Backpacks: a tale of two straps By Mitch Martin ■ The Daity kxrwn U. of Iowa The other day, I was wandering around campus desperately searching for something to do to avoid my homework. I spied this friend oi mine ana saia neuo, mil ne sim ply stood there staring at me like there was a cockroach leg dangling from between by teeth. (There wasn't) 'You know, you look like a real geek with thorn things," he said, giving the two shoulder straps I had jauntily thrown across my shoulders a condescending tug. Now I don't mind being called a geek, but when someone starts making fun of my backpack, he's gone too far. Contrary to popular opinion, peo ple who wear only one backpack strap are in no way more cultivat ed, suave or in any way superior to those of us who wear both. One strappers walk around steeped in their own smugness, awash in the mistaken idea that wearing but one strap of your backpack is really hip or something. Little do they suspect that they are nowhere near the cutting edge of academic acces sories. In general, my fashion sense is maybe one notch above Cher’s, but you don’t have to be named Sergio to figure out the basic principle behind coolness. One-strappers are by far the majority on campus. They think this is, therefore, the way to be. But this is not simply about popularity, ladies and gentlemen. This is about plain old common sense. The uni versity, as it stands, is a chiroprac tic gold mine. It may seem wise to walk around like a palm tree in a hurricane for some misbegotten sense of couth. But we lucky few who don't bow down to social con vention will not have to worry about self-inflicted scoliosis in our old age. Also, we have two free hands with which to make obscene See STRAPS, Page 23 DIET Aaachoo! Students with food allergies and intolerances adjust to restricted menus. Page 16 PRESEASON PICKS Roundball roundup College sports editors pick their top basketball teams and players for the 1990-91 season. Page 16 ■ ■ ■ ATHLETICS No freshmen allowed Schools and conferences discuss the possibility of excluding freshmen from competition. Page 17 New media contracts shake up athletics By Todd Vinyard and Bob Yarbrough ■ The Daily Mississippi U. of Mississippi The war for millions of dollars in available television revenue is spark ing pitched battles between major ath letic conferences, a war which is redrawing traditional collegiate battle lines and forging new alliances across 1 the country. Existing and established conferences are scrambling to add new members, and coalitions of independent schools are talking of banding together in attempts to present lucrative offers to television networks. The most recent deal inked between ABC, ESPN and the College Football Association totalled $300 million. However, tne future of tne trA, wrucn represents 64 member schools, is in question after the Federal Trade Commission in September charged the organization with violating federal antitrust laws. An administrative law judge began hearings Nov. 13 to find if a violation occurred The hearings are the begin ning of a process which could drag on for two years before a final decision concern ing the CFA’s nght to negotiate is pro nounced Although a definitive ruling has not been made, questions about the CFA’s stability has fueled the competition between the nation’s major athletic con ferences. The Southeastern Conference, which includes the U. of Mississippi, scored in the fight when the U. of Arkansas and the U ofSouth Carolina joined, vaulting the SEC into an enviable position, said Ole Miss Athletic Director Warner Alford. Her / we &or a wciRD one up HERE / 0N£ CH€£S£BuRG£J? to 6o, Minus rue bums a , 7WAT5 PtSHr/r S/UD JjRSI See ATHLETICS, Page 17 / Shift... 3 I'm AUSMIC. ?[ SHiPP 7 SNIFFY SEE GtOPGI §*00*5 M TMt OAJIY TAP MKl ;> NQ8TH CAPOl IfcA 39 fit COLLEGE BASKETBALL 1990 1. Nevada. Las Vegas (380) 2. Georgetown (313) % Mamas (303) 4. North Carolina (287) * 5. Duke (281) 6. Arizona (298) 7. Indiana (251) 8. Syracuse (242) 8. Oklahoma (201) jOUtUOK) 11. Georgia Tosh (17 12. Louisiana: 13. Missouri (147) 14. Michigan (119)^. 15. Michigan 16. Connecticut (108) 17. Louisville (92) 18. Ohio Stale (86) J 19. Kansas (83) 20. Pittsburgh (8fjj/ 4* % RunniifRebels topU. picks The U. of Nevada, Las Vegas, returns to the top of U. The National College Newspaper's college bas ketball preseason picks this year, although they have been banned from 1990-91 postseason compe tition. The July 20 NCAA ruling stemmed from a 1977 case involving UNLV Coach Jerry Ihrkmanian who was charged with illegal recruit ing practices. UNLV outscored Duke U last April to win the NCAA national championship after top ping ITs poll last November. Twenty-one college sports editors submitted their picks, and the top 20 teams were selected from 63, based on a rating system giving 20 points to each No. 1 team and 1 point to each No. 20 team The editors also selected players for first and second All-America teams. The first team includes Georgetown forward Alonzo Mourning. UNLV forward Larry Johnson, Georgia Thch guard Kenny Anderson, UNLV guard Stacey Auginon and LSU center Shaquille ONeiL Second team members are Syracuse forward Billy Owens, Missouri forward Doug Smith, Arkansas guardsTbdd Day and Lee Mayberry, and Duke center Christian Laettner ROBERT MOERSM THE VQXM REBEL U Of NEVADA. LAS VEGAS Forward Larry Johnson was voted the natioa's outstend ing basketball glayor ol 1989. Johnson hogos to repeat this year with UNLV. CprtriBalVc oporto odfinrK John Codt. TV VB i liy Manipfl 9U*» U; Qm» Cw. TV TrcA**tm. GoorgW lradNuU fT>iW-c.-t' ' *•-" -"— r- “-I— ■■■-• - ; u orvtpm. Frank b«V CoOna. Dm Omraon Butkr Crdhjoo. Butin Cothft. Km OtAac. TV Mw HmUmbalat TV» U. Nod* 7WlukV. Vtoo ABM U. Matt Sate. TV Baum. U of FVtland; Badd? ShackioU*. Crt/*r IfafArt HtrtU. WnurnKoaluikyU Vmfrpl. riaoirourU.itL»»uftgkjtiSraah,7VNoid Tt—pon. TV Lumtmjmk, Korthom Aram U.. and liny J Wood. TV Ardtaaaa 7VraV. U Artiom TortOonUc PRESEASON PICKS UBUK. THE OAILV NtXUS. U » CAUIORAIA. SAATA BARBARA Allergy sufferers avoid diet dilemma By Dawn Wilson ■ The Daity Tar Heel U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Bananas are forbidden fruit for U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, student Martha Donaldson Beef, pork and milk also are off-limits. For Valerie Carr, merely inhaling the fumes of a seafood dish causes her tongue to itch and her skin to break out in a rash Like many people, Donaldson and Carr have food allergies. “It used to be an inconvenience, but now it’s a part of life,’ Donaldson said. “You get used to not being able to eat cer tain things.” Carr said avoidance has become her remedy, despite having to ask about the contents of casseroles and other dishes. Food allergies are caused when the body produces too much of the antibody called immune globulin. Over-production of this antibody often is hereditary, but may be caused by par asites or the intake of drugs, said William Woods, director of the allergy depart ment at North Carolina Memorial Hospital. “The only safe way to treat food aller gies is to avoid the food,* Wood said. “The amazing fact is not that some people have trouble with food allergies. The amazing fact is that we all don't have trouble with them.’