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_______________BARHOPPING WITH THE BUD GIRLS BY JAMES HIBBERD (02/01/99)
	James Hibberd makes the remarkable assertion that "After all, 90 percent of all rapes and most violent crimes on campus are alcohol-related" without providing a smidgen of source or cite. This is all part of an alcohol-bashing, puritanical rant that would seek to limit young people's access to alcohol still further. It is an outrageous assault on individual rights to prevent 18- to 21-year-olds from consuming alcohol. This, coupled with the juvenile culture of "fraternities," is what leads to the pattern of clandestine drinking, binge drinking and death on U.S. campuses. In Europe, where students can drink when and where they wish instead of at frat parties, full of the puerile nonsense of oaths and Greek letters that would be sneered off European campuses, we do not hear tales of hazing, pledge parties and death through alcohol poisoning. The answer to such problems lies in giving young adults the freedom they deserve as citizens who have reached the age of majority, instead of continuing with this relic of prohibition. -- Ben Walsh San Francisco Since I have actually run into these suds-selling sirens in a few bars around Austin I was amused by James Hibberd's article. However, the ominous overtones had me laughing out loud. As if college students need scantily clad attractive women to convince them to drink. I thank Budweiser for the key chain, the bubbly blond and brunet scenery and the cute frog commercials. It still doesn't change the fact that their beer tastes like piss and I'm not drinking it. -- Clay Niemann During a short stint tending bar in a large college town, I witnessed the Bud entourage firsthand and must say that their tactics work. We also had a group of young hipsters advertising for Marlboro in a similar manner. They would prance about the bar asking people what cigarette brands they smoked -- and the gifts were abundant! T-shirts, lighters, free cigarettes, key chains and so on. It's a shame that most college students are about as savvy as a dead chicken, that they can be easily influenced by a stupid key chain (probably made in China by some poor, exploited worker). -- Rachel Augello
_______________BRILLIANT CAREERS: CITIZEN NADER BY KAREN CROFT (01/26/99)
	Karen Croft's portrait of Ralph Nader should be required reading for those too young or too celebrity overloaded to recognize a real hero in our midst. Nader easily could have achieved super wealth and media stardom but instead devoted his life to our best interests. Wherever one looks -- in the marketplace, on the highway, in the nation's capitol, in the very air we breathe -- this great man's influence can be felt. Is it too much to hope that Nader's ideals and dedication can be passed on to a new generation? We have come to take Nader's persistent crusades for granted, but just imagine what the future would be without them. -- Carol Pozefsky West New York, N.J. SALON | Feb. 5, 1999

R E C E N T L Y+| CHASING MONICA BY BARBARA EHRENREICH

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