Briefs

GASOLINE ALLEY

In November 1980, residents of the Denver suburb of Northglenn began noticing the pungent smell of gasoline throughout their homes. Explosions began lifting 200-lb. manhole covers off the ground. An investigation showed that the gas had leaked from the underground tanks of a nearby Chevron service station and found its way into the water table as well as sewer lines serving six residential blocks. Forty-one families in the area, which residents dubbed "Gasoline Alley," sued Chevron for damages. Last week the oil company settled out of court for what could amount to a record $6 million --about three times the amount Exxon reportedly paid in a similar situation last year in East Meadow, N.Y. Chevron agreed to pay the afflicted residents more than twice the appraised value for their homes (or about $150,000 apiece). It also consented to pay an estimated $500,000 to cover interim relocation costs. Chevron has announced a $40 million Tank Integrity Program to avoid future mishaps. But for Northglenn residents that is small consolation. "The settlement was fair, but it could never be enough," said one housewife. "I don't believe you'll ever catch me in a Chevron station again."

CHRISTLIKE COUNSELORS?

More than at most such institutions, admission to Oral Roberts University's two-year-old O.W. Coburn School of Law is a matter of faith. All students must be avowed Christians. Once on the Tulsa campus, they are required to sign pledges to "yield my personality to the healing and maturing power of the Holy Spirit" and "exemplify Christlike character" through prayer. As a result, the American Bar Association threatened to deny the school its coveted accreditation, a condition for admission to the bar in many states. Reason: the requirements seemed to violate A.B.A. standards forbidding religious discrimination in admissions. But in Chicago last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Moran suggested that the A.B.A. code itself might be unconstitutional. Said Moran: "I have very serious doubts whether a compelling state interest in a diverse student body overbears the free exercise of religious rights of the First Amendment." The A.B.A. then hastened to put the finishing touches on a liberalized version of its standard, which would allow schools to hew to a religious tradition if their programs and policies "do not constitute invidious discrimination among applicants." Even at that, O.W. Coburn may not win accreditation. Its insistence on maintaining a Christian litmus test for faculty members runs afoul of even the new standard--for infringing upon academic freedom.

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