness. Because their market is not growing, brewers have shifted their attention to getting a larger share of college students who already drink beer to switch to their brand, "A 1 percent shift in total market sales can mean $380 million extra for us," Shafer said. Massey said more sophisticated techniques have been developed to attract college students, the majority of whom spend "at least $228 a month over and above food and living costs." "Wet T-Shirt contests, chug-a- lug contests those are the kind of tasteless promotions we don't get involved with," Massey said. Sensing a move by colleges to ban beer, the breweries instead have turned to emphasizing moderation in the use of their products. Coors, for instance, has developed an alcohol education program called METRON, a Greek term standing for moderation in life.

The company is running a series of three advertisements on college campuses to promote responsible consumption. Miller has a program known as AIM "Alcohol Information from Miller" that provides alcohol- awareness materials for community distribution. Miller also was a supporter of the. first National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, conducted several months ago. In addition to the brewers' efforts, a set of 12 guidelines has been developed to give college officials more control over marketing practices on their campuses.

The guidelines were developed by a panel composed of representatives from BACCHUS, a student organization that promotes responsible drinking by students; the American College Personnel Association; the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Association of College and University Housing Officers International. The guidelines specify that promotions should avoid showing beer consumption as something that will make the person more popular or sexually appealing, that alcoholic beverages should not be awarded as prizes, and that there should be no uncontrolled sampling of beer or drinking contests. Little has been heard from the students. But at Fort Hays State, at least one student government member doesn't think the schools are moving fast enough. "I really think most of the schools are way behind on how they are going to deal with a higher drinking age," said John Allen, Associated Students of Kansas campus representative.

"There is a real danger with making the regents institutions into enforcement agencies. The question is, if we can't enforce it should we do it (raise the age) at all?" Funding cut means reduction of Little House services By DAVID CLOUSTON Staff Writer What began as a recognition ceremony Wednesday turned into a funding debate as Salina School Board members heard from Dori- sAnn Brinegar, director of the Little House Adult Learning Center. The Little House, one of two Kansas adult learning centers nominated for a national education award, faces a cutback in services because Brinegar's salary Is to be reduced. The U.S. Department of Education each year awards outstanding adult education programs in each of 10 four-state regions.

The conflict stems from an administration proposal to eliminate payment of salaries from the general fund. Richard Stedry, assistant superintendent for business, said Little House will receive about $6,000 less from the general fund than it did this year. The Little House budget now stands at $27,000 a year and is composed of general fund money, state aid and federal grants. With the proposed reduction in general fund money, the program will be forced to either find another source of funding or discontinue services. The $6,000 reduction, for the most part, will be taken from Brinegar's salary, Stedry said.

Brinegar said the salary reduction will cause her to reduce her hours, and the hours of the center she supervises. Little House helps adults learn to read and get their high school equivalency diploma. "I'll cut my salary but that will also reduce the number of hours we're open since I have to be there to supervise," she said. Stedry said the Little House funding was reduced to make room in the general fund budget for other items, Including buying more elementary instructional materials, computer instruction and maintenance and operation. Stedry said the board indicated earlier this year that it wanted to remove from the general fund as many salaries as possible.

The board wants those salaries funded from the organizations' budgets. New school board member Larry Mathews, speaking during the public forum portion of the meeting, brought up the school district's role in the downtown assessment issue. Mathews, who along with Jerry Lundgrin assumes office July 1, said the district's proposed assessment of $131,000 was wrong and that teachers would eventually bear the cost. "The school district doesn't bene- fit one bit from downtown Salina and with a budget where 81 percent is spent for salaries it's easy to see where the squeeze is going to fall," he said. Superintendent Terry Terril said the assessment question will be discussed at Wednesday's board meeting.

The board approved the assignment of James Hughes as principal at Stewart, Dwight Powell at Hageman, Helen Hooper at Coronado and Louis Reynolds at Kennedy for the 1985-86 school year. The assistant principal positions at Roosevelt- Lincoln and South High have not been filled. Airport authority agrees to install security items The Salina Airport Authority Wednesday approved the installation of a security fence and electric security gates at the north end of the airport. Executive Director Tim Rogers told the authority that a more secure fence should prevent unauthorized persons from getting on the runway. Earlier this month a motorist attempted to race a jet that had been cleared for take-off.

The car was close enough to the jet during takeoff for the pilot to read the license number, which he radioed to the control tower. Rogers also said the fence would discourage pedestrians from crossing the runway and might reduce vandalism to runway lights. The runway is protected by a low wire-and-post fence. Rogers proposed installing a six-foot chain-link fence topped with barbed wire at a cost not to exceed $35,000. In other action, the board tentatively approved the sale of a building and 3.28 acres near the corner of Scanlan and Summers to Xetec, a local manufacturer of add-on components for micro computers.

