INSIDE: “No Parking in Dorm Circle”…or Anywhere Else for that Matter The Comenian Volume CXXIV, Issue Number 4 Moravian College’s Student Newspaper Thursday, December 9, 2010 IMPACT Calendar See what’s coming in Spring! Dates to be determined. Jeopardy! Photo Courtesy of www.gearlog.com Jim Karol, the Psychic Madman (featured on the Ellen Degeneres show and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno) Photo Courtesy of www.delhi.edu Comedy Show (Featuring a well known Photo Courtesy of http://www.hoodfever.com/ comedian, To Be Determined) Four Loko is Simply Loco Photo Courtesy of www.thrillermag.com by Kasara McLaughlin Copy Editor Four Loko: these two words alone spark some Many people can get drunk off of just one sort of response in every person they come into can of Four Loko, which has the price equivalent contact. Four Loko is an alcoholic and caffeinated to a mere shot or a single beer at the bar. energy drink which come in many flavors, and According to recent reports, the ABCC (Alcoholic even come in different levels of alcohol. Beverage Control Commission) filed an emergency The company “Four,” that produces this regulation on November 18 ordering that the production berverage, is named for the four ingredients of alcoholic beverages that contain added caffeine used in the company’s products, which are: should be removed from shelves immediately. BINGO caffeine, taurine, guarana, and alcohol. While some cities and states have decided to This drink has put a new spin on the ban it, others are keeping it around due to the Photo Courtesy of www.playbingogames.info importance of the warning label, which is seen amount of profit these products are bringing in. seven times on one can of Four Loko. Four is not the only company that produces It has been reported that the caffeine masks caffeinated alcoholic beverages; there are the negative effects of alcohol, therefore causing over twenty different companies facing similar the consumer to continue drinking without any investigations from the FDA and ABCC. immediate consequences. However, once the While the drink appears to be a caffeine wears off, the alcohol’s effects hit the victim completely unsafe health hazard, for many at full force, creating a mess of repercussions. the price is worth the consequences. “It’s basically a blackout in a can,” sophomore However, Moravian is urging it’s students to Alex Bolcar said. “It’s a cheap and quick make wise decisions about alcohol consumption. Spring Carnival way to get drunk,” she continued. As Nicole Loyd, Dean of Students, recommended However, junior Morgan Rutch said, “I can never in her campus wide e-mail, “make choices that make it past a few sips. It’s cheap, but it doesn’t do not increase risks to your health and personal taste good enough for me to keep drinking. I safety, and encourage your peers to do the same!” Psychic Fair didn’t feel any affect with a few sips, though.” This proves that many students are drawn to the drink not for the taste, but for the price. Page 2 Opinion Meet The Staff Editorial Board All I Want for Christmas Editor-In-Chief is a Little Dope Kelly Grab by Shane Burcaw Copy Editors Copy Editor Shane Burcaw and Kasara McLaughlin Managing Editor California, you have let us down. is not a new concept. There are references Carli Timpson Given the recent opportunity to pass in 5000-year-old medical documents to the groundbreaking Proposition 19 that the use of marijuana as medicine. Modern Layout Editors would have made recreational marijuana research suggests that cannabis can aid Kevin Kirsche & Caitlin Schultheis use legal in the state of California, in the treatment of pain relief, nausea, supporters of the bill did not show up on spasticity, glaucoma, and movement Advisor voting day and the bill failed miserably. disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful Richard Subber Obama, if you’re reading this, it’s time appetite stimulant, which is one of the main to stop messing around. You need to reasons that I personally hope it is eventually Reporters issue an executive order that makes legalized. I’m extremely skinny as a result Maura Acox, Joseph Aquino, Selena Bennett, Eileen Bryan, Michael Clark, Adrienne Cocco, Cory Crean, Caitlin marijuana legal under federal law. of my condition, and I honestly believe that There is so much support behind the the “munchies” associated with marijuana Dean, Sierra Downs, Rebecca Grinaway, Daniel Heil, Jessica Keeseman, Alissa Lastres, Brooke Mann, Cath- argument of legalizing marijuana that use could help me gain some weight. erine Makoski, Daniel Selmasska, Kayla Smull, Emmy Usera, Cassandra Zouzias, Alyson Zucal I’m surprised Moravian doesn’t have Many opponents of marijuana will use the Editorial Policy marijuana vending machines by now. argument that legalizing marijuana will allow Material appearing in the editorial section without a byline represents the