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THE TOWER
October | November 2011
THE TOWER
Four Loko back on shelves with a brand new look By Justine Clini Phusion Project, the makers of the wildly popular alcoholic drink, Four Loko, has agreed to change its labeling and packaging to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of deceiving marketing. The FTC stated, Phusion Project falsely claimed that a 23.5-ounce can of Four Loko at 11 or 12 percent alcohol had the same amount of alcohol as one or two typical 12-ounce beers and a consumer could drink a whole can and be completely fine. The FTC said that a 23.5-ounce Four Loko contains about as much alcohol as four or five 12-ounce cans of regular beer. Phusion Project was also mandated to amend their labels stating it can be dangerous due to the amount of alcohol. Though the young consumers who may have been enjoying the effect from this drink should have realized it in its entirety, this issue is raising high concern for young adults who may have been a consumer of this drink and did not even realize this problem until it was pulled off the shelves at liquor stores. “For one, it’s cheap,” suggested Tosin Oduwole, a senior at Kean. “Second, depending on the flavor, it tastes quite de-
Photo:Courtesy Four Loko
lightful and third: it gets you messed up quick.” Caitlin White, 23, majoring in teaching students with disabilities (K-8), said “I don’t think that Four Loko should be put back on shelves; I heard on the news that people were getting sick from it.” Now that Four Loko is branding new labels, they will name the amount of alcohol content on the cans of their drink
along with comparing it to the amount of alcohol in beer. There is no doubt that hooked consumers will not stop buying Four Loko even though now their ‘accurate’ alcohol content is exposed, but there might be some second guessing into newbie’s purchasing this drink.
Acting Out: professor reenacts events from history By Andrea Parr At first appearance Abigail Perkiss’s class might look more like an elaborate play than an actual class. Half the class is dressed in Togas, the desks are arranged in the formation of a U and a red banner runs along one wall setting the two groups apart. The stage is set and the characters are in a heated debate over the politics of Athens. It is not a play, however, Dr. Perkiss, an assistant professor of history at Kean University, who serves as a faculty advisor for the university’s Pre-Law Society and the Historical Society Formation of Law, teaches with an innovative method she is introducing to Kean known as Reacting to the Past (RTTP). RTTP is based on active learning and elaborate games set in the time of discussion. Each game lasts for around six weeks and students are assigned roles, which they will portray with rules to follow.
The class is entirely student run, with the professor acting as a guide to help the students. Dr. Perkiss first learned of RTTP during graduate school when one of her former undergraduate professors mentioned it to her. Intrigued, she attended a panel at Barnard, a private women’s liberal arts affiliate college of Columbia University, about RTTP.
È@ N8J ?FFB<;Ç@ BE<N K?<I< N8J EF >F@E> 98:B%É “I was hooked—I knew there was no going back,” she said. RTTP was developed at Barnard College by Mark C. Carnes, a Professor of History in 1995 who believes in “setting students mind on fire,” through “active learning.” At present it is in use at more than 300 universities and colleges, both in and out
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of the US. In order to teach using RTTP professors are trained through summer workshops at Barnard. Currently it is used mostly in the humanities such as history, English, and philosophy, but games for science and math are in development. RTTP seeks to create a connection between students and materials by having students form their own ideas and arguments based on the classic texts they must read. It provides students with a practical application that can be used in modern society, answering the time old question of, “how is this relevant to me?” “I have students bringing in articles or telling me about a news story because they can relate it to the texts,” said Perkiss. At current the students of Dr. Perkiss’s Formation of Law class are separated into oligarchs, the elite ruling class and democrats for the Athens game with even a boat race in the pool planned. After the completion of Athens the class will move onto the French Revolution.
