Unnecessary outrage is annoying. It wastes time. It wastes energy. It wastes newsprint. But from time to time, newspapers needed to address it. So here's the latest craziness: More than 25 colleges in this country have filed official complaints with Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Budweiser, over Bud's new "Team Pride Fan Can" marketing campaign, which features beer cans decorated with popular college and university colors. The idea is to kindle support for college athletics across America, but critics charge that these cans encourage -- and indeed promote -- underage drinking. When decorating beer cans, the argument goes, fancy colors are a clear and present danger to America's youth.
To their credit, the folks at AU's Student Health Center know this is insane. They told the Eagle they understand that Tenley Wine and Liquor's decision to sell red and blue Bud Light Fan Cans won't change anything. Students choosing to drink will still drink. Students opting out will still opt out. Fan Cans or no Fan Cans. Marketing campaigns don't determine the kind of social choices students make. These cranky critics are wasting their time.
