The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 23, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Page: 2 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas Wesleyan University.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
November 10, 2010
Opinion
The Rambler I www.therombler.org
Teds seek to regulate popular drinks
Eliana Mijangos
Sports editor
The freedoms provided
by the United States Con-
stitution include the free-
dom to drink whatever you
please—well, almost.
Nine students from Cen-
tral Washington Univer-
sity were hospitalized with
blood alcohol levels of .300
due to the consumption of
Four Lokos, a caffeinated
alcoholic drink that's been
popping up in news head-
lines all across the country.
The United States Food
and Drug Administration
is looking into the damages
caused by this mix of alco-
hol and energy within this
drink and 40 other drinks.
Despite the rumors, how-
ever, the Food and Drug
Administration doesn't
have regulation over caf-
feinated alcoholic bever-
ages.
The future of Four Loko
will be put into the hands
of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax
and Trade Bureau.
The senselessness of this
recall is the fact that there
are several other drinks
available to young drinkers
that have the same effects
as this alcoholic drink.
Four Loko is a 12 percent
alcoholic drink that comes
in a 23.5 ounce can for
about $3. The concern with
a Four Loko is sparked by
the high levels of caffeine
that cause the drinker to
stay awake longer, accord-
ing to the doctors
who examined
the nine Central
Washington stu-
dents.
txwes.edu Rather than
feeling the typi-
cal drowsy effects
of alcohol, Four
Loko allows consumers to
drink beyond their normal
level of consumption.
However, this idea of en-
ergy drink mixed with li-
quor has been around since
1934 when the Jager was
mixed with a German cock-
tail that had the equivalents
to an energy drink. Today,
this drink is commonly
sold at bars and clubs all
over the United States. It
consists of red bull and a
shot of Jagermeister. Par-
tiers drink Jagerbombs with
the hopes of longer lasting,
more energized partying.
Those against Four Loko
claim the company targets
"young drinkers," college
freshmen to be exact, who
go a little too far with their
fun.
This is not a problem the
company should concern
themselves with, but one
underage drinkers' parents
should address.
Underage drinking is
an entirely separate entity
than caffeinated alcoholic
drinks. Yes, the drink is
sold cheap and many mi-
nors will wait outside gas
stations for those of age to
purchase them.
However, this is a simple
issue of security and law.
The Four Loko brand name
holds strict to its support of
asking for an ID with every
drink.
According to Phusion
Projects, the cans them-
selves carry seven warn-
ings, including alcohol
content in "font as large as
the federal government will
allow" and a "WE ID" tag.
Underage, inexperienced
drinkers often lose sight
of their limit when drink-
ing anything. The black-
outs shouldn't be blamed
on Four Loko, it should be
blamed on drinking in gen-
eral.
Delaware County Daily
Times called Four Loko a
"legalized liquid cocaine,"
while several blog sites re-
ferred to it as "black-out
in a can." However, if these
same effects can happen af-
ter consuming any substan-
tial amount of any alcohol,
wouldn't it make sense to
ban all li-
quors?
This, in ef-
fect, would be
a violation of
our American
rights.
According
to the U.S.
Department
of Health and
Human Ser-
vices, "Black-
outs are much
pendent on alcohol."
In other words, no matter
your age or the regularity
of your drinking habits, too
much alcohol of any kind
can cause blackouts or al-
cohol poisoning.
U.S. Department of
Health and LIuman Services
gave 19 attorneys represent-
ing 4Loko L.L.C. 30 days,
as of Nov. 2, to prove that
the effects of Four Lokos are
not lethal. After that time
period, if nothing has been
proven, Four Loko will be
removed from shelves all
over the United States.
Responsibility for under
aged drinking or simply
going beyond your limit
should be placed on the in-
dividual, not the company.
more
com-
mon among
social drink-
ers than previ-
ously assumed
and should be
viewed as po-
tential con-
sequences of
acute intoxi-
cation regard-
less of age or
whether the
drinker is
clinically de-
Too many tax dollars going overseas
. Barry Grubbs
Opinion editor
bg rubbs@mai I. txwes. edu
When President Obama
announced the U.S. would
begin pulling military
troops out of Afghanistan
by July 2011, I was skepti-
cal.
My fears were confirmed
recently when the U.S. am-
bassador to Afghanistan,
Karl Eikenberry announced
the award of a $511 million
contract to expand the ex-
isting U.S. Embassy in Ka-
bul.
This project is expected
to be completed no sooner
than June of 2014, which
guarantees a presence in
the country for nearly three
years past the
original self-im-
posed deadline.
Eikenberry said
the revamped em-
bassy compound
will be the largest
foreign embassy
in the world. We
will have a troop presence
beyond 2014. Count on it.
The most incredible thing
is not the size of the com-
pound or even the fact that
we will continue to have a
significant presence in Af-
ghanistan beyond 2011.
What really drives me cra-
zy is the amount of money
the Obama administration
is spending on the project.
Shouldn't Americans be
outraged that in an economy
where so many are jobless and
suffering, our leaders think it
is a good idea to spend half
a billion dollars to spruce up
the Afghan embassy?
Let me guess, the proj-
ect will somehow give our
troops an advantage? No
wait, we must be doing this
to create a more favorable
atmosphere for democracy
in a region of the world
where democracy will likely
never take root.
