Monologue
Legislation banning alcohol ads won’t eliminate abuse
By D. Dietrich
The people representing
Project SMART (Stop
Marketing Alcohol on Radio
The mothers of the world and Television) propose a
have apparently been falling strict prohibition of all beer
down on their jobs. The lack and wine commercials. They
of maternal guidance is at the have determined that such
root of some overbearing pro advertising has propelled pro
posals made to Congress by a duct consumption to an all-
few people who would like to time high. Their underlying
be America’s conscience-at- motive is to stop the
widespread use of alcohol,
large.
especially by minors, and the
I’m referring to the supris- fatal habit of drinking and
ingly widely supported group driving. These are definitely
of lobbyists and statesmen
noble aspirations.
who would like to ban the use
On the other side we have
of alcohol commercials on the the defenders of a legal pro
television medium. This age- duct who have as much right
old problem lies in citing the to advertise as any other pro
difference between use and ducer, as long as the ad con
abuse.
tent is neither abusive nor
Arts Editor
C
vulgar. Quite frankly, more of
the tolerable commercials on
television today are for
various intoxicants.
The experts say alcohol is
harmless in moderation. In
fact, some doctors even
recommend a small glass of
wine on occasion. Even
though the problem lies not in
the drug itself but in the user
of it, there appears to be a
trend toward placing blame on
everyone and everything but
the user of alcohol.
For instance, restaurant and
tavern owners have to
somehow determine their
patron’s blood-alcohol level,
and the party host must
assume the role of guardian
for irresponsible guests. Now
--------------------------- X
Community Corner
By Fritz Wenzei
ALL IN YOUR MIND: An English instruc
tor here at Clackamas Community College was
describing the library in a rather unique way the
other day in class. Alan Widerburg said that the
library can be an intimidating place. “You walk
through those library doors and all of a sudden
you are confronted with all your ignorance. It
surrounds you. There are shelves and shelves of
it,” he said.
In fact, the storage of information on
microfiche and microfilm is increasing, and this
compression process multiplies the student’s in-
adaquacy.
Widerburg encourages the student to dive
right into the mental fray, though, by explain
ing that as the student reads small amounts, like
a book at a time, he gains a tiny friend here and
, there scattered around the room. After a little
while, he has a pocket of allies developed, from
which the student can leap into new areas and
new stack rooms, dancing up and down the
Dewey Decimal System with utter confidence.
AD-VICES: Outside the Community Center
you can, if you are so driven, pick up a copy of
USA Today, which I did on Monday. I noticed
the paper is trying to meet a need that doesn’t
really need meeting, and which seems to be a
specialty of the paper’s, as is witnessed by its
mere existence.
I am talking about their new “classified ad”
section that began Monday.
Here you can find that computer cover you
have been searching high and low for. Not just
any computer cover, mind you, but designer
covers with styles ranging from the Wall Street
design (made of ticker tape?) to the tropic
design (that might come with a free autograph
ed photo of Don Ho?)
Another great buy might be the Amish
Cookbook, which you can pick up for just
under eight dollars. The big savings here is
realized when you buy six copies, which would
cost you only $24. I may do that. I could put
one on the living room table right next to my
Oregon Coast book, and one in the bedroom.
One would go well in the garage next to my
Toyota Repair Manual, and I wouldn’t feel
comfortable without one in the trunk of the
car. I would, of course, leave one in the kit
chen, and maybe give the last one to my
mother-in-law. Either that or I .would line the
birdcage with it so that everyone could get in on
the joy of Amish cooking.
Only in USA Today.
ON A ROLL: If you think you have had an
off day, consider the problems of the killer taxi
of Bermuda as documented in The Book of
Lists 2. Two brothers were killed by the same
taxi driven by the same man carrying the same
passenger while they were riding the same
moped on the same street exactly a year apart.
Erskine Ebbin and his brother Neville were
both 17 when they died.
I feel sorry for the two boys, of course, but
that passenger has got to take another look at
how he gets around town, don’t you think?
Another stunning coincidence centers around
a four-year-old boy who was saved from
drowning off a Salem, Mass, beach by a
woman named Alice Blaise. Nine yars later on
the same beach the youngster paddled his canoe
out into the water and pulle'd a drowning man
from the water. The man was Alice Blaise’s
husband. Now that puts real meaning into the
phrase “If I can ever do anything to repay
you...”
TAKING A BIG BITE: Monday a New York
jury awarded a high school cook $10,000 in a
libel case that arose out of something that was
printed in the school newspaper. The cook sued
because the paper said her food was not fit for
dogs. No comment on this one.
Page 2
the fault of alcohol abuse ex
tends to the effectiveness of
advertisements which sup
posedly corrupt; the weak
human mind.
The important question here
is to what extent should the
federal government be involv
ed in shaping the morality of
society without infringing on
basic human rights.
There’s no doubt that
alcohol is a carelessly abused
drug. Representatives of
SMART say they would at the
very least like to see an educa
tional campaign touting thè
dangers of over-consumption.
The addition of a few public
service messages is certainly a
positive move, but it is not the
responsibility of the liquor
companies to account for
every unstable character.
The ban on beer and wine
commercials is being likened
to the ban on cigarette adver
tisements. The hazards of both
substances can be well-
supported, but for some
reason alcohol abuse is still
considered a part of white
collar crime to which there is
no easily attained panacea.
Alcohol is such an in
tegrated part of society, the
very idea of ‘out of sight, out
of mind’in regards to advertis
ing is absurd. When it comes
to a final vote, I don’t think
the alcohol industry will have
to give up their airwave time as
the tobacco industry did, nor
should they. There are more
non-smokers than non
drinkers in the world. If the
ban does by some quirk
manage to become legislation,
I’m going to start looking for
warning labels on potato chip
bags.
You Cc n Gain
VALUABLE
Writing, Photo
Experience
Join
THE PRINT
Today
It’s Even FUN!!
Call Shelley Now at Ext. 309
THE PRINT, a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Associa
tion, aims to be a fair and impartial journalistic medium covering the
campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opinions expressed in
THE PRINT do not necessarily reflect those of the College administra
tion, faculty, Associated Student Government or other members of THE
PRINT. THE PRINT is a weekly publication distributed each Wednesday
except for finals week. Clackamas Community College, 19600 S. Molalla
Avenue, Oregon City, Oregon 97045.
Office: Trailer B; telephone: 657-8400, ext. 309, 310
Editor In Chief: Shelley Bali
News Editor: Fritz Wenzel
Arts Editor: D. Dietrich
Sports Editor: Rodney Fobert
Copy Editor: Fritz Wenzel
Photo Editor: Joel Miller
Advertising Manager: Jack Griffith
Cartoonist: Richard Byington
Advertising Representative: Richard Byington
Staff Writers: Shelley Davis, J. Jason,
Amy LaBare, Julie Miller, Heather Wright
Staff Photographers: Rodney Fobert, Jeff Meek,
Mike Templeton, Daniel Wheeler
Typesetter: Diana Blakley
Advisor: Dana Spielmann
Clackamas Community College