Relatives Gather at Princeton To Hear CrashTape

By Jennifer Maloney The Daily Princetonian

(U-WIRE) PRINCETON, N.J. – Some sought answers, some sought closure, some sought a story.

About 70 relatives of those aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed Sept. 11 in Pennsylvania gathered at the Princeton arriott Forrestal hotel to hear a cockpit recording of their loved ones’ final moments.

An equal number gathered in the parking lot outside to document the relatives’ reactions.

At the side entrance of the hotel, reporters waited for family members to emerge. Sitting in lawnchairs or crouched on the hot tarmac and surrounded by empty water bottles, many speculated that the FBI had convinced the families not to give interviews.

“I would love the families to tell us details,” said Jeremy Bitz, a producer for NY1. “If police escort them to their cars, we don’t like that. We’ll chase after them. Not that that’s cool. But we have our job to do, too.”

The mere sight of the mass of reporters, camera crew and photographers was enough to make some family members turn back into the hotel. Others requested police escort to their cars.

But some took advantage of the opportunity to ensure their loved ones would be remembered.

“My son was a [public relations] man,” said Alice Hoglan, whose son, Mark Bingham, was a passenger. “He taught me to be nice to the press.”

Recalling how her son called her from the plane to tell her that he loved her, Hoglan’s face beamed.

“I’m very proud of my son and all those on Flight 93,” she said. “I’m so pleased that the press has taken so much interest in this.”

Jere Longman, who was covering the story for The New York Times, said the hardest part of his job as a reporter is speaking to grieving parents.

“It’s a huge story because on the day that we lost control, these people tried to take control again,” he said. “I think that’s really resonated with the public.”

“People want to know what happened,” he said. “Unfortunately, I think they’re not going to get many answers.”

He was right.

“It was unintelligible,” Tom Burnett said of the tape, giving an interview to a handful of reporters, who had avoided the mass of journalists at the side building, and staked out the front entrance.

Burnett, who lost his son, Tom, in the crash, said the tape brought no closure. Though he respected the FBI’s request not to discuss the contents of the tape, he confirmed aspects of the recording that had previously been made public.

“There was yelling, screaming, there was a scuffle,” Burnett said. The only thing the tape made clear was that the people on board Flight 93 had acted heroically, he added.

Students Protest Controversial Abercrombie T-Shirts

By Brittany Adams Daily Californian

(U-WIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. – University of California-Berkeley students joined a large crowd of people to protest Abercrombie & Fitch’s new line of clothing Thursday night in San Francisco, accusing the company of marketing racist T-shirts.

A group of students from the UC-Berkeley Asian Pacific Council attended the protests to challenge negative stereotypes portrayed by the store’s clothing line.

The protested line of clothing includes a T-shirt that reads, “Wong Brothers Laundry Service – Two Wongs Can Make it White.” A caricature of two men with slanted eyes and conical hats is pictured next to the slogan.

Other T-shirts of the same line read “Abercrombie & Fitch Buddha Bash – Get Your Buddha on the Floor” and “Wok-N-Bowl, Let the Good Times Roll – Chinese Food and Bowling.”

The T-shirts have already been taken off of the company’s official Web site, and were pulled from the shelves Thursday.

Hampton Carney, a spokesperson for Abercrombie & Fitch, told the Associated Press that the company is “very, very, very sorry” and that it was never their intention to offend anyone.

The logo T-shirts were designed with “the sole purpose of adding humor and levity to our fashion line,” he said, adding that shirts also poke fun at taxi drivers, Britons and foreign waitresses.

This is not the first time that the marketing of Abercrombie & Fitch, an Ohio-based casual clothing store, has been widely contested. Catalogues featuring semi-nude models have also sparked controversy.

A manager of the San Francisco store said he had been warned of the protest Thursday afternoon, but he declined to comment further. Officials from the store’s headquarters were also unavailable for comment.

UC-Berkeley’s Asian Pacific Council, an umbrella organization for Asian-American groups on campus, held a town meeting Thursday night to discuss further how to take action against the clothing company.

“We are organizing to show that racism exists against Asian Pacific Islanders and … for the company to say they are sorry,” said Bryant Yang, co-chair of the council.

