The ink is dry; Aztec verb; big money

Replacement cover

The University of New Hampshire reprinted the cover of an entire 55,000-copy press run of its alumni magazine because the original cover showed a young woman celebrating her graduation with an unopened bottle of champagne in one hand.

''The university has been making a serious effort to address the issue of alcohol on campus,'' said John R. Hose, executive assistant to the university president, adding that it had been enforcing campus alcohol regulations strictly and had created an alcohol-education program for students and faculty and staff members.

''We considered it entirely inappropriate to portray alcohol in our publications in a manner that would appear to endorse or encourage its use,'' Mr. Hose said.

Reprinting the cover cost the magazine $10,700.

Writer Bill McGowan reports the following, which occurred at the Latin-American School on 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue in New York, where recent immigrant arrivals study English:

''A man who looked just like an Aztec invented a new irregular verb, 'To also' and conjugated it with obvious delight. 'I also,' he crowed. 'You also,' he continued. 'He else.' ''

Several categories of contributors established new records in 1980-81 as they pushed voluntary support of America's colleges and universities over the $4 billion mark for the first time, to an estimated $4.23 billion.

Individual giving set new highs, with both alumni and non-alumni individuals contributing over $1 billion each, for a total of $2.06 billion. Foundations, with $922 million and corporations, with $778 million, both established new dollar highs.

The Council for Basic Education announced a fellowship program that will award up to 200 stipends of $3,000 to outstanding high school teachers of English, foreign languages, and history for summer independent study. For further information, contact the Council at 725 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington , D.C. 20005.

The Boston schools are trying to improve their image. A nationwide billboard campaign has been launched to spread the word that there is more to Boston schools than racial tension. A Boston agency, Ackerly Communications, Inc., donated space on 30 billboards, materials and labor. Ads will appear in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, West Palm Beach, Portland and possibly New York.