COMMENTARY
4 • T he C lackamas P rint
Five thousand year-
old drug banned
/
z
Although many say it's useful if taken accordingly
Faye Dodds
T he C lackamas P rint
Now that the chocolate fest is
over, it’s time to shed those
unwanted love handles and drop a
few pounds.
What’s the best way to dump
those
double
digits?
Unfortunately, not Ephedra.
Within a 60-day phase out,
ending April 12, the Bush admin
istration will have completed the
ban on Ephedra. It has been
linked directly to 155 deaths and
numerous heart attacks and
strokes,
according
to
www.cnn.com.
Ephedra comes from the coun
try mallow plant, a Huang. It has
been used in Chinese medicine for
over five thousand years, accord
ing to www.ephedra.net, and is
very helpful in treating asthma,
upper respiratory infections, hay
fever and chest infections. It also
opens up adrenergic receptor sites
found in the heart and lungs,
increasing metabolic rate and calo
rie consumption.
Ephedra is not a bad sub
stance; frequency and quantity are
what prove to be deadly. In fact, it
can be quite helpful and less
embarrassing than a tube of
BenGay and three rolls of plastic
wrap, when chocolate induces
swelling around the midsection.
But some steps of control must be
Set in stone.
The least that must happen is
educating people about what they
are about to consume. They can
take it if they want but must know
the risks. Though illegal, anyone
can do cocaine if they want, as
long as they realize the hazards^no
matter how extreme they may be.
But where should the average
citizen draw the line when it
comes to the legality of Ephedra?
It’s all about risks. Cars killed
42,815 people in 2002 (www.car-
accidents.com).
According to the National
Safety Council, accidental dis
charge of a gun led to 776 deaths
in 2000; choking on food killed
744; 327 people lost their lives in
accidental suffocation and stran
gulation in bed; even dogs killed as
many as 26. Yet the Bush admin
istration is banning Ephedra?
Why doesn’t anyone ban guns,
un-pureed food, ¡plastic bags or
dogs?
Legality shouldn’t necessarily
be the issue, but rather the conse
quences. Why is the fear of this
drug
being
instilled
into
Americans? How come almost
anybody is willing to climb into a
car every morning and commute
to work, knowing that an average
of 115 persons die each day in
motor vehicle crashes in the
United States? That adds up to
one every 13 minutes.
The point is that Ephedra is
not the enemy it is so easily made
out to be. So what is? Guns, un-
pureed food, plastic bags, dogs,
people, risks, logic, failure to edu
cate? Pick one.
Time should not be wasted on
banning random substances. The
The Chinese herbal sup-
pliment Ephedra was
banned by the FDA after it
was linked to 155 deaths,
as well as numerous heart
attacks and strokes.
Bush administration needs to be
spending their so-called valuable
time investigating logic. My logic
says, get educated (hence why I am
in college) and don’t act on
absence of knowledge. It’s better
to be safe than sorry.
Important ever-present heroes often remain
unrewarded, despite diligent daily duties
Rodney Dangerfield has said he
gets no respect, and lately it has
become apparent to me that he
isn’t the only one; every day we are
surrounded by people who per
form labor-intensive, albeit impor
tant, jobs with excellence and in
return get nothing.
The first one of these is the
most obvious: custodians. Those
messes of God-knows-what have
to get cleaned up by somebody, and
it isn’t the magic fairy that comes
down with her magic wand and
zaps the mess into oblivion; it’s the
custodians.
Here at the college, we have
been blessed by getting six brand
new buildings, including the recent
ly opened Rook and Dejardon
Halls, and along with the new addi
tions comes an increase in work
load for our campus custodians.
They keep our schools, work
places and public places clean for
us to enjoy, in addition to keeping
us healthy, waging war against
germs and disease.
Not only do they do all this, but
nine out of 10 cleaners are some of
the nicest people one could ever
meet.
For example, we had a custodi-
T he
C lackamas P rint
19600 S Molalla Ave.
Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 657-6958
The Clackamas Print is a weekly student
publication and is distributed every
Wednesday except during finals week.
F ebruary 18, 2004
Letters to the Editor
Concerned smoker weighs in
on youth tobacco addiction
“Can I have a smoke?”
I looked around ... no one.
Then I looked down.
“What? You’re not 18!” The 14
year old defiandy looked back at me
“I’m sixteen.”
I resisted whopping his a**.
I love this campus. The
grounds are clean, the people are
beautiful and there are more damn
ashtrays then an AA meeting. It is
a smoker’s paradise. But, like the
walls in my apartment, it is starting
to lose its color. It is being ruined
by all the underage bummers.
Any legal smoker knows what I
am talking about. You are trying to
enjoy a lung dart before class, but
every time you do, the moochers
flock to you like homeless chasing
a “free beer” truck.
Now, I understand what the
“pink-lungs” are saying, “Your
habit, your problem.”
I agree. However, I need to
make a call out to all the “of age”
smokers who have joined the can
cer revolution. DO NOT GIVE
. SMOKES TO ANYONE! I don’t
care if it is your boyfriend, your
grandma or that weird-looking
guy at the bus stop. Don’t do it.
This will do two things.
