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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, March 18, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 2, 2004 JPR wine festival kicked off SOU campus By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune A victim of its own success, the popular holiday wine tasting put on by Jefferson Public Radio the last 23 years has been asked to leave the Southern Oregon University campus because partygoers have been spilling out into Stevenson Union hallways in spaces used by minor students. "Open consumption of alcohol was being observed by minors and the wrong message was being sent — suggesting the university condoned the broad use of alcohol without any real defined and controlled oversight," said Ron Bolstad, SOU’s vice president for finance and administration. The wine tasting and other events with alcoholic beverages have always been welcome at controlled and permitted spaces, Bolstad said, and the "regrettable" decision, made by Bolstad, President Elisabeth Zinser and other top SOU officials, was not intended as part of any "zero tolerance" moves against alcohol. Relocating could be a "great opportunity," said JPR Associate Director Paul Westhelle, who organizes the event. JPR is negotiating to stage the early December event — attended by more than 600 people — at Ashland Springs Hotel, Windmill-Ashland Hills Inn or some other large venue in the Ashland area, he said. It was held at Ashland Hills in earlier years and the site has the best parking, he added. The wine tasting nets only "a small part" — $16,000 — of JPR’s $2 million budget, said Executive Director Ron Kramer, but has a big impact in public relations, focusing awareness on public radio’s contribution to local culture, helping kick off Ashland’s festive holiday season and showcasing Southern Oregon’s burgeoning wine industry. Advertisement "We’re going to do something different with the event," said Kramer. "Our goal is to think creatively. We’ve always maintained an interest in other venues and we have every confidence we’ll produce a great event elsewhere." The decision "following another banner turnout" is similar to the school’s decision in the 1980s to ban alcohol at tailgate parties before football games, Bolstad said, because any campus events with alcohol must be approved by the president and then "clearly defined and controlled" so as to avoid "open use" where minors are present. The wine tasting was originally contained in the student union’s Rogue River room, but with the growth of winery booths and food servers, plus a band, the event was using Redford Lounge, requiring wine fanciers to cross and frequent the main union corridor during its open hours, Bolstad said. "We told JPR they either had to cap attendance at the level of a couple years ago or find another venue," he said, "because a high proportion of the student body is not of drinking age." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s