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@ 8D B<8E (Continued from page 1) (“I’m bad at remembering names,” he said.”) recruited a majority of the football team to play for lacrosse. Greco thought it would be easy. He was pretty athletic and thought he could adapt to any sport. “It took serious energy,” he said. “It was unnatural.” They had no stadium to play in, no personalized equipment, no proper training. They trained liked they did with football, but with sticks, he said. It was the most fun he had in school. Discipline: Greco moved nine times for work after he took the job at Allstate. His daughter, Kristina went to three different high schools. He’s lived in every state “this side of the Mason Dixon line,” he said. The moving cost him his marriage, he said. His wife couldn’t handle the inconsistency. But it’s what he had to do to move up in the company and now his achievements speak for themselves, he said. But somehow after all of his traveling, he ended up 15 minutes away from his alma mater. __________ Greco got a phone call from the Kean College Athletics Department in 1988. He didn’t know what Kean College was. The person on the phone told him he was invited to join the school’s athletic hall of fame, along with other members of the 1974 football team. The timing worked out – it was the same year he moved back to New Jersey and was able to come for the ceremony. “I was so honored,” he said. “I did athletics because I loved doing it. It was very personal for me so being acknowledged for something that I loved to do, it was really special.” That was the last time he was on campus. He’s never seen the new dorms or the University Center. He has no idea was CAS stands for. “It wasn’t a big college experience, but it was my college experience.” __________ The current Kean football team has a 6-1 record, chasing after Greco’s record. After a huge win over Morrisville State College for Homecoming, the morale of the team is high as they look to its next opponent. “Heart, perseverance, character, will, determination, our team chemistry is phenomenal, our leadership in the locker room is phenomenal,” said Dan Garrett, head coach of the football team. “Those are all the things that have enabled us to be 6-1.” Greco couldn’t be happier. The success of the team means that the program is becoming a staple in the NCAA. The athletic program is making a name of itself, and he was happy to be part of it. “I wish they have success,” he said. “It’s the best thing for the university.”
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October | November 2011
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Haunted houses, hot Halloween parties-cool stuff to check out By Nicole La Capria
grants you admission to any venue for the nights of Friday, Oct. 28, Saturday, Oct. 29, and Monday, Oct. 31. One-day passes are also offered. To purchase tickets, visit pubcrawls. com, or call (973)596-6553. You will receive your ticket in your email—just print it out and arrive at the designated venue to register. There you will get your wristband that permits entry to all of the bars and grants you drink specials, plus a map with the bars’ locations.
It’s finally that time of year - the air becomes crisp, the leaves turn to bold shades of red and gold, and we are suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to be scared out of our wits and chased around the woods by masked men with chainsaws. It may be too late to enjoy the candy bestowed on you by strangers as you did when you were a child, but there are many ways college students can enjoy the Halloween season. Whether you have a passion for fear, partying, or classic autumn fun with your whole family, there are tons of great attractions in the area to visit.
4. Williams Nursery in Westfield
1. Newark Bears’ Stadium of Screams; Tickets: $20
A three-level haunt at Newark High School that circles around the entire stadium. “It is based around the baseball team and the owner, and we incorporated the earthquake into it,” said Kim Gossar, a coordinator for the event. “The plates shifted and chemicals were released, so now the owners have gone mad trying to transform players and their fans into creatures.” Walk through the locker room, the main concourse and an upstairs suite through scenes that reflect a science fiction, “mad doctor” theme, as baseball players-turned-zombies stalk you for the 25-minute duration of the walk. It’s perfect for the sports and horror fan. For the faint of heart, there is a more “family-oriented” hayride around the track, and a “Fun Zone” featuring 25cent carnival games, arts and crafts and pumpkin carving.
2. Halloween River Cruise Tickets: $20
You will set sail on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. from Pier 40 on West Houston Street and the West Side Highway where you can dance, drink, and dine on a Halloween river cruise down the Hudson aboard the Star of Palm Beach boat. The cruise is a $20 general admission, with a cash bar and cash buffet dinner available. Enjoy a view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty while you dance to the DJ spinning a mix of top 40, hip-hop, 80’s classics and dance hits. This event is 21 and over, and a costume is required to board. A cash prize of $150 will be awarded to the best costume, so be creative! Tickets are available for purchase at snaptickets.com. 3. Halloween Pub Crawl in NYC Tickets: $40 for a three-day all-access pass
With more than 150 featured venues -
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If you have had enough partying and are looking for a little wholesome family fun, make a visit to Williams Nursery in Westfield. A festive fall day for those young and old consists of pumpkin-picking, tractor-pulled hayrides, fresh apple cider and cider donuts. Your younger siblings can romp in the hay-bale maze, or enjoy pony rides. On Oct. 29 at 2 p.m., there will be a costume contest in three age categories and first prize is a $50 gift card. 5. Brite Nights Event at Wagner Farm Arboretum, Warren Tickets: $10 adults, $7 children
Will you be in the mood for something scenic and ambient? Walk along a path lined with 1,000 carved pumpkins at the Brite Nights event at the Wagner Farm Arboretum. This impressive sight will be available for adults and children on Oct. 28, 29, and 30. You may also enjoy the witches and flaming cauldron, the haunted house showcase featuring actor and designer Bill Ward, making your own scarecrow for use on the farm or the refreshments offered at the Black Hat Cafe. Tickets are available for purchase at wfafnj.org.
