May 14, 2003 • The Clackamas Print • 3
OPINION
feamasPrint
Peers hazed under pressure
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Cyndee Mady
Shadra Beesley
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Tina Tate
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Cyndee Mady
Feature Editor
Elisabeth Meyer
A&E Editor
Pete Ford
Sports Editor
Elena Boryska
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Robb Egan
Co-Photo Editor
Cory Price
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Mark Falling
£
While people have the fundamental
need to belong, what extent are they
prepared to go to in their pursuit of the
acceptance of others?
Along with the origination of the
fraternity in 1830, hazing made its
debut.
According to angelfire.com,
“Hazing is a broad term encompassing
any action or activity which does not
contribute to the positive development
of a person, which inflicts or intends to
cause physical or mental harm or anx
ieties, which may demean, degrade, or
disgrace any person, regardless of
location, intent or consent of partici
pants. Hazing can also be defined as
any action or situation which intention
ally or unintentionally endangers stu-
dents for admission into or affiliation
with any student organization.”
Though hazing is predominately
associated with acts that college frater
nities and sororities inflict upon their
pledges during hell week, the concept
has become widespread. High school
and even middle school students have
adopted the primitive ritual of hazing
into their circles, passing their legacy
to the underlings that will soon take
their turn at bat.
Glenbrook North High School in
Illinois made headlines last week when
a group of seniors defaced their junior
competitors after a girl’s football game
known as “Powder Puff Melee.”
Onlooker Zac Blum managed to
capture the event on videotape, which
was smeared all over the news. But
that was not all that was smeared.
Fish guts, Spam and human feces
were among the articles smashed into
the faces of the high school juniors
during the annual hazing ceremony.
The emotional casualties far sur-
pass the injuries the five students
whisked to the hospital for medical
attention sustained. The only consola
tion at the end of the day is the reci
procity that will undoubtedly rear its
head the subsequent year when the
custom resumes.
Participants of hazing have
endured alcohol poisoning from drink
ing a full bottle of Jack Daniels,
swelling of the brain as a result of fun
neling water (formerly known as beer
bonging), and frozen after spending
the night in a cemetery. At least one
person is known to have died from
each of these three hazing practices.
That is a pretty steep price to pay for
friendship and popularity - the steep
est! No friend, club or social status is
worth laying down one’s life.
Reports of sports team coaches
allowing acts of hazing to take place
under their supervision in commute to
away games is incomprehensible, but
indeed a reality. If educators, whom
our youth are taught to respect and
often consider a mentor, can condone
this type of behavior, how can a stu
dent expect to stand up to his or her
tormentor? But that is exactly what
must happen in order for this madness
to stop once and for all.
Though most states have laws in
place to protect their residents against
the peer pressures of hazing, it is not
enough of a deterrent to prevent the ris
ing injury and death toll associated
with the practice.
In an attempt to “fit in,” individuals
are subjecting themselves to humilia
tion, bodily harm and sometimes
death. If fitting in means having
Tabasco flung in one’s eye, pig intes
tines tightened around one’s neck and
paint buckets bashed into one’s head, it
is time to cut one’s losses.
One does not become a winner by
adhering to the lack of social standards
of an elite clique, but by proudly stand
ing up for one’s own values and
beliefs, paving the way for a new and
improved generation.
ext. 2578
Staff Writers:
Marvin Baker * Isaiah Creel
Nic Delzell * Jared Eschweiler
Bekah Finch * Karen Hill
Noah Holland * Frank Jordan
Sadie McCarthy
Production Assistants:
Matt Baker * Heather Dolson
Katie Funk * David Kolibaba
Andy Price
Adviser:
Linda Vogt
Secretary:
JoAnne Gale
The Clackamas Print is distributed every
Wednesday except during finals week.
The Clackamas Print * Copyright 2003.
19600 S. Molalla Ave.
Oregon City, Oregon 97045
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High times selling beer, wine
i
I
*
Frank Jordan
Staff Writer
As the state budget crisis rolls
on, Oregonians need to consider all
the possible ways to bring more
money into the state’s coffers.
Beer is the drink of choice in
Oregon, and the state should look at
raising the beer and wine taxes in the
state. Oregon has the sixth lowest beer
tax and the eighth lowest wine tax in
the United States, and maybe it is time
to look at raising those taxes to bring in
more income.
Budweiser, Coors, Miller and the
like make up about 88 percent of all
beer sold in Oregon. The current tax is
a ridiculously low six cents per gallon.
That comes to less than a penny per
12-ounce can. Even if the tax is raised
a penny, money will be made.
Many beer drinkers will cry foul,
but keep this in mind: a $1.28 tax is
levied on every pack of cigarettes sold
in Oregon. That same amount of
money would pay the tax on 14.5 six-
packs of beer, according to a study by
tobacco company RJ Reynolds. The
time has come to re-think the beer and
wine tax.
A bill currently under debate in the
Oregon Legislature would raise the tax
on a bottle of beer by seven cents and a
bottle of wine by 15 cents. Son. Bill
Morrisette of Springfield and Rep.
Jackie Dingfelder of Portland are the
sponsors of the bill, and they believe that
most Oregonians will support a raise in
these particular sin taxes as they have
supported increasing cigarette taxes.
