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Volume 5, Issue 26 © Metropress April 6, 1983
Bill would restrict use of student fees -I
Mandatory 'taxes' challenged
by Richard Bellizzi
The Colorado House gave preliminary passage last week to a bill that would prohibit student governments at state colleges from using student fees for "activities of a political nature" without in-. dividual students' approval. House Bill 1510, sponsored by Rep. · Frank DeFilipo, R-Golden, originally' · 'called for the prohibition of the use of public money by any state or local government for political purposes. It _ has since been amended to apply only to _.~-tudent fees. In supporting his bill in the House, Rep. DeFilipo condemned the mandatory ~rnent of student fees, saying such a requirement "violates students' rights." He contended that student fees, ,. once collected, become public money. DeFilipo cited the use of student fees by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group as an example of what his bill opposes.
tuency. The student leaders emphasized their opinion that the bill's restrictions atsword" that would take money away tempt "to subvert the rights of students from campus political organizations and to associate in a democratic forum. To give it back to individual students, who ban student governments from doing could contribute it wherever they see fit. anything of a political nature is to effec"We just can't have mandatory stu- tively ban students from the right to dent fees," he said. elect us as their representatives. We Rep. Philip Hernandez, D-Denver could not support legislation favorable and UCD history professor, said "cam- to our student constituents, nor could puses have been on the cutting edge of we sponsor speakers, debates or con; change and have made great contribu- ferences, if the programs are seen as con. tions to society. (Passage of HB 1510) troversial." would have devastating consequences The student leaders called student fees : on campuses' ability to affect change." "essentially 'student taxes' which we imIn a letter to President of the Senate. pose upon ourselves to fund activities Ted Strickland and Speaker of the that students deem important to the mis- ' House Carl Bledsoe, student govern- sion of higher education." ment presidents from 12 state· colleges ,At the heart of debate is whether stuexpressed opposition to DeFilipo's bill. dent fees become public money or reThe letter criticizes HB 1510's "broad main students' money. restrictions on the rights of student The bill is scheduled to be asdgned to governments to fund educational pro-' the Senate's State Affairs Committee this grams ... beneficial to our general consti- week. D
CoPIRG, with offices on four Colorado campuses, is a studen't-fee supported organization that lobbies lawmakers and serves students as a consumer advocate. DeFilipo condemned CoPIRG's use of students' fees without their prior ap'proval and said his bill, if passed, "would shift the money up-front." In debate on the bill, several legislators pointed out their perceived ambiguities in the term "political activities:' "It is im~ible to determine between what is educational and political," said Rep. Wayne Know, D-Denver. "The two are inexplicabfy entwined." House Mi~ority Leader David Ska~, · D-Boulder, called the bill "an unworkable proposition. It has an illdefined concept of political activity." DeFilipo called his bill "a two-edged
~sFPC
rescinds 1980 ban . Prohibiting sale of Coors; ~student survey planned .1
by Trimble
Ru~ll
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_, A decision by Student Facilities Policy · · Council has re-opened the question of serving Coors beer in the Auraria Student Center. In a 5-3 vote the SFPC · "'.ithdrew its 1980 ban on selling Coors 'in student-funded facilities. There will be no immediate change in ... brands of beer sold. The committee also voted to survey student beer preferences A .before making any changes. December 1983 deadline was set for completing the survey. Debate was heated as supporters of the beer ban hurled charges alleging "at the Adolp}l Coors Co. supports extreme right-wing political groups, pollutes the environment .with toxic wastes, violates the constitutional rights of brewery workers through use of lie detector tests, discriminates against women and minorities and makes parts '\or nuclear weapons. Brendan Kelley, secretary-treasurer of the MSC Rugby Club and a prime mover behind the move to lift the Coors beer ban, praised Coors for its support of campus athletic activities. ~ "None of the other beer companies who sell here do as much for students," Kelley said. He cited Coors' contributions to campus recreation programs
and printing ads and posters for sports tournaments as examples. Kelly said he could find no evidence that Coors any longer discriminates against women and minorities. Doug Vaughan, an MSC journalism instructor and advisor to the International Committee Against Racism, a group supporting the Coors ban, called the Coors report on company hiring practices a "pile of propaganda." "Times have changed. Coors now prominently features minority people in their ads," Vaughan said, although he disputed that there had been any significant change in Coors' alleged discriminatory hiring practices. Environmental issues are another reason to continue the ban on selling Coors in the Mission, according to Doug Marttnez, president of M.E.Ch.A., an MSC Hispanic student group supporting the ban. "The Coors family was behind the appointment of James Watt and had Ann Burford (former EPA director) on the payroll," Martinez charged. "And they dump toxic wastes into Stanley Lake, a drinking source for Northglenn and Thornton." AFL-CIO representative Steve Bieringer told SFPC members that Coors was a union-busting company with a
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The SFPC Monday opened the door, at least partially, for the salQ. of Coors beer in the Student Center.
long history of violating labor relations laws. He also charged that Coors used lie detectors to weed out workers with unusual sex habits or radical political beliefs. Coors was defended by John Meadows, a company community relations director. Meadows denied that Ann Burford had ever been on the company payroll and also denied that brewery workers had to answer questions about their sex lives. Meadows said prospective workers are asked about membership in the Communist Party, but said that the AFLCIO does the same thing. Meadows was not prepared to answer specific questions about the placement of women and minorities at Coors, but did say that one out of nine employees
are women, and one out of seven are members of ethnic minorities. Coors has never made parts for nuclear weapons, Meadows said, nor do they dump toxic wastes in the environment. Julie Johnson, director of college marketing for Coors, said the SFPC should support a· "democratic environment" by allowing students to make a choice about whether or not they wish to buy Coors beer. The five votes to rescind the motion banning Coors were cast by Deanna Seals, Lyn Drebus, Elizabeth White, Gina Johnson and Joyce Parks. Voting to maintain the ban were Francis Sgarlatti, John Surette and Doug Mar~~.
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