At the meeting, students decided they would work with other campuses to call on Abercrombie to diversify their models and to demand a formal apology from the company for the shirts.

UC-Berkeley’s Asian Pacific Council is taking action to let Abercrombie & Fitch’s customers know about the shirts, since many Asian-Americans shop at the store, said Yang, adding that he doesn’t want the company just to be able to quietly take the shirts off the shelves without anyone realizing what happened.

U. Illinois Students Sample `Bubble’ Tea at Internet Cafe

By Gayoung Hazel Lyu Daily Illini

(U-WIRE) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Evo is the only Internet cafe on the University of Illinois campus, but students don’t go there for the Internet. It’s the tea.

Tapioca tea is milk and fruit juice mixed in with tapioca pearls; the menu lists it as “bubble tea” because of the round tapioca, which look like bubbles, at the bottom. Drinks like this have made the cafe, located at 711 S. Sixth St., a popular hangout, especially among Asian students, senior in engineering Jamie Choi said.

Evo has more than 20 computers on an LAN modem, allowing users to play online games like Starcraft at a high speed. There is also a single mini karaoke booth on the second floor next to the computers.

Choi said the tea at Evo is authentic because they use syrup instead of real juices.

“The authentic tapioca tea in China and Hong Kong uses syrup instead of real fruit,” Choi said. “The tapioca tea they sell in Chicago Chinatown uses real fruit and syrup, which is a more Americanized fusion style.”

Chinatowns in big cities already have such bubble tea cafes, but Evo is the first of its kind to open on campus. Leon Cao, manager of Evo, said the place has been a huge success.

“I have approximately 500 customers on a weekend and 300 on a weekday,” Cao said. “I have two more stores in Purdue (Ind.) and Chicago, but the one here is the main one because it is the biggest.”

Cao is from Shanghai, China, and moved to Las Vegas, Nev., four years ago. He managed a tapioca tea shop in Las Vegas, Nev., which now is managed by his partner so he can concentrate on the shop here in Champaign, Ill.

Michael O’Connell, senior in commerce, also likes to come to Evo.

“My Asian church friends first introduced me to this place,” O’Connell said. “I like the tea here a lot, especially the mango and starfruit flavors and always with the tapioca. It doesn’t taste half as good if you don’t put the tapioca in.”

It is not surprising another tapioca cafe soon will be opening when looking at the popularity of the current tapioca cafe. Ho-young Moon, Kevin Kim and Dae-woung Kang are the owners of the new cafe, Ragamuffin, which is scheduled to open in early July on Wright and Green streets.

Moon, senior in LAS, is going to be the manager of the new cafe after he graduates this semester. Kim and Kang both are working in Champaign and are also graduates of the University. Kim and Kang are investing in the new cafe, while Moon will do the managing.

“We will be serving not only bubble tea, but ppadbingsoo (a Korean-style parfait), coffee, muffins, bagels and cup ramen as well,” Moon said. “The idea of Ragamuffin is to create a place where students can hang out and study.”

April 20: `Stoner Day’ For Some

By Andrea Uhde Kentucky Kernel

(U-WIRE) LEXINGTON, Ky. – This Saturday is one of the most widely celebrated holidays for college students – even though it isn’t on the calendar.

Saturday is April 20, a day often called 4:20 and celebrated in some small circles as the “stoner new year.”

The celebration for the holiday entails water-filled bongs, packed bowls and fat joints surrounding students with clouds of pot smoke.

“4:20 is a special day because everybody who smokes is smoking,” said David, an accounting sophomore.

The tradition has spread across the country.

Many students celebrate 4:20, but have misconceptions of the number’s significance. Many think 4:20 is the California penal code to refer to marijuana use. Others say it is the number of chemicals in marijuana. But, according to High Times, marijuana has 315 chemicals.

Historically, April 20 also marks the anniversary of the Columbine High School murders. It is also the birthday of Adolf Hitler.

Though a number of students don’t have trouble recognizing the date, Sgt. Tiua Chilton of the University of Kentucky Police said she’s “never heard of that.” She said UK Police have not made any additional preparation for Saturday.

