Protecting the Time of Your Life

 By Sayde J. Brais

College should be the time of any person’s life. It’s the time when exploration, discovery and testing the waters take place. For many, it’s the first time away from parents or guardians, with little to no supervision.  Most students seize the opportunity to go out every night, meet new people and have more fun than imaginable. After all, that’s what college is about, right? With all of this fun can come consequences, if students are not prepared for the dangers that lurk in the night.  Students should be well-informed of how to ensure their safety during late nights, especially those filled with alcohol.

According to a study done by Dr. David J. Hanson (www2.potsdam.edu), approximately 1,400 students die each year from alcohol-related incidents at two-year and four-year institutions.  Many times this results from lack of taking adequate safety measures on a night on the town.  There are several options students can take to ensure their safety, according to the Hampshire Constabulary (www.hampshire.police.uk). Simply, always have a P.L.A.N. Prepare, Look Confident, Act to Avoid Risk, and Never Assume.

 Hypothetical situation: You and your friends have decided to go clubbing on a Friday night. There are a few people in your party, alcohol is involved and the club is a good distance away from your apartment.

Mecklenburg Beekeepers Generate Swarm of Interest

 Story and Photos By David Potts

A high-pitched buzz resonates through the warm April air as the small group of students, gloved and clad in light colors and veils made of netting, approaches the trailer full of wooden beehives painted white and sky blue.  Hundreds of honeybees, each on a specialized mission, dart and whiz through the sweet-smelling air around them.

 The students’ mentor, a spry, white-haired man in his 70’s, removes one of the lids and peers inside, as one of the students carefully puffs wisps of pine straw smoke across the rows of frames within.  With a weathered hand he reaches for the hive tool in the back pocket of his jeans, and uses it to gently tug at one of the frames.  Hundreds of bees cling to the wooden frame, and the swath of waxy, yellow comb it contains.  “Do you see the queen?” asks one of the students. But the queen is nowhere to be found.

What Happen to MY Hip Hop?

By Kia O. Moore

“Hip-hop radio ain’t what it used to be.”  Those who loved hip-hop during their adolescences, who are now 25 to 35-year-olds say this everytime they turn on the radio. They may find themselves saying, “The only good thing about hip-hop nowadays, is the beat. The lyrics are meaningless.” Sometimes they say nothing. They just shake their heads, sigh, slump their shoulders and turn off the radio. They may feel they’ve lost their best friend, and perhaps they have. Today’s hip-hop does not belong to them. Hip-hop has found a new generation to entertain. Hip-hop has moved on.