Arkansas students say they support Amendment 5

Jamie Stengle

Monday, Oct. 9, 2000 | 4:23 a.m.

LITTLE ROCK - The campaign manager for a proposed amendment that would authorize casinos in six Arkansas counties introduced 10 student supporters on Monday, but said he could not reveal the hundreds of investors behind the amendment.

The Arkansas Casino Corp. proposal would legalize casino gambling in Boone, Crittenden, Garland, Miller, Pulaski and Sebastian counties. It would also create the Arkansas Gaming Commission to set up and operate a state lottery and to regulate charitable bingo.

Glen Hooks said at a news conference that the proposal would fund college scholarships for Arkansas high school students with 45 percent of the proceeds from the lottery and with 10 percent of the tax on casinos. He also said the amendment will replace the state sales tax on food with the tax on casinos.

"We're going to have first class, Las Vegas-style resorts," he said. If the amendment passes Nov. 7, work would begin immediately on the resorts, he said.

Hooks said only one in five Arkansans have a college degree and the state has one of the lowest college retention rates in the nation.

"It's because we can't afford to go to college," he said.

He said Amendment 5 would create the Arkansas Educational Trust Fund. He said it is based on the Hope Scholarship Program in Georgia, which since 1993 has provided 458,443 scholarships, totaling $996.5 million.

The 10 Arkansas college students at the news conference said they volunteered to attend to voice their support for the amendment.

Laura Beth Corless, 21, of Conway, a senior at Hendrix College, said it is discouraging to graduate from college only to be faced with loans.

Latasha Currington, 25, of Little Rock, a senior at Philander Smith College, said many students drop out of college because they can't afford to stay.

Hooks refused to say when supporters of the measure would begin their advertising campaign.

He said that he is not free to reveal the names of the people who have bought stock in the corporation. He said he has not asked the stockholders whether they would be willing to reveal their identities and he does not intend to do so.

All the voters need to know is that the amendment will create scholarships and jobs, he said.

If the amendment passes, he said, every high school graduate that is accepted into an accredited higher education program would be eligible for a grant to cover the average cost of four years of college.