Students heading out of town for the weekend

By Daniel Clarke

STATE COLLEGE – The words ‘p-value’, ‘proportion’ and ‘dataset’ were cycling through Andrew Cavorsi’s mind after his final Statistics exam on Friday. But Andrew Cavorsi is hoping to clear his mind this weekend.

The 21-year-old mathematics major from Harrisburg, Pa. brought the last of his luggage from his Lions Crossing apartment to his gray hybrid Honda Civic in the parking lot.

“I had far too many mid-terms and exams this week,” Cavorsi said. “I needed to be in the serene confines of my room back home, without having to think about schoolwork.”

However Cavorsi wasn't the only student to say goodbye to Happy Valley for the weekend. Numerous students packed up their luggage and left town.

Maggie Meller, a freshman majoring in Advertising from Marlboro, N.J. is another student who left for the weekend.

She continued to pack her belongings into her parents’ royal blue Subaru station wagon for what should be a very eventful weekend away from University Park.

“I just really needed to be home,” Meller said. “I was feeling a bit homesick. I don't get the opportunity to come home all the time, like a few of my friends do.”

A smiling and excited Meller carried the rest of her clothes from her dorm in East Halls to the car. Black Hefty trash bags of dirty laundry were piled into the back of the car.

Some students were not as lucky as Meller. A clearly distressed and frustrated student was waiting by the bus stop in front of Pollock Lab with his suitcases. Only catch? He wasn’t waiting for the CATABUS.

Jermaine Marshall, a freshman from the Bronx, N.Y., in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, seemed to have all the necessary items for a fun-filled weekend. His black duffle bag full of clothing was resting around his neck; he had another bag with his Xbox 360 and a few video games, but Marshall was missing something very important for this weekend: a ride home.

Traffic congested the roads of the campus and Jermaine’s mother was late to pick him up.

“I knew my mother’s schedule was difficult to maneuver around, but I needed to get home for my sister’s Sweet 16,” Marshall stated. “Sometimes it’s hard to rely on somebody else to pick you up.”

There were other students who did not get the convenience of a car ride, but were still able to find a way home.

Fullington Trailways, a bus company located on North Atherton St, experienced one of the busier weekends this semester so far.

“Students are more likely to leave town when the football team is playing an away game,” stated Tom Nichols, employee of Fullington Trailways. “Homecoming last week and Thanksgiving approaching also played a factor. Students want to return home before Thanksgiving, but didn’t want to miss Homecoming, and the football schedule just seemed to work out.”

Soda Tax Good Idea but Won't Curb Obesity

By Mary Campbell

The possibility of a soda tax may have gone flat.

Some public health professionals have suggested a soda tax as an attempt to curb the ever-increasing numbers of obesity and diabetes in the United States.

“I’m not sure it will work, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” said Beth Egan, a registered dietitian. “If we knew the real answer, we would have done it already, but it’s just not that simple.”

Each ounce of soda would cost an extra one cent, according to proposals. The money made from the tax would go toward the highly debated health care overhaul.

The tax is also an attempt to control the rampant cases of obesity and diabetes in the United States.

Egan, who drinks no soda at all, questions whether there really is a solution to the unbridled obesity and diabetes. She blames this unhealthy epidemic on ever-increasing portion sizes and more sedentary lifestyles.

Egan said that when she was a child, she had to walk down the street to her school bus stop; but now many people drive their kids. She said that the simplest physical activity like walking to the bus is being replaced by lazy lifestyles.

Tom Smith, 66, drinks about two six packs a month. That has been the amount of soda he has been drinking for years, and a tax will not change that. Smith said that people are going to drink what they drink.

“If they actually decreased the amount of sugar in soda, that would make the difference,” Smith said. “You have to go out of your way to avoid sugar. It’s a losing battle, and one cent won’t change that.”

Jill Higgins, a wife and mother of two children, agrees that people will get used to the tax. There may be some opposition at the beginning, but she said that people will get used to it.

“Myself and my family can give up soda, that’s no big deal,” said Higgins, who drinks about two cans of soda per week. “But other people will choose the soda over saving money.”

Some people, like Jake Ingbor, 19, and Jimmy Gorman, 20, think that the soda tax is a good idea, but it’s not going to be effective.

Ingbor, who drinks about $4 worth of soda in one week, said that if the tax passes, people will find cheaper soda. He said that off-brand soda companies will definitely be winners.

Gorman, who drinks less than a can of soda a day, said that there are many other lifestyle facets that fuel unhealthy habits. He said that fast food restaurants and pizza joints are everywhere in a college town, and one soda tax won’t make the change.

“No one wants to go outside and they don’t have to,” Gorman said. “They can stay inside, play Xbox, and eat last night’s cold pizza and flat soda.”

Holly Shok, 21, drinks about two cans of soda a day. She said that amount of soda is not that much, so she would still buy it out of habit.

The soda tax was a good idea, Shok said, but it will fail because people are creatures of habit.

“Public awareness campaigns need to start at a very young age,” Shok said. “It is much easier to create a healthy lifestyle than to force a healthy lifestyle.”