The Lexington Police Department is also not concerned. “To us, it’s business as usual,” said Capt. Steve Stanley.

Peace Advocates Educate Students About Nuclear Weaponry Laboratories

By Tara Ramroop The California Aggie

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. – Amid the current tense state of foreign affairs, three members of California Peace Action and California Schools Against the War led a teach-in to educate students about the University of California’s ties to the country’s cache of nuclear weaponry. Dozens of students listened in on the teach-in, which took place in the ASUCD Coffee House on Wednesday. California Peace Action, a grassroots lobby for peace and justice, and CSAW expressed concern that the liaison between the UC system and national research facilities is harmful.

“The United States is the largest supplier of nuclear weapons,” CSAW organizer Imrul Mazid told the noontime crowd.

“No one demands F-15s and F-16s. The [U.S. government] creates demand by creating conflict and creating war.”

The UC runs two national laboratories in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense: Los Alamos National Laboratory in New exico and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. The UC runs Lawrence Livermore under a contract held with the Department of Energy. Currently, UC employees are designing the next generation of nuclear weapons under the “stockpile stewardship” program at the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos labs, according to information provided at the event. This program allows researchers to test nuclear weapons for safety with computer models rather than through detonation. California Peace Action says this program is Political Director Kara Voss said she feels that in this time of political unrest, it is especially important for the U.S. to advocate a peace treaty.

“The U.S. needs to take a cooperative approach to international relations,” she said. Inez Sunwoo, California Peace Action’s campus coordinator, said that the connection between the UC and the national labs makes the UC accomplice to the destruction that could ensue from the continued creation of nuclear weapons.

“This marriage [between UC and labs] lends academic credibility to this technology,” she said. “There are people on campuses all over the state resisting this culture of violence. We need to bring science and humanity back together.”

UC Davis Applied Science chair Richard Freeman, who is also the Edward Teller Endowed Chair, noted that the outcry against the UC’s involvement with the facilities is not a new development. He said that people should look at the issue from a broader perspective.

“I don’t think anyone would say that we shouldn’t have the ability to defend ourselves,” Freeman said. “I’d rather have the responsibility of the research, the qualifications and the morality and safety of these labs in the hands of an organization like the UC than in the hands of a private company.”

Freeman also said that attention to the issue can be used in a positive manner by encouraging political debate.

“I’d be the last person to say that everyone should just accept this as their view,” he said. “I’d be more than welcome to discuss this with anyone. “There isn’t an automatic right or wrong answer,” he continued. “This is a discussion and debating point that should be discussed by young people on campus. I would rather have political activism and discussion than have people just be quiet.”

U. Arizona Earth Day Takes Hands-On Approach

By Lisa Lucas Arizona Daily Wildcat

(U-WIRE) TUCSON, Ariz. – More than 10 years ago Earth Day was celebrated at University of Arizona by dumping mounds of trash on the UA Mall.

Now, Earth Day at University of Arizona has grown to promote environmental awareness through the incorporation of 40 local organizations participating in a fun- and information-filled day of demonstrations and displays.

“In some of the earlier Earth Days we did things like `Trash on the Mall’ to give the campus an idea of why they would need to recycle,” said Alana Levine, special projects coordinator of Recycling and Waste Management. “We would fence off a huge area and have the custodians take a day’s worth of trash or white paper and dump it on the all.

“This huge mound of bagged trash would give a visual to the campus – people would walk by and realize how much trash really is thrown away on campus or how much white paper could be recycled.”

While this method of promoting Earth Day may have been effective in heightening students’ awareness of issues such as recycling, this year UA incorporatd more issues with a more direct approach.

“We like to keep our Earth Day very hands on, very educational, very grassroots, so that people can actually participate,” Levine said.

Sonya Diehn, office manager of the Center for Biological Diversity, said saving endangered species was not her only environmental concern.

“Whatever you want to call it – web of life, circle of life, biological diversity – we rely on nature to survive and we’re a part of nature. I think we need to start changing our society to recognize that, and we need to start thinking about ways of living that aren’t so orientated towards consumption,” Diehn said.

