Wednesday, October 9, 2024

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FEATURES

Pills popped

If she wanted to, Susan Cavicchioli could turn her ADHD diagnosis into a profitable business. Instead of taking Adderall every morning, she could sell the in-demand psychostimulant to students who stay up late to study, who want to lose weight or who are simply looking for a mood-booster. So, in other words, basically all students. "Tons of times, people ask me (for it), but for me, it's too difficult," Cavicchioli, a hospitality business freshman, said.

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SN Style: Chain gang

In the world of fashion, anything can be trendy — even fruit. Case in point: This spring, strawberries have taken center stage, dangling from long chains as the sole attracting factor of necklaces.

FEATURES

Eco-friendly tour bus fuels up on cooking grease

Detroit — It's not very unusual for Boston rock band Piebald to visit seven Chinese restaurants in four hours. It's not that the guys in the band have an obsession with egg rolls and sweet-and-sour chicken, but they make good use of the grease that comes from making the food by using it to fuel Thor — Piebald's white, orange and yellow E-350 Ford bus. Thor runs almost solely on vegetable oil, and Chinese or Asian restaurants are the best places to get it because they change their grease frequently, guitarist-vocalist Aaron Stuart said Thursday before the band's sold-out show at the Shelter in Detroit. However, if the quality of the grease isn't good enough, it's on to the next place, which drummer Luke Garro said can be frustrating, especially when "grease-hunting" in the middle of the night. "The closer (the grease) looks to vegetable oil that comes in a bottle, the better it is," guitarist-vocalist Travis Shettel said. Ideal grease is a golden orange color — "golden fuel," Garro said. Bassist Andrew Bonner said the band has learned to judge the quality of the grease by the "level of crud" in it. "If it looks like someone threw up in there, it's probably not good," Bonner said. Stuart made it clear that veggie oil is not the same as biodiesel, because biodiesel is chemically treated.

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Union postcard display to showcase revealed secrets

Do you have a secret you've wanted to get off your chest, but haven't figured out how? Thanks to MSU Postcard Confessions, sponsored by the University Activities Board, you can do just that — and the best part is it's anonymous. "People can write their confessions on postcards and send them to the UAB office.

FEATURES

College students assist in mask study

By Jodi S. Cohen McClatchy Newspapers Ann Arbor (MCT) — In her dorm at the University of Michigan, Denise Rowe looks as much like a sick patient as a student. Before she eats a meal, goes to sleep at night, or even kisses her boyfriend, she first has to slip off the blue surgical mask that covers her nose and mouth and hooks around her ears. Didn't freshmen already have enough pressure to fit in? "People do kind of look at you weird," said Rowe, 18, the outline of her mouth moving behind the cotton mask. Around the Ann Arbor campus this winter, 1,400