Root beer keg draws attention


Thursday, March 5, 1998	Root beer keg draws attention By DARYL LANG Collegian Staff Writer Two kegs and a man in a gorilla costume might be in context at a wild party, but were unexpected at an Undergraduate Student Government awareness campaign yesterday in front of the Willard building. USG organized the event as a creative way to distribute its alcohol awareness cards, said Brian Heller, town senator and one of the organizers of the campaign.
`Undergraduate Student Government web page`	Although some students thought otherwise, the kegs contained birch beer -- not alcohol. The purpose of the campaign was not to promote alcohol, Heller said. Part way into the event, some USG members even sought to clearly explain that message to University President Graham Spanier.
Brian Heller, town senator for the Undergraduate Student Government holds up the legs of Steve McIlwain (senior-mechanical engineering) while he does a keg stand for root beer. Representatives from USG handed out free glasses of root beer and alcohol awareness information cards yesterday in front of Willard Building. (Collegian Photo/Elizabeth Anne Nolan - click for full size image)	From Willard, three USG members walked to Old Main and up the stairs to Spanier's office. "This is pretty good. What brand is it?" Spanier said after James Hornick, Centre Halls senator and one of the event's organizers, gave him a cup of the soda. "And so you're promoting . . . ?" Spanier asked. "Awareness," Hornick said. "We don't condemn or condone drinking." In addition to plastic cups of birch beer and awareness cards, USG members handed out bottle-opener key chains with the address of the USG World Wide Web site printed on them. "Usually I'm irritated when (people) hand me stuff, but this is nice," said Jen Scheuchenzuber (freshman-division of undergraduate studies), who walked by the event. The cards are printed with advice concerning the rights a person has when stopped by a police officer. Although the explanations on the cards are legally accurate for police stops away from the University campus, the procedure for showing identification is different on campus than the cards indicate, said José Texidor Jr., the University's student attorney.
John Griffith (senior-finance) signs a petition for a fall break. Undergraduate Student Government members Kelly Smith (sophomore-speech communication) (middle) and Beth Seigley (junior-elementary education) hand out petitions and free cups of root beer to promote USG's statement "Fight for your Rights." (Collegian Photo/Elizabeth Anne Nolan - click for full size image)	"University Police Services can stop anybody at any time and ask for I.D. without probable cause," Texidor said. For part of the event, USG competed for attention with Gary Cattell, the Willard preacher, who spoke against the campaign. "You can't get student involvement for anything these days unless it involves intoxication," Cattell said. While classes changed, the campaign drew a small crowd as some USG members and a gorilla mascot from WKPS-FM (90.7) performed keg stands. "It leaves me with the impression that USG is trying to get students involved," said David Fulvio (senior-marketing and international business). "They've been an introverted group for a long time."