The Rattler (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 99, No. 6, Ed. 1 Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Page: 4 of 15

                                
November 22,2011
4 The Rattler
News
www.stmurattlernews.com
Caffeine sales and intake increase during finals week
Students head into Java City to buy coffee and other
beverages. Caffeine sales tend to rise during the middle and
end of semester. / Photo by Alex Diaz.
By Alexander Eakins
Staff Writer
Sales in caffeine
products have increased
.5 percent since last year
for the Aramark venues on
campus, according to John
Finerghty, the Aramark
Director of Cafeteria Food
Service. Furthermore,
there is a correlation
between caffeine related
purchases and scheduled
exams such as mid-terms
and final exams.
“Sales pick up in Java
City during finals week and
energy drinks purchases
are also increased,”
Finerghty said. “As for
energy drinks, we will
purchase an extra 10
cases for that week’s
purchases.”
According to Finerghty,
Aramark purchased “the
Java City Machines in
the cafe for Instant Hot
Beverages and larger
brewing shuttles for the
coffee to keep up with the
demand.”
The average American
consumes 3.1 cups of
coffee each day and
over half of the American
adult population drinks
coffee beverages each
day in 2009, according
to    coffeemarvel.
com. Although coffee
consumption is usually
used among college
students to raise energy
levels, it does have its side
effects.
Moderate doses of
caffeine, between 200 and
300 milligrams, or about
two to four cups of brewed
coffee a day, are not
likely to cause damage,
but heavy daily usage of
caffeine, about 500 to
600 milligrams a day, may
cause insomnia, irritability,
stomach upset, fast
heartbeat, restlessness,
nervousness and muscle
tremors, according to the
Mayo Clinic website.
It seems that students
are conscious that they will
be tempted to purchase
more caffeine, and aware
of the potential health risks.
“I’m going to try not to
buy more coffee for finals,
but that’s not decided
until finals actually start,”
said sophomore political
science major Gai Le.
Le drank more coffee
during her midterm exams.
“I had nearly five coffees a
day for a week...you can
feel your heart beat really
fast...that’s when I knew it
was time to stop,” Le said.
Since then, she has cut her
caffeine intake to only one
a day.
Freshman accounting
major Sandy Guevara also
drinks coffee regularly,
but decreased her intake
for midterm testing. She
feels that drinking too
much coffee during exams
potentially endangers both
health and grades, noting
that sleep is essential.
“I don’t plan to drink
more coffee during final
exams,” Guevara said.
“I think it is better to get
good sleep. Don’t force
yourself to drink too much
coffee or you will stay up
all night.”
Health awareness aside,
Finerghty expects an
increase in overall caffeine
consumption. “We will
see spikes during finals of
each semester, then they
level off,” Finerghty said.
While obtaining her
degree at the university,
associate professor of
English Mary Lynne Hill
remembers always making
sure that she had extra
money for additional
caffeine during finals. The
trend, it seems, has not
died out.
“Especially around
midterms and finals, the
trash cans in classrooms
are much fuller...in
terms of coffee cups and
soda cups than they are
during other times of the
semester,” Hill said.
Hill also recognizes how
physically and mentally
exhausting finals week can
be, and how this might
affect health. “I notice
sleepiness and weariness,
but also a corresponding
rise in cold symptoms,”
said Hill. “I would
encourage students to get
a good night’s sleep.”
Chapel altar affects drama department production plans
By Dion Castro
Contributing Writer
A glitch in a Reinbolt Hall renovation
has pushed the university drama
department out of its only theater,
requiring the department to do what
actors and directors do best—improvise.
The theater is directly under the
university chapel, where remodeling
has closed the theater until structural
reinforcement is completed.
The new altar that was put into
Assumption Chapel was heavier than the
previous altar “and because of the load
change, the floor is being reinforced,”
Facilities Administrator Bill Tam said.
Chances of the chapel’s floor actually
collapsing are slim, Tam said, but
precautions are in place, and plans for
renovation of the 101 -year-old theater are
both under discussion and underway. The
first steps include removing theater seats
and carpeting.
As for the drama department, “You
work with what you’ve got,” according
to Bernadette Hamilton-Brady, associate
professor of drama and chair of the
department.
For its recent production of the 1938
radio drama “War of the Worlds,” the
department used the amphitheater at
Java City.
“We were lucky the weather was nice,”
Hamilton-Brady said. “It is certainly
difficult not having a set space to work
with for rehearsals, but this is where we
have to get creative.”
The change of venue had advantages,
senior music major Patricia Terrazas said
in the production of “War of the Worlds,”
which was performed in late October.
“It was very interesting to have our
play outside in a different atmosphere,”
Terrazas said. “It pushed us out of our
comfort zone and invited people passing
by to stop for awhile and enjoy our show.”
The department has at other points
put on other shows in Guadalupe Chapel,
Holy Rosary Chapel and conference room
A of the University Center, according to
Hamilton-Brady, but it’s the first time
it has faced difficulty finding rehearsal
space. The cast of “War of the Worlds”
rehearsed in an empty classroom, unable
to use the Java City amphitheater until
the day of the show.
The absence of the theater is affecting
the pattern of days the shows normally
would run. Shows until now usually opened
on a Thursday with a run until a Sunday
matinee, opened again on Tuesday and
closed the following Saturday. Depending
on response, they might be extended,
according to Hamilton-Brady, but that’s
no longer possible. “War of the Worlds,”
for example, had only one performance.
However, junior English major John
Goddard, who will direct a show next
semester, described not having a theater
as “not too much of a setback. A few extra
steps have to be taken for rehearsals,
but that’s where our (the department’s)
creativity comes into play.”
But a lack of theater may also limit
students’ study of stagecraft according
to Brady.
“With no space, it is difficult for
students to work on everything that goes
into the production. With limited space,
we have to focus on only certain things,”
Brady said.
With a standard six weeks needed for
rehearsals, a location seems to be the
biggest issue. But it’s not going to stop
drama department productions, she said.
“When life gives you lemons, make
lemonade,” Brady said. She is planning
a show next semester titled “Theatrical
Haiku,” a series of seven short plays
A heavier altar placed in Assumption Chapel
has increased the chances for the floor to
collapse. / Photo by Melina Cavazos.
that tie together to make a story. She
plans the production for seven different
locations around Treadaway Hall, where
the audience would travel to each one,
keeping them engaged.
Even without the main theater, the
show must go on with the creativity of the
artists, according to Brady.