4a
Opinion
Wednesday, September 20, 2000
For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Editorial board: ID seizure policy is arbitrary, discriminatory
Questioning drinkers based on looks unjust
the Kansas Supreme Court is looking at a case in which University of Kansas student David
Pritchett was questioned about alcohol use merely for looking young. The confrontation led to his detainment and a number of charges, and many are upset by the fact that looking young is being confused with being a criminal.
The state argues that the detention was not in violation of Pritchett's Fourth Amendment rights. However, it remains unclear whether any type of seizure of materials can be rendered legal, even if it is a form of identification from an alcohol-consuming minor.
Alcoholic Beverage Control: Enforcement resources are limited
To get itself out of this mess, Alcohol Beverage Control needs to spread itself and its work more evenly. If the ABC is going to check one young-looking party-goer, agents need to check everyone else at the party.
fair reason why they discriminate against certain people and not others.
In the bars downtown, after one's ID is checked and the patron is admitted, alcohol can be purchased. If ABC wants to question anyone in the establishment who is holding alcohol, not only does the drinker have a right to say no, but ABC agents should have a
Underage drinking not a minor problem
The fact that Alcohol Beverage Control and law enforcement agents want to crack down on underage drinking is not a surprise because it could reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents. However, stopping at a social event where alcohol is being served and picking students based on their physical features is discriminatory.
Another flaw in this fight is that looks are subjective. Who is to say that one person looks young? Laws cannot be made based on a matter of opinion. People can legally drink once they are 21, not once they look like they are 21.
Alcohol Beverage Control is checking IDs using the same methods as racial profiling. Checking the IDs of one or two members of a party just because they look young and not checking others is not just. Regardless of whether those who are chosen are of legal drinking age, only pursuing those who appear young is inefficient because it leaves other illegal drinkers unbothered.
One question that arose was whether this situation violated Pritchett's Fourth Amendment right, prohibiting an illegal search and seizure. Furthermore, why would any ABC agent confront a younger-looking student on a mere suspicion when the U.S. Supreme Court states that anyone accused does not have to cooperate, according to the Fourth Amendment?
ansas law is clear about minors and alcohol.
Quite simply, it is illegal for persons under 21 years of age to possess, consume, obtain or purchase alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverage. This law was passed by the Kansas legislature, in part, to address concerns about underage drinking, which costs the state of Kansas an estimated $388 million in emergency responses, substance abuse treatment, medical care, property damage, lost productivity, pain and suffering and criminal justice expenses. All Kansans pay a heavy price for underage drinking and our laws are designed to protect society as a whole.
Ben Tatar for the editorial board
Studies indicate that a significant number of Kansas youth place themselves and others at risk by consuming alcohol prior to the age of 21. Underage drinking often leads to accidental injury and death, vandalism, school failure and dropout problems, teen pregnancy and addiction. Statistics on the number of underage impaired drivers who are injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents or the number of young persons who must obtain serious mental and emotional health counseling also indicate that underage drinking in Kansas is a problem. Thus, laws that make it illegal for persons under the age of 21 serve a rational purpose of protecting the public's health, safety and welfare.
Local police and Alcoholic Beverage Control (a division of the Kansas Department of Revenue) agents are responsible for enforcing these laws. As part of their day-to-day activities, officers are allowed to approach persons and ask the individual's name and request identification. This may be done even when the person is not suspected of criminal activity. The person is free not to answer those questions. However, when there is reasonable suspicion that a person is committing, has committed or is about to commit a crime, the officer may detain that person and require a name, address and an explanation of his or her actions.
The Kansas Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld this law. In State v. Reno, the Court found that police in Chanute made a lawful investigatory detention of two persons who were walking down a residential street at 2:30 a.m. with what could have been an open container of alcohol.
The bottom line is age is an integral part of our alcohol laws. But it's certainly not the only law or policy with similar restrictions. You have to be at least five to attend kindergarten. To run for president, you must be at least 35. And most of us have to be at least 62, before we are eligible for Social Security benefits. Sometimes waiting doesn't seem fair, but it is the law.
