llinkow190: Man vs. Finals closed captioning sponsored by Red Bull, Pandora Radio, Orbit wintergreen and Debbie Cakes

mnorton190:

I thought it would be fitting to see what others have in their “survival kits” during Hell week.  For example, my study kit always has:

1) Coffee

2) Some form of munchie (i.e. carrots, chips, cheese-its)

3) iPod

4) Spiral Notebook to keep random thoughts organized

and of course….

5) More coffee

What else is keeping all of you alive during this week?

 Carrots?! We’re too young for vegetables!

Beck Shadinger

Dr. Field

English 190

April 21, 2010

Color Blind College Drinking

Consumption of alcohol by college students, especially those that are underage, has been an epidemic for years. Frat parties, bar scenes and tailgating have all contributed to the assumption that students drink their mind away, resulting in trouble with the law and poor grades. Alcohol companies have never admitted to promoting underage drinking, however, it can be hard for some minors to turn down 50 cent beers at the local Flip Flops. Bud Light is a top favorite for many college students, and in the fall of 2009, Anheuser-Busch released a new set of cans in 27 different colors. They were called “fan cans” and were designed to coordinate with the colors of a college in that particular region. On football Saturdays many fans were seen drinking out of orange Clemson cans, maize Michigan cans, and purple LSU cans. Several universities were aggravated because it was often assumed that Anheuser-Busch’s new idea was university affiliated. There were harsh reactions, and several regions banned the colored cans, believing that it promoted underage drinking. Some schools even went so far to hire lawyers in order to charge the company with copyright infringement based on the names of colors. With binge drinking at a high concern for college students, do officials honestly believe that banning a beer that matches the team color of the school stop people from funneling, shot gunning and flip-cupping into the early morning? Would there be a reduction in alcohol poisoning if a student’s favorite color is taken off a beer label? Perhaps, Anheuser-Busch was simply selling the beer in order for people to add to their game day attire, and not to drink so heavily, they cannot make it to a 7:45 kick off.    

            If anyone watched a college football game on television last season, they would recognize the rather annoying man promoting Bud Light’s tailgate gear. He would shout at you as if it would assist in purchasing the product. The fan can commercial displayed all of the available color combinations, and grocery stores around the nation began receiving shipments of the cans. Universities across the nation almost instantly refused the cans and banned them around campuses, even before the opening day kick-off. Anheuser-Busch was extremely cooperative and removed the colored cans at a university’s request. In one of the more severe situations, the University of Michigan threatened to sue because of Bud Light’s “maize and blue” cans. How can college administrators become so upset with the tailgate gear, when a standard blue case of Bud Light cost the same price as the college themed case? If anything, college alumni and older fans should be upset with the removal of the cans because they were the majority of the population on campuses every Saturday. They legally purchased the beer hoping that other friends and fellow tailgaters would admire the color imitating the school’s color. Besides, wives usually enjoy matching tablecloths, utensils and cups with the school color. Why not match the beer can as well?

            Many people would argue that the colors of the Bud Light cans would motivate college students who are underage to wrap their hands around the new release. Why wouldn’t minors want to match their beer with their college licensed hoodie? The fact is that if a student wishes to drink their brain cells away, they could care less if the can was hot pink, as long as they reach their desired state of mind. Most people would agree that the top beer around college campuses would be the cheapest of the cheap including Natural Light, Busch Light, or Keystone Light. College administrators fear the binge drinking, and these beers are the key source. You do not see these favorite brands releasing tailgate gear, because they do not need to. These are the beer brands that allow weekly discounts at college bars, directly motivating students to spend their parent’s allowance on Thirsty Thursdays. The fan can remains the same price, and if an underage student is forced to choose between a college colored beer, with the same amount of alcohol as a Natty Light, chances are they pick the latter.

 Liquor consumption is also a dangerous task, because of the fact that many college students have not reached their full maturity level, deciding to choose the easier path to intoxication. Perhaps college administrators should focus on reducing the advertising of whiskey, vodka, and rum instead of banning the fan can. A 17 dollar bottle of Evan Williams probably looks more appealing to a college minor than an 18 dollar case of Bud Light fan cans, usually because a student of higher-learning can easily do the math and realize what will assist them in their quest for intoxication, faster and cheaper. The price itself off the bottle of bourbon should promote drinking by itself, which is a lot more effective than a colored label. The aftermath of these cheap liquors is usually what one witnesses after tailgating is over, where sorority girls and fraternity boys are passed out at their desired spot, while alumni who consumed from the fan cans are safely seated inside of the stadium. College administrators can easily realize this, but instead they angrily go after Bud Light, and their less lethal release.

