DIM BULB Diploma dilemma
The new “extenuating circumstances” exemption from Maryland’s new graduation requirement is, quite frankly, a crock. We can imagine the excuses students and their parents will come up with. You couldn’t fit a class into your schedule until your senior year, giving you only one chance to pass an exam? Oh, no biggie. Here’s a diploma. We can see the lawsuits now. “My baby was sick the entire school year! It doesn’t matter that she missed three months of classes. She still deserves a diploma.” Sure.
TWO THUMBS UP: Getting crunked – without the caffeine
WHO: Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler
WHAT: Gansler got MillerCoors LLC to agree to reformulate alcoholic energy drinks to remove caffeine and taurine (among other things). They also agreed to change marketing campaigns that appeal to underage youth. In May, Gansler also got Anheuser-Busch to agree to stop producing their alcoholic energy drink altogether.
WHY IT’S A GOOD IDEA: Alcohol and energy drinks are a dangerous combination. Caffeine makes drinkers feel more alert and less drunk — and more likely to drive. MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch were the biggest sellers of alcoholic energy drinks, and now that they’re off the market maybe this dangerous trend will start a downward spiral.
WHERE TO READ MORE: oag.state.md.us/
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There are lots of options. … What you really need to ask is, ‘What’s the right one for me right NOW?’ Try something. If it doesn’t work, try something else. It’s going to vary from person to person.”
– Deborah Rejent, associate dean for the master’s program at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, speaking about ways people can deal with seasonal affective disorder around the holidays
