A look back at the stories that appeared in The Good Five Cent Cigar 40 years ago
The 1979 Soccer Team Scandal:
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1979
Three soccer players were charged with extortion after a party in Coddington Hall. The players were accused by a freshman who said that the players tried to coerce her into sexual activities. One student’s father was a coach of the soccer team. When he was asked for a comment on the situation he had “definitely no comment.”
The school decided not to suspend them from the team as they had not yet been found guilty. The Cigar reported this story and then focused on the team winning a soccer game in the same piece.
Friday, Oct. 5, 1979
The students accused of extortion from the Tuesday edition went to court on Thursday. Two students were charged with kidnapping, rape and sodomy. The other student was not charged.
University of Rhode Island procedures said that suspension was a possible punishment for the charges. However, according to the paper, no actions were taken.
“The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s injunction maintaining that the University cannot suspend the students accused of sexual misconduct.”
In the Letter to the Cigar section, a student wrote in and said that the article from the week before “unashamedly commentaries the story from the perspective of the hardship of the males involved.”
This letter said that there was a general lack of concern on the part of URI about the safety of women. The writer claimed the story completely ignored the victim, instead opting to talk about the boy’s soccer team status.
New Drinking Rules on Campus:
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1979
The Office of Residential Life announced a new drinking policy, in addition to new state laws, in an attempt to educate students on responsible drinking.
The new laws included a few key points: it is unlawful to serve a drunk person alcohol, that you cannot bring alcohol into a store that sells alcohol and that you cannot carry an open bottle of alcohol.
The school’s policy further restricted drinking on campus. According to the University police, it was unlawful to consume alcohol on school grounds, with several exceptions. Drinking was limited to the dorm rooms, and the rooms were limited to a maximum occupancy of 10 people. Parties required two day prior notice to the hall director.
These rules may seem normal by today’s standards, but the time these rules were considered restrictive.