First, it will hopefully reduce
the number of those irritating
“spongers” who want to smoke
but don’t want to pay. You know
who you are. Look, I know you
just forgot to pick up smokes this
morning ... and yesterday morn- ■
ing ... and ... And I understand
that you are broke. Lucky me ... I
Instructor sets
record straight
The following letter is written in
response to a letter written by Mark A.
Douglas in issue nine of The
Clackamas Print regarding use of
profanity ¿y professors in a meeting
which he overheard.
What’s clear is that Mr.
Douglas’ lack of professionalism
does not reflect on all people in
the trades. Eavesdropping while
installing equipment, he not only
made public a private conversa
tion, but he also took the depart
ment’s comments completely out
of context.
What’s also clear (I know what
2 + 2 equals) is that the math
department is very insightful in its
discussion of expletives as other
parts of speech. Who else would
relish all words in all their forms?
Sincerely,
Kate Gray
English Instructor
Clairvoyant
an by the name of Ed at my high
school. Ed was cool in that grand-
pa-ish way. A campus caretaker by
day, throatee-having, motorcycle
riding Mormon by night—he loved
his job and accepted even the most
demeaning tasks by disarming
them with a chipper smile.
No matter How terrible one
was feeling, walking by him,
greeted with his customary
“Good morning” and engaging in
some simple small-talk would put
a smile on the face of the most
depressed student.
During my junior year of high
school, Ed was presented .with a
special award by the principal and
got a standing ovation by the entire
student body, the first time I had
ever seen the students show so
much reverence to one person,
standing in applause without feel
ing they had to. This goes to show
that we do feel a certain debt of
gratitude, even if we don’t show it.
Another occupation that gets
no respect is bus drivers. All day
long, they drive back and fourth
on the roads that we curse, play
ing chauffeur to the drunk, disor
derly, smelly, rowdy, obnoxious or
psychotic members of society, in
addition to the occasional college
student.
At least a real chauffeur would
be named “Andrew” or “Jeeves”
and get to drive a stretch limo with
tinted windows, commanding a
decent amount of respect.
But no such luck for those who
drive a colossal bus and usually
don’t get as much as a “thank you”
for doing their service.
They transport those of us who
do not own a car, or prefer not to
drive, helping to fight pollution by
mass transit and keep the roads a
little safer for us all by not letting
the aforementioned drunk and dis
orderly on the road.
As someone who rides the bus
on a near daily basis, I can say that
I always try to do my part in show-
Co Editors-in-Chief:
Advertising Manager:
Photographers: Truman
Anderson, Angela Gerhart
Adviser: Linda Vogt?
Cyndee Mady and Coty Price
Copy Editor: Katie Funk
News Editor: Karlin Johnson
Opinion Editor: Ben Maras
Feature Editor: Karen Hill..
A&E Editor: Isaiah' Cred
Sports Editor: Nie Delzell
Mark Falling, ext. 2578
Photo Editor: Jesse Lamond
Staff Writers: Shannon
’Armstead, Sara Atkeson, Amy ,
Cashman, Faye Dodds, Fränk Jordan,'
Jessica LeClaire, Bethany Monroe,
Jeff Sorensen, Jadon Triplett
Department assistant:
Lauren Yuylsteke
go to school for entertainment
only because my millions make life
so boring, what with one
European cruise after another. I
mean if I wasn’t able to hang out
at community college all day ...
And don’t offer to pay; I am on to
that too.
Second reason for not handing
out your Lucky Strikes, is it can
save you up too six hundred dol
lars!
“Oh, snap! Did he just say
$600?”
That’s right, my fellow nico-
fiends, you give little junior a fix
and you just committed a class A
violation: endangering the wel
fare of a minor. ORS 153.573.
For those who doubt me, this is
directly from the mouth of Bill
Stewart. (Some of you might get
to know him as the Attorney for
the Prosecution, if you happened
to get busted in Clackamas.)
Imagine ... How are you
going to “taste the excitement”
when you are busy paying off
that little fine? I tell you what,
don’t come bumming to me. I’m
smoking my last one in the pack.
Bottom line: I like my yellow
teeth and morning hack. I am old
enough and I pay for my own
death. Let’s send a message to
those who are spoiling our para
dise: “If you want to come to fla
vor country, you need to be eight
een and pay your own way!”
Taran Mills
CCC Student
Have an idea
you want to
share with
your fellow
students?
E-mail letters to
chiefed@clackamas.e
du or bring them on
a floppy disk to
RR135 by this Friday
at 1 p.m. Please
include your name
and limit all letters to
no more than 200
words.
Submissions become proper
ty of The Clackamas Print
and are subject to editing on
the grounds of length, clari
ty, content and grammar.
ing my gratitude for a job well
done.
The list of positions go on,
ranging from waiters to garbage
men to parents (who perform all of
the above), each receiving very little
thanks.
Ralph Nader has suggested a
National Cleaners Appreciation
Day, and to that I say, “Right on,
Ralph!” I would extend the day of
thanks to the afore mentioned jobs
as weU as others.
So the next time you run into
one of these public servants, please
make sure to at least thank them,
because even something so simple
might just make their day.
Goals: The Clackamas Print aims to
report the news in an honest, unbiased,
professional mafiner. The opinions
expressed dp not necessarily reflect those
of the student body, college administration,
its faculty or
Print. E-mail comments
to chiefed@dackamas.edu.
77>e Clackamas Print © 2004