Southern Methodist University Upset About 'Fan Cans'

Southern Methodist University is one of a growing number of schools protesting a Bud Light advertising campaign that places school colors on beer cans, the Daily Campus reports.

University officials worry the "fan cans" will undermine their efforts to curb underage and binge drinking, especially after a series of SMU students died from alcohol and drug overdoses during the 2006-2007 academic year. "We are joining the chorus of universities that are opposing this," Lori White, SMU's vice president of student affairs, told the Dallas Morning News.

Fan cans that match the colors of SMU, Texas Christian University, and the University of North Texas have been scheduled for sale in markets near those Dallas-area schools, but it is now unclear whether the promotional cans will ever hit store shelves. Dallas Morning News reporters' hunt for the cans late Tuesday found cans colored blue and silver for the Dallas Cowboys but none with the SMU red and blue.

"This is a voluntary program made available to all wholesalers nationwide, and roughly half of our wholesalers are participating," says Carol Clark, an Anheuser-Busch InBev vice president. "Certain cans are not being made available in communities where organizations had asked us not to offer them."

It is unclear how many schools nationwide have asked the company not to include them in the promotion, and even SMU officials concede they have not yet asked Anheuser-Busch to halt the school's participation in the program because they have not yet seen the SMU-inspired fan cans in stores.

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