Maybe we should blame
Congress for the decision to
spend like this overseas.
I have a hard time believ-
ing our lawmakers could
not find a way to use $500
million to help create jobs
and stabilize the economy
here at home.
Don't get me wrong.
Jobs are being created—for
Afghans. Currently, this
project employs approxi-
mately 500 Afghans. Once
construction begins, the
number will increase to
more than 1,500 employees.
That's great news unless
you are not Afghan and
happen to be seeking em-
ployment here in the states.
There is no doubt some
strategic reason our govern-
ment is investing so heavily
in Afghanistan.
It is probably the same
reason they poured hun-
dreds of millions of tax-
payer dollars into the infra-
structure of Iraq.
American citizens may
not have a need to know
why Bush and now Obama
spend so freely in this re-
gion.
The point I want to make
is that we have needs right
here, right now, and I be-
lieve these needs are every
bit as important as our dip-
lomatic agenda or foreign
policy.
I am dying to hear a truth-
ful and logical explanation
for this latest misappropria-
tion of taxpayer funds. I
hear crickets.
Staff Editorial
Campus walkway
facelift overdue
They say, "When it
rains, it pours." We have
recently noticed that
when it rains, the campus
sidewalks turn into rivers.
There are some drain-
age issues that need at-
tention at Wesleyan, and
there is little doubt our
administrators are aware
of them.
One sidewalk along
the driveway connecting
Wesleyan Street to the
student housing parking
lots has been buried un-
der several inches of soil,
probably for years.
It is still a sidewalk,
but it has grass growing
on it. It is not service-
able. There are several
sections near the student
union building that are
submerged during rains
and have standing water
on them even on sunny
days.
Nobody enjoys walk-
ing between buildings in
a downpour.
It's especially tough
to walk through 3 to 4
inches of standing or run-
ning water just to change
classes.
Let's face it, our cam-
pus is beautiful when the
sun is shining, but when
rains hit hard, as they did
during a recent tropical
storm that flooded the
library basement, things
get dicey.
During heavy and sus-
tained downpours, the
library is not the only
building affected.
The McFadden Sci-
ence building experi-
enced considerable wa-
ter intrusion during the
same summer storm. It's
enough to swim up and
down the sidewalks to get
to class but walking into
a classroom to find the
floor flooded it not desir-
able.
The task of repairing so
many damaged walkways
is an expensive one.
The extent of the dam-
age across the entire cam-
pus is considerable.
Obviously, our leaders
have to prioritize their
expenditures just as any
other college does. It just
seems like the safety and
comfort of our college
community is sometimes
taken for granted.
Texas Wesleyan is go-
ing to spend money to
improve the campus for
our students, faculty and
staff.
The Morton Fitness
Center is proof of that.
Everyone is thrilled to see
capital improvements on
that scale.
There is no harm in
suggesting that maybe
those who make the
tough decisions about
spending consider some
repairs and improve-
ments to the walkways
and drainage of our cam-
pus grounds.
The rainy season is just
around the corner.
m
The Rambler
Founded in 1917 as The Handout
Publisher: Lamar Smith
Jonathan Resendez, editor-in-chief
Barry Grubbs, opinion editor
Eiiana Mijangos, sports editor
Chuck Fain, arts & entertainment editor
Dwight Conerway, college life editor
Meisa Keivani Najafabadi, photo editor
Erica Estrada, graphic designer/cartoonist
Wendy Moore, faculty adviser
Dr. Kay Colley, faculty liaison
Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press As-
sociation, Associated Collegiate Press, Student
Press Law Center, College Media Advisers and
College Newspaper Business and Advertising
Managers.
Opinions expressed in The Rambler are those of
the individual authors only and do not neces-
sarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan
community as a whole.
RAMBLER Contribution
Please send all news briefs to twurambler@
yahoo.com. Submissions due by noon Friday to
see brief in the following week's issue.
Letters to the editor: The Rambler, a weekly
publication, welcomes all letters. All submis-
sions must have a full printed name, phone
number and signature. While every consider-
ation is made to publish letters, publication is
limited by time and space.
The editors reserve the right to edit all submis-
sions for space, grammar, clarity and style.
Letters to the editor may be subject to response
from editors and students on the opinion page.
"We are not afraid to follow the truth ...
wherever it may lead."
— Thomas Jefferson
Address all correspondence to:
Texas Wesleyan University
The Rambler
1201 Wesleyan St.
Fort Worth, TX76105
twurambler@yahoo.com
To contact The Rambler
(817) 531-7552
Advertising Inquiries:
(817) 532-7582
Do you think the government should be involved
n regulating the use of alcoholic energy drinks?
Jordan Skiles,
junior marketing
"I don't personally use them,
and I don't understand why
people use them."
Leslie Rodriguez,
junior music education
"There's no reason to ban
it. It should have the same
restrictions as beer."
Matt Castillo,
freshman business
"It's been on the market for
awhile, but they are just start-
ing to worry about it. Why?"
Eduardo Cejas,
freshman psychology
"It would kind of be like prohibi-
tion and that's an infringement of
our rights."
Danni Dubois,
sophomore psychology
"It doesn't make sense that they
worry about this when there big-
ger things to worry about."
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View seven places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Resendez, Jonathan. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 23, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 10, 2010, newspaper, November 10, 2010; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201312/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.