RAVE: Take your tastebuds on a trip that’s “Out of This World” By Ana Ferrer Never again will you crave only ketchup and mustard on your hot dog after you have a specialty dog from Out of this World Hot Dogs on Westfield Avenue in Elizabeth, N.J. Blue cheese slaw and homemade sweet potato mustard sit atop the perfectly cooked Thumann’s Own hot dog to create their signature Area 51 dog. Are you in the mood for something a little sweeter? Try their Hawaiian Dog with pineapple chunks and fried bacon pieces and a touch of barbecue sauce. Owner Sandra Dennis and boyfriend Stephen Restrepo opened up shop in March of 2011. As former owners of a grille and bar in Garfield, N.J., they honed their hot dog skills and translated them into something gourmet at their new restaurant. After closing their grille in Garfield, Dennis saw that the corner lot where the restaurant is located, was for sale, drove by at 2 a.m. one Friday night, and “fell in love.” Their theme came out of a story they heard of a little spaceship landing near someone’s home. The man who lived there had signs depicting the fallen ship and out of that story spawned Out of this World Hot Dogs. Dennis, who’s favorite is the Texas Weiner, said, “I really wanted to open a place where everyone could come and hang out, kids, teenagers adults, every-
one.” She added that she was really hoping for a “Happy Days” kind of feeling as she fixed her five-year-old daughter’s, Skylar, hair bows. As for the dogs themselves, they offer Thumann’s Own, which is a combination of pork and beef, Vienna Beef, and for vegetarians, they also offer veggie dogs. The storefront is covered in signed memorabilia from “Mork and Mindy,”
È@ I<8CCP N8EK<; 8 Ê?8GGP ;8PJË B@E; F= =<<C@E>%É a Darth Vader autographed headshot, space ship cutouts with alien hot dogs, and even a picture of Drew Barrymore kissing “E.T.” The hot dog shop is located on the busy corner of Galloping Hill Road and Westfield Avenue just minutes away from Kean’s campus, but if that’s too far, they also deliver. “We’ve delivered to the Port Authority, so it won’t be a problem to deliver to the campus,” Restrepo said. (From experience, the hot dogs travel surprisingly well, despite the mountain of toppings on each one.) Speaking of toppings, there’s no shortage of them. From chili to cheese, sweet potato mustard to sweet and sour cole slaw, jalapeño relish to onion sauce, there are endless combinations for you to choose.
Photo: Ana Ferrer
Owner Sandra Dennis and Daughter Skylar outside of Out of this World Hot Dogs. Or you can leave the thinking to them and choose one of their already thoughtout dogs, like the Cryin’ Saucer. The Cryin’ Saucer has New York style sauerkraut, yellow mustard and their own special onion sauce. If you’re craving something from the windy city – try the Chicago dog with relish, pickles, mustard, tomato, and sports peppers on top of a Vienna Beef hot dog. They also have their own version of the ever-popular Italian-style hot dog, which has mustard, fries, grilled peppers and onions tossed in Italian seasoning. The menu also offers sides and dessert.
Sweet potato fries, onion rings, bacon cheese fries and the New Jersey diner staple – disco fries will complete your order. All the Saturn sweets are homemade and include things like “jumbo” chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered cheesecake pops and even flan, which is a caramel custard. Take a trip out of your hot dog comfort zone and stop by the shop where they’ll welcome you with huge smiles and you’ll leave satisfied and never wanting just plain ketchup and mustard again.