To some, Earth Day increases awareness not available through traditional college curriculum.

“School isn’t everything – you need to think about the big picture, that Mother Earth nurtures us, and to try to be a part of that as much as you can, or at least a day,” veterinary science senior Alesha Williams said.

Experts Explain How to Best Prevent Hangovers

By Jennifer Wlach The Chronicle

(U-WIRE) DURHAM, N.C. – They are one of the great mysteries of college life, the seemingly unavoidable result of a night of drinking: hangovers. Although there is no proven antidote, there are steps people can take before, during and after drinking to help lessen their morning-after pain.

Before students begin to imbibe, they need to put food in their stomachs, said Cynthia Kuhn, professor of pharmacology.

Another key prevention method is drinking water.

Experts agreed that the selection of drinks also factors into the severity of a hangover. Certain liquors known as distilled spirits contain congeners – higher-order alcohols that can be toxic to the brain and add to the effects of a hangover, said Dr. Bill Christmas, director of Student Health Services.

According to an online report by the Washington University edical School-based MadSci Network, brandy causes the most severe hangovers, followed by red wine, rum, whiskey, white wine, gin and vodka. Student Health officials also listed bourbon and single malt scotches as congener-laden liquors.

In addition, scientific advisers from beakmanwine.com recommend that people avoid carbonated beverages like champagne or soda because bubbles carry alcohol into the bloodstream more rapidly. And using food-based mixers may actually help slow alcohol absorption, Kulley said.

Before heading to bed, Kuhn advised, people should avoid acetaminophen, found in Tylenol, because it can damage the liver. “Taking medicines such as ibuprofen or aspirin before bed can add to stomach irritation,” she added.

Most importantly, students should continue to drink water before sleeping. Drinking coffee is a long-standing myth that will provide only temporary relief, Kulley said. “Caffeine might help to get you going, but there is a crash afterwards, and it can be an irritant to the stomach, which adds to nausea,” he said.

Another myth is that taking multivitamins cures hangovers. Although Kuhn said no studies have shown this to be true, she noted a study indicating some benefit in taking vitamin B-6.

There are a slew of morning-after products marketed to relieve the symptoms of hangovers, ranging from all-natural remedies, such as ginger and Wu morning tea, to drugs like Alka-Seltzer and Nurofen. Although several products exist, Kuhn said she was wary of their claims of effectiveness.

Nutritionists Link Benefits Of Healthy Eating, Testing

By Emily McIntyre The Daily Universe

(U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah – Carbohydrates will make you think clearly. Hard candy aids short-term memory. Turkey makes you sleepy.

These are just some of the myths that circulate among students who are preparing for tests.

“Before a test, I like pastrami on rye with provolone and brown mustard,” said Bob Hudson, 22, a freshman from Princeton, Ky., majoring in English. “Protein helps me feel full and facilitates my thought process.”

While pastrami on rye before a test might help one Brigham Young University student do well, Alison Lemon, BYU Nutrition Science Faculty, said that in the short term, there really isn’t any particular food that students should eat to think.

“Food is the fuel of your body, it is important to make sure you are eating right long-term, this includes eating regularly in the morning, afternoon, and evening,” she said.

Some students say it does not matter what they eat, as long as they are not hungry.

“I don’t like to go into the testing center on an empty stomach,” said Justin Hilmo, 22, a sophomore from Orem majoring in marriage, family, and human development.

While there are not miracle foods, eating breakfast can really help.

“Studies have shown that eating breakfast can really help students to think clearly throughout the day,” Lemon said.

Students say that being tired, combined with being hungry, is a bad combination when they have to take a test.

Lemon also said there is a connection between sleepiness and food.

“During the times when you haven’t had anything to eat, you may feel more tired because you are fasting,” Lemon said. “This can affect your ability to think and perform. However, being well fed does not make up for a lack of sleep.”

Lemon said that while it is important to eat regular meals, they do not have to take hours to prepare. It is important that a meal consists of something more than chips and soda.

“Quick foods that are also nutritious include bagels, string cheese, yogurt and fresh fruit,” Lemon said. “These foods are also not too expensive.”