There could be the chance that college administrators believe that a fan friendly can could motivate non-drinking college minors to try the new release in order to fit in with the game day crowd. This may be true, but this goes back to the fact that minors usually drink in order to become buzzed or intoxicated. One could bet that an amateur drinker may spend cheap, or even start out with a fruity drink, and work their way up. A different colored can would most likely not be a factor in a student’s decision to begin drinking. Perhaps administrators anticipated that minors assumed that the university which they attend promoted their consumption of alcohol. If this is the case, they should study their college handbook, which usually states that the university does not support underage drinking at any time or place. Besides, students usually know the consequences if they are caught drinking by campus police and are forced to face some sort of punishment by the university itself. Therefore, eying a team can at Ingles would probably not convince a minor to open up a new world of drunkenness.         

Bud Light’s cooperativeness is even more astounding as to why college officials would quickly ban the fan can campaign. Anheuser-Busch created the cans for fans of legal drinking age. They would remove the cans after the official’s request. Of all things that have been promoted and released, the fan can should not be of a concern. A top problem among college campuses after football games is the amount of trash left over by fans (usually students). The removal of Bud Light fan cans would not reduce this problem, especially the trash left by students. For example, The University of Georgia banned fan cans almost instantly, and the red cans were not even able to make it to Athens. However, trash left after football tailgating was so severe that administrators banned many tailgating accessories for the upcoming season near student spots. Items are banned such as tents, grills, and furniture. It is obvious that the fan cans had nothing to do with the garbage left over because there were none. Empty beer cans left over were the standard color such as gray or blue. Therefore, fan cans cannot influence students to litter more often, because they will anyways.

If the Bud Light fan cans cannot influence a non-drinker to drink, a drinker to drink more, or litter more, then what is the problem? How can a different colored can promote drinking on college campuses? The answer is tough, because there is none. Minor drinkers will drink and continue drinking whether the can be blue, black, red or orange. Maybe an infringement comes about because of the color matching with the school’s color? Are you kidding me? This is probably the most ridiculous case. If anything, college administrators should be proud that a top brand decides to imitate the colors at midfield. Instead they pull out the “this release makes our university look bad” card. There is much more to factor in on what makes one’s university look bad than an aluminum can. Perhaps, reducing bar scenes and raising the amount of police on game days might help. In some cases, a minor could be so astounded by the fan can that they decide to not even open it, and display it, adding it to their team knickknacks. This would be the opposite of promoting the consumption of alcohol. Alumni and legal students should be able to appreciate the fan cans, without worrying about the removal of their tailgate addition. Unless Bud Light decides to reduce the price and add more alcohol to the fan cans, the world will remain as it is, and college students will continue to discover cheap and fast ways to enjoy their school’s football games blind drunk.          

Source: Sarah, Bonisteel. “Bud Light team-Colored Cans Cause a Stir.” Slashfood 21 Aug 2009: n. pag. Web. 19 Apr 2010. <http://www.slashfood.com/2009/08/21/bud-light-team-color-fan-cans-cause-a-stir/>.

thought this song was fitting for our recent class presentations….gotta love some Cash

            McDonough’s Chaska gives an account of a Dakota Sioux who was sentenced to death because of an accusation of terrible treatment towards white women who were captured by the tribe. The hanging of the Sioux was the largest mass execution in American history. The poem itself is not in traditional sonnet form, including the fact that it contains 15 lines instead of 14. It is split into three sections, where the first two are more of a paragraph form than poem. The first section provides background information on the sentencing of 38 Sioux, as well as Chaska himself. The second section provides an account of the actual day of the death, including firsthand accounts, and the final section is a one line quote by a woman who was a prisoner under Chaska. The rhyme scheme varies throughout the poem from partial rhymes, to non-rhymes and a few sets of traditional rhyme. The language McDonough’s use of language also varies from eerie to informational. Background knowledge is necessary in order to fully appreciate the poem because the trials were thought to be corrupt because it was absent of defense lawyers, true evidence, or the right to cross-exanimate. Details such as these are not included in the poem. McDonough’s poems in Habeus Corpus contain convicts who were believed to be innocent as well as guilty, and Chaska falls under the possibility of the innocence field.      

            The opening section of Chaska is a description of the events that lead to the hanging of 38 Sioux. The rhyme scheme in this section includes traditional rhyme (“tried/knifed/testified”) and non-rhyme (“out/life”). The poem opens with “After the massacre, three hundred Sioux were tried” (Line 1). The term massacre refers to the Sioux capturing 269 white men and women, and the accounts of torture and abuse, specifically towards women. During trial, 303 Sioux were sentenced to death, and it is given that President Abraham Lincoln reviewed the trial and only believed 38 men deserved death (“but Lincoln made that thirty-eight” Line 2). The poem uses the terms “raped” and “murdered” to inform the reader why the Sioux were condemned, and then a description of one particular incident involving a Sioux named Chaskadon (not Chaska) is given. The language use of the description is vivid and gruesome because Chaskadon murdered a pregnant woman and “carved the baby out” (Line 4). The poem then carries over to the actual Chaska, informing that he received jail time, even though a captured woman claimed he “saved her life” (Line 6). This first section sets up the second fluently, and provides a form of foreshadowing, involving Chaskadon and Chaska.