The University Daily Kansan claims that stopping someone simply because he or she appears to be a minor is age discrimination. Why not check every ID in a crowded room or at a party? For one reason, there simply isn't the manpower. But perhaps a reasonable question to this newspaper is, would you want to live in that kind of police state?
Karla J. Pierce, secretary of revenue for the Kansas Department of Revenue
Reasons, policies back Kansan news coverage
Unlike many of the projects of other studies that are viewed only by professors and classmates, the work of many journalism students is distributed to thousands of students daily. Readers of the Kansan have the opportunity to critique our work in a way that many other projects are never scrutinized.
Remember that research paper you wrote last semester? How about that Power Point presentation? Are you ready to share that with the entire student body?
The Kansan has been criticized in the Free for All for not naming the football players who allegedly sexually battered a soccer player. To one caller, it looks like we're in cahoots with the
Athletics Department. Ask Bob Frederick, and he'll probably tell you no. I'll bet he remembers last week's story about a survey of student athletes that reported sexual harassment among players.
Erin R. Barcomb
readers'
representative
readerer@kansas.com
If the Kansan had been bowing to the whims of the Athletics Department, we wouldn't have run these stories, or any other story critical of KUAC.
Although some other newspapers have named the players, we have a good reason for not naming the football players — they were never arrested or charged.
Chris Borniger, managing editor, said the decision comes down to a privacy issue. You don't want to give a person negative publicity for a crime there's not enough evidence to charge him or her with vet.
You may be wondering why we named the student who allegedly fondled a woman sleeping on a couch at Hashinger Hall. Because he was arrested, the Kansan named the student.
Sometimes it may seem like our decisions have no rhyme or reason, but they do.
For instance, there's a reason why we don't cover Fred Phelps' anti-homosexual protests on campus. The fact is, his tactics never change, so nothing he does is newsworthy anymore, said editor Nathan Willis. If we sent reporters and photographers every time he came to campus, we'd just be giving him a platform for the same old rhetoric he's been sweeping for years.
But deciding whether to release the names of uncharged, alleged sexual batterers or giving Fred Phelps more media coverage, the decision seems clear.
Deciding what to cover and how aren't easy decisions. Although we have policies that guide our decisions, each case is somewhat different.
Barcomb is a Wichita senior in journalism.
Free for All is the telephone public forum for the Kansan. Callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com.
In politics, like in horticulture, fall is the perfect time to trim the Bushes.
If Free for All is a student forum shouldn't we focus on student issues instead of all the crap that has been printed lately?
and the fact that he quoted Joseph McCarthy tells you everything you need to know.
and the fact that he quoted Joseph McCarthy tells you everything you need to know.
Monday's article about the United Nations ("United States should walk away from U.N.") was terribly ill informed, and the author knew nothing about US history abroad.
Paper, Rock, Scissors is the most challenging game. It's strategically difficult to win or lose.
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It's nice to know that coach Allen thinks we show a pretty good chance of having a good season. Nice to know he has confidence in the team.
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Why do I get turned away from the stadium when I have my ticket but not my student ID, and they can't even fill up the stadium?
money on new buildings every year and raise tuition? It sucks.
The artificial grass at the stadium is great! Even after all this dry weather it's still green.
money on new buildings every year and raise tuition? It sucks.
The best protest against Fred Phelps is to ignore him.
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Do you ever wonder how the University can spend so much
It is the Free for All that binds us.
Instead of handing out handbills at games, they should be yelling "Go, Jayhawks!"
typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
Any idiot with a phone can be published in the Free for All.
typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
Terry Allen should get a break.
typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
The U.S. can't leave the U.N. It helps promote peace, human rights and U.S. policy. This charter has nothing to do with Castro. Columnists should check their facts before they write up their opinion.
typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
Why does American Express come and set up a booth and I apply for a card and then they send me a letter saying KU isn't a qualified school?
I love Monday Night Football, and I also think more sports should involve more men with tights.
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If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
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