The sale price will be based on an appraisal; a year ago, the property was appraised at $68,000. The property now is leased to Metals and the sale is contingent on the willingness of that company to relinquish its lease. Kansas shuttle candidates chosen TOPEKA (AP) The names of five finalists in competition to pick Kansas' two candidates for a space shuttle flight were presented Wednesday to the state Board of Education. Four of the five are teachers at two Kansas high schools, Goddard In suburban Wichita and Shawnee Mission in suburban Kansas City. The fifth is a Topeka middle school teacher.

Three of the five are science teachers, one is a mathematics teacher and one a language arts teacher. The five, selected from among 160 state teachers who applied, are: Kenneth Bingman, a biology teacher at Shawnee Mission West High School. Darlene Cress, a language arts teacher at Goddard High School. Wendell Mohling, a science teacher at Shawnee Mission Northwest. Harry M.

Peterson a mathematics teacher at Eisenhower Middle School in Topeka. Barry Schartz, a science teacher at Goddard High School. They were picked by an eight-member election committee set up by the state Department of Education. The selection panel included a student in teacher education, a superintent of schools, a local school board member, a state Parent-Teacher Association representative, a public school teacher, a representative of Kansas-National Education Association, an Emporia State University professor and a private school representative. The panel will interview the five finalists April 25, then pick Kansas' two candidates for the national competition, plus an alternate.

Each state will select two candidates. Videotape recordings of the interviews with the two Kansas candidates will be sent to the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington for the national competition. The state's two candidate selections must be reported to Washington by May 1. Marquette wants school or freedom By DAVID BEVENS Staff Writer MARQUETTE Supporters of a high school in Marquette reached deep into their bag of options Tuesday night and presented to the Smoky Valley School Board a 20- year-old agreement between the pre-unification boards of Marquette and Lindsborg. The group asked the board to reopen a high school in Marquette or allow them te leave the district in hopes of joining an adjacent district.

The board voted against reopening the school and tabled a request to leave the district. Marquette supporters then presented the board with a letter signed by more than 300 residents unhappy that a 1964 agreement has been breeched. Steve Piper, Marquette, said a 1964 agreement between the Marquette and Lindsborg school boards stated that high schools in Marquette and Lindsborg and six grade schools could not be closed without approval of voters in the community involved. The agreement, part of an agreement to unify the Marquette and Lindsborg districts, was one of three options the Marquette board considered, he said. The board also considered unifying with Rice County schools or staying neutral.

"It is our contention that agreement is binding on the board today," Piper said. He acknowledged, however, that it might not be legally binding. "It is more of an ethical question," he said. "If you are going to make a promise, are you or are you not going to keep your promise?" Smoky Valley Superintendent Irvin Myers said he was not aware of such an agreement until the Tuesday night meeting. He said the agreement was made under a "very specific unification law" and that the law since has been changed.

"We'll have to look at it more before any kind of assessment could be made," he said. He said the minutes of the meetings between the two boards during the time of unification are being examined. Because of what he regards as a violation of the agreement, Piper said proponents of a high school in Marquette will "ask the state to reassign us to another area." "It is our contention that we should be free of this," Piper said. But, he said, Marquette would settle for the reopening of its high school. "It would be much simpler for everybody if they would abide by their promise 20 years ago," he said.

"We were offering them every alternative." Asked why the 1964 agreement had not been mentioned before, Piper said Marquette supporters had heard rumor of such an agreement but were too busy to follow the lead because of work to defeat an April 2 Smoky Valley bond issue. Voters approved issuing $2.2 million in bonds to fund a construction program to build a new grade school at Marquette and improve other schools. The bond issue does not include a high school for Marquette. Marquette residents are hoping to delay the sale of the bonds while they fight for a high school. Piper said the 1964 agreement might raise questions in the minds of potential buyers of the bonds.

State launches job program TOPEKA (HNS) A $681,000 federal and state program to help 400 dislocated workers in 35 Kansas counties was announced Wednesday by Gov. John Carlin and Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor Frank Casillas. Included in the project are Marion, Russell, McPherson and Ellsworth counties. Under the program, 50 of the workers who have lost jobs will be placed directly into new jobs, and the remaining 350 will be placed in training programs, according to the Kansas Department of Human Resources.

Applications for the program will be handled by the Department of Human Resources through its Job Service offices. Titled Project WORK (Work-oriented rural Kansas), the program will be administered through the Job Training Partnership Act under the Kansas Department of Human Resources..