            The next section of the poem contains no form of rhyme except the final line which rhymes with the only line in the final section. The language used is unearthly when describing the events before the hanging of the 38 Sioux. McDonough opens with an indention in the poem and begins by describing the setup of the gallows and where the convicted men stood, including accounts of witnesses at the site of the hanging (“ten men each side” Line 8). The description then converts to eerie with the information given of what the Sioux performed before they died by stating, “Singing in doleful harmony, hooded, bound, /they tried to take one another by the hand.” (Line 9/10). The vivid imagery used places the reader into the crowd viewing the hanging. The poem then moves to Sarah Wakefield, a woman who was captured, discovering that Chaska was convicted and killed. Wakefield became extremely close with Chaska because she claimed that he saved her and her infant form murder more than once while being held prisoner. Wakefield’s claims were not taken seriously because officials accused her of having affairs with Chaska. The form of foreshadowing in the poem takes a full circle when it is stated, “Officials apologized for their mistake:/Chaskadon, not Chaska, was to have died” (Line 13/14). These lines explain why Chaskadon was mentioned in the first section of the poem. They also contribute to the conspiracy that certain officials, as well as the actual trial were corrupt. Although mistaken identity was claimed, Chaska was recognized throughout the town, including Reverend Stephen Riggs who provided the explanation to Wakefield.

            The final line of the poem is a section by itself and is a direct quote from Wakefield after discovering the death of Chaska. The line also rhymes with the last line in the previous section (“Chaskadon, not Chaska, was to have died./I am not ashamed to acknowledge that I cried.” (Line 14/15). Without the rhyme, the final line could be interpreted as an extra quote under the poem because it is the 15^th line (sonnets traditionally contain 14 lines). This line shows that although Wakefield understands that her statement would turn heads, she will not deny that Chaska was a good man. It also should be known that before Wakefield admitted that prisoner life was an overall comfortable experience, other women shared the same perspective. However, once officials began investigation of her high complements of Chaska, many women changed their stories. These facts make the final line of the poem much more significant, because Wakefield admitted to crying.

            Chaska’s setup, although not in traditional sonnet form, is organized because there is a background description, accounts of the killings and an ending quote from an actual female prisoner. McDonough wants to inform readers of the death penalty throughout history with the assistance of imagery and language. The use of foreshadowing creates the sense that an innocent person may receive the death penalty. Vivid imagery is used to describe murder of a woman and baby, the setup of the area where the Sioux were killed, as well as the actions the prisoners performed before death. The poem provides examples of mistaken identity, corruption, and a final bold statement in an era where Native Americans and women stood below the white male.    

http://changingminds.org/techniques/language/metaphor/dying_metaphor.htm

My least favorite cliche is related to my excessive viewing of SportsCenter. “At the end of the day” is used by several sports analysts which translates to “I am about to say something that I believe is highly intelligent”.

Weekends are extremely important in my college life. Beginning Sunday afternoon, I count down the days to the following Thursday night. I live for huge parties, whether it is downtown, a house, or the beach. I have never fathomed of spending one second of the weekend inside of Cooper’s walls. So last Saturday night I decided to man up and stroll into the library and view the types of people present during those hours, and I was somewhat surprised on who/what I found.

I decided to use all my energy on Thursday and Friday night in order to prepare for the adventure in the library, which I thought was going to be depressing and dull. As I am walking into the doors, I see no one around, so I walk throughout the entire complex in order to find a group studying together. I finally find a group of people that consisted of five students discussing an engineering class. Before I stroll into their sophisticated discussion, I decide to come up with something that would make the appearance a little less awkward. I then approach the group telling them that I am performing a survey on students who are studying on a Saturday night. They invite me to the table and discuss how all five of them have several exams scheduled for next week and they wanted to get an early start. I told them that is why I appreciate Sundays so much because I have time to recover from the weekend, as well as prepare for the week ahead. A few of them surprise me by telling me that they also went out on Thursday and Friday night, so they needed to call it a weekend and begin studying. They also mentioned how they have other things to do on Sunday that does not involve school (grocery shopping, church, work etc.). I then began to question my own habits because I realized that I do not spend a lot of time preparing for school on Sunday.

As I am going around the table asking different questions I notice a girl that looks familiar, and I realize that I saw her at a rush blowout the night before. Rush blowout is a huge party at the beginning of the semester to celebrate rushee’s acceptance of their bids. I then begin a conversation with a gentleman and catch that he loves sports as much as I do. We discuss Clemson’s basketball season as well as the Super Bowl coming up. As time goes on, the conversation between the students and I grow away from why they are in the library on a Saturday night and more into a conversation I would have with my own group of friends.

I leave the library after a couple hours in order to catch up with some friends at a party. I leave dumbfounded because the most of the students that I talked to in the library were similar to me and my interests. I gained respect for students who take a night off every weekend in order to focus on their main priority, success at Clemson University. After this experience, perhaps one day I too will take a night to study (although not likely).

Beck Shadinger

Major: English

Hometown: Douglasville, GA

Favorite Book: Angels and Demons

Favorite Movie: Dazed and Confused

Favorite Band : The Avett Brothers