The proposed legislation hopes to raise
$120 million in the next two years.
Of course, the beer and wine dis
tributors lobbying association is ever
powerful in this state, and will do its
damdest to oppose any increases.
One lobbyist, Jim Parker, said this
about the proposed increase when he
spoke to Oregon Public Broadcasting:
“It is unfair to single out one industry,
and it is really unfair to characterize
the tax as a tax on beer drinkers. It’s a
tax on business.”
Did he really mean it when he said
that it was unfair to single out one
industry, as far as raising taxes was
concerned? I would say to Mr. Parker
that cigarette smokers in this state have
endured a 90-cent tax increase on their
legal product in the past seven years,
and continue to keep paying the tax. I
believe that beer drinkers can endure a
measly seven-cent increase in the price
of their beverage.
As a beer drinker, I do not want to
see an increase in the price of beer.
There, I said it. But as a citizen of a
great state, a place where I am very
proud to call home, I probably can
swallow a small increase in the price
of my favorite adult beverage, if it
would help the state in its current
budget mess.
So, let us raise a glass to the legis
lature and hope they take quick action
in response to this bill before them.
Raise the beer and wine taxes in this
state. It is a long overdue action from
which we can all benefit.
Avoid jacked-up orders at drive-thru window
I work at Jack in the Box. First of
all, I would never spit in anyone’s
food or spite my customers in any
way, but for some reason they find it
acceptable to engage in many acts that
are distasteful and rude.
People smear ketchup on tabletops
and walls, shoot spit wads at paintings
of Jack (our founder), and for some
reason find it necessary to constantly
rev their engines while trying to relay
their order in the drive-thru, then
demand free food when their order
comes out differently than intended.
One of the rudest ways that cus
tomers handle the ritual of ordering
food is by bringing another phantom
person into the order-taking process
through the miracle that is cellular
telephoning. They will pull up to the
speaker still carrying on a conversa
tion with someone, who.’s not even in
their vehicle, and try to fumble
through their order, leaving out vital
information and causing great turmoil
when they fail to receive what they
had originally planned.
It is my duty as the salesman, serv
er, whatever, to be patient with and
respectful of the customer, but it is the
customer’s duty to follow a ritual to
ensure that we are both satisfied.
For this reason I have come up with
the following surefire way to get your
food quickly and just thè way you like it:
1. Acknowledge the drive-thru
attendant vocally.
2. End or postpone any other con
versations you are currently engaged in.
3. State the quantity of the partic
ular item you want to buy.
4. State the size of the item (com
binations or drinks), followed by the
name of the item.
5. State any specifications on the food
itself (eg. no ketchup, extra mayonnaise).
6. State substitutions (“I want
onion rings instead of fries”).
7. If you’ve ordered
a combination meal, this
is where you tell them
what kind of drink you’d
like.
8. Repeat steps 3-7 for additional
items.
9. Thank the order-taker and
inform him or her that you have fin
ished ordering.
By simply abiding by these steps
when ordering at the drive-thru window,
your order will be accurate and timely.
Packed to perfection at 7-Eleven
I have decided it is time to
abandon stories on trivial sub
jects such as excessive bread
buying habits to discuss a very
important topic that is of utmost
concern to college students:
Slurpees.
Everyone loves Slurpees.
However, everyone does not love
the fact that when one drinks a
Slurpee the majority of what is
sucked through the straw is air.
Well I am here to tell you that
you do not have to accept these
air-filled Slurpees any longer!
You do not have to put up with
low-quality Slurpees! With this,
my informational guide to
Slurpees, you will discover
whole new levels of enjoyment
in the icy, high-sugar, high-color
beverage that is the Slurpee.
First of all, you have to know'
where to go. For those of you
who live near the college and are
willing to make a bit of a drive to
attain frosty perfection, I can tell
you of a place where there are
Slurpees of a consistency that
would please a king.
There is a particular 7-Eleven
store located on Harmony Road
in Milwaukie, next to a pastry
shop called Donut City. If you
can make your way to Sunnyside
Road and take it toward
Milwaukie you will eventually
come upon this most excellent
establishment.
Be forewarned, however, the
sugar high you experience after
drinking one of these highly con
centrated Slurpees will undoubt
edly be a new experience in your
Slurpee-drinking career. I usual
ly opt to buy a smaller size than
normal at this particular 7-
Eleven because due to the lack of
air, there is a lot more substance
to these Slurpees.
The second-best Slurpee dis
tributor that I have come across
is located on a street often
referred to as “old 82nd.” If you
take the Clackamas/Estacada exit
off 205 you will easily be able to
find it. The Slurpees at this store
are not quite as concentrated, but
they’ll do if you have a craving
that cannot wait.
If you can’t travel to one of
the two proven Slurpee manufac
turers, here is a test you can use
to find high-quality Slurpees
elsewhere: after you have filled
your cup at least partially with
the icy mixture, tap your cup on
the counter a few times. If the
Slurpee level in the cup falls at
all, you’ve got air in your
Slurpee.
This “packing” method helps
low-quality Slurpees become less
air-filled, but most importantly,
it lets you know not to purchase
Slurpees at that location any
more. Find a new store, one that
has Slurpees that can withstand
the packing test. They are out
there, my friends! Have faith.