News In Brief

PIN STRIPE OR PLAID, SIR?

It was bound to happen: the computer-generated business suit. From Berlin comes word of what may be the world's first haberdashery equipped with digital cameras that size up the customer - front, back, and in profile - from collar to trouser cuffs. Style, fabric, and custom options are ordered via keypad. The suit is assembled from an inventory of 200 components. The buyer returns for a fitting in two weeks. The price? Upwards of $380, which is competitive with better-quality, off-the-rack models that probably need alterations anyway.

CATS, HOWEVER, ARE EXEMPT

Then there's Taiwan, where - effective this month - micro-chips must be implanted in all pet dogs. When read by computer, the chips reveal the dog's image, age, and vaccination date as well as the name, address, and phone number of the person registering it. Island authorities are trying to reduce the stray-dog population: about 44 per square mile.

College-student survey ranks 'stone-cold sober' campuses

Many US colleges and universities are planning aggressive campaigns this fall to curb heavy alcohol use by students. The efforts may take the form of alcohol-free dorms and parties or advertising blitzes designed to deliver the message that drinking is dangerous. Statistics indicate that student alcohol use has decreased from a decade ago, but several studies show that binge drinking remains a serious problem. A Princeton Review student survey ranked these as the nation's "stone-cold sober" schools, based on questions about alcohol and drug use, hours of study per day, and the popularity of fraternities and sororities:

1. Brigham Young University

2. Wheaton College (Ill.)

3. California Institute of Technology

4. US Coast Guard Academy

5. US Naval Academy

6. Bryn Mawr College

7. Wellesley College

8. Mount Holyoke College

9. Calvin College

10. College of the Ozarks

- Associated Press

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