majority opinion of the editorial First of all, marijuana is not dangerous young children to be dangerously exposed to when used in responsible moderation. the drug. I’m not saying that our government board. By lined pieces, including signed letters and cartoons, do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Moderation is the key word here. Sure, should allow Marijuana without regulations. Comenian or Moravian College. if you smoke 10 joints while driving on There are tons of activities that only adults The Comenian encourages correspondence in the form of letters to the editor and commentaries, though not the highway, you may end up mistaking are legally allowed to do: drinking alcohol, all letters or commentaries will be printed. Correspondence can either be sent to The Comenian e-mail ac- the median for another lane, and your joining the military, buying cigarettes, count, [email protected], or to The Comenian office in in Reeves Library room 311. Letters or e-mails night may not end well. However, getting married and signing contracts; so should not exceed 300 words. The Comenian is published monthly during the school year, except during consuming too much of anything can why can’t the government regulate marijuana vacations and holiday periods, by the students of Moravian College, 1200 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018. be detrimental to one’s health: alcohol, in a fashion similar to these activities? Printed by School Publications Company, Neptune NJ. Tylenol, coffee, candy, windshield wiper Lastly, if you have ever been around fluid, but the last time I checked all someone that is high, you will know Advertising Policy of those things are legal. If our federal that he or she is the happiest person on To place an advertisement or request more information (including an official media kit), contact Carli Timp- government followed the same standards earth. When one is high, everything that son (e-mail: [email protected]). of legalization for marijuana as it did for occurs is the funniest thing that has ever the legalization of alcohol, it would give happened. Doesn’t that sound simply people an incentive to use it responsibly. amazing? Christmas is coming up Obama, Another strong argument for the don’t you want to make your people happy? case of legalizing marijuana is that it Give us the gift of legalized marijuana! has a plethora of medicinal uses. Using marijuana to treat various medical issues Photo (Left) Courtesy of idebt.com; Photo (right) Courtesy of stash.norml.org Page 3 News & Feature Students from Lehigh Valley Schools Protest Meal Policy that Ups Education Costs Students want food contractor Sodexo kicked off their campuses Photo Courtesy of sodexoeducation.com Press Release Students from Lafayette and Moravian Students calculated that the average Students for a Democratic Society, said. Colleges kicked off a campaign today, Sodexo meal plan in the Valley costs Lehigh Valley-area students are part of November 30th, to end expensive $10 per meal. The meal plans which a national movement to end mandatory mandatory meal plans that add run on average around $3,500 per year meal plans. Students at schools such thousands of dollars to their education accrue about $1000 in interest if the as the University of Alabama have filed Nebular Ruins by Lori Nix—Photo Cour- costs. Representatives from each school meal plans are paid with student loans. class action lawsuits to end the practice. tesy of uncannyimage.com delivered a letter to the their school’s In addition to the high cost of presidents demanding that current Sodexo, students also raised concerns food service contractor Sodexo be about the company’s environmentally kicked off campus, citing the expensive unsustainable practices and poor labor mandatory meal plans the company rights record in the Lehigh Valley. includes in its contracts with the schools. “Local Colleges and Universities should The students at these schools are support local farms. Our food services asking that food service instead be run needs to be sustainable every step of though the Lehigh Valley Association the way and act as an example to the of Independent Colleges, a multi community,” Lafayette senior, Jenn Bell, school purchasing consortium. President of Lafayette Environmental “I’m taking out tens of thousands Awareness and Protection, said. in loans for my education, and my “Other schools have brought these family shouldn’t have to go further services back in house and saved in debt so a mutli-billion dollar money while providing workers better company like Sodexo can turn a profit,” conditions and healthier, fresher food,” Lafayette senior, Ben Swartout said. Moravian junior Armando Chapelliquen, “One thing I Know How to do is make the Camera Lie” by Carli Timpson Managing Editor On Wednesday, November 10, New scenes including a nose-diving blimp, and sitting in awe in the dark.