Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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The blitz is on T True football fans were worried about first downs and down- and-outs, but others in the stands were preoccupied with guzzling down booze in the drinking game. Chuggin ' A Tech student quenches his thirst at a football game. JD and Red Raider foot- ball: nowhere but Jones Stadium. While names like Ron Reeves, Renie Baker and Terry Baer dominated the at- tention on the field at Jones Stadium, names like Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Johnny Walker captured the fans ' attention in the stands. Win or lose, Tech fans loved to drink liquor at foot- ball games. A shot of whiskey or rum with a favorite mixer seemed to hit the spot on a cold, windy Lubbock night. 1 enjoy drinking and watching football games. It ' s just more fun. Besides, it gets you ready for the post-game party, Barry Cowan, sophomore, said. The worse off you get, the better the game looks, Russell Burtch, sophomore, said. The Aug. 1, 1981 Code of Student Affairs states that the possession or consump- tion of alcohol on campus is prohibited. It disturbs me that people are so sneaky about bringing it (liquor) into the game, Randy Gabrel, sophomore, said. Campus Police Chief Bill Daniels said drinking at foot- ball games is a violation of university policy, not of the law. If the students are not drunk and are caught with alcohol, they are referred to the dean of students. But, if they are drunk and are creating a public disturbance, they are taken to jail and referred to the dean of students, Daniels said. Signs are posted at all gates of Jones Stadium pro- hibiting alcohol and coolers in the stadium, if we sec someone coming in with li- quor, we tell them to take it out of the game, but it is il- legal to search someone, Daniels said. Too many people carry it in under their coats, blankets, boots and purses. They sit there and get drunk. This is the way fights and distur- bances get started, Daniels said. Daniels said the 30 cam- pus police assigned to the games do not get involved unless there is a complaint. Most problems we have at the games are caused from people being drunk, he said. At least half the people at the games drink, Burtch said. My date brought the li- quor. I ' d say the majority of the people around us were drinking, Julie Davis freshman, said. We have a problem with liquor, but we ' re not the only ones in the Southwest Con ference with it, Daniels said, — Jerri McCrary What sign? Despite the no alcohol signi posted at all gates of Jones Stadium Red Raider fans managed to sneak U quor by campus police 26 — The Drinking Game ll

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I guess it (the Basic English Essentials Test) is a good test but three people in my class with good grades failed the whole course because of the BEET. It doesn ' t really seem fair. — Kent Williams, Tech freshman Back to the basics Since the fall of 1980, freshman English students at Tech have had to contend not only with essays, outlines and theme papers but also with a diagnostic test covering English essentials. The Basic English Essen- tials Test (BEET) has not been well received by students, but is not in itself a difficult test, Jeff Smitten, head of the freshman and sophomore English division, said. The test is designed only on a ninth grade level, Smit- ten said. All we ' re testing are things students should have learned before graduating from high school. Students in freshman English courses are required to pass the BEET to receive a passing grade, and this re- quirement has been a major source of controversy among Tech freshmen. Generally, we have found that a poor performance on the test is accompanied by a poor grade in the class, Smitten said. Still, there are exceptions, and we ' re trying to find some way to eliminate some of the problems we ' ve Beat the BEET Viewed by teachers as a step towards better educated students, the BEET was a source of frustration to students. had in that area. It ' s a prob- lem we ' d like to resolve. Tech initiated use of the BEET in the fall of 1980 as a response to a number of fac- tors that indicated a general deficiency among Tech students in basic English skills. Smitten said. The problem that we are forced to face is that students are unprepared for college work after graduating from high school, Smitten said. The problem is not just here at Tech, but nationwide. A test similar to the BEET has been made a requirement at several other universities. Smitten said, including Southern Methodist Universi- ty, where 60 percent of the freshman class failed the test the first time it was offered. English department statistics indicate approx- imately half of the freshmen who took the test in the fall semester of 1981 failed it the first time they took it. Our main intention with the BEET is to call students ' attention to the mechanics of English usage, Smitten said. We ' re not trying to weed students out. We ' re trying to make students aware of any shortcomings they may have, and to get them to direct their efforts to those specific prob- lem areas. The BEET is part of a growing conservative ap- proach to education in both high schools and colleges. Smitten said. High schools in the 1970s especially had moved toward an emphasis on elective-type courses while letting fundamental skills slide, he added. Now the pendulum is starting to swing back in the other direction, he said. The BEET covers only mechanical, grammatical and spelling errors and is a com- plement to the developmen- tal and conceptual material offered in the classroom. Smitten said. Doing well on the BEET is really a matter of memorizing how things are done. It isn ' t concerned at all with concep- tual matters, Smitten said. Freshman Mary Ann Selcer, who passed the BEET on her first attempt, said, I thought it was fairly easy. It was the basic things, but if you don ' t study and look at what you ' re supposed to, you could really miss a lot. Freshman DeLana Westmoreland agreed, say- ing, It ' s really easy, but the teachers make you think it ' s hard. The spelling is what made me fail. — Jeff Tin- nell. Kellie Bradshaw W e are told by corporate recruiters and business ntanagers — the employers of business school graduates — that one of the most serious deficien- cies in college graduates today is their inability to express themselves effectively — orally and in writing. — Dean Carl H. Stem, College of Business Administration

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Cheers A Tech fan enjoys the action in the stands as well as on the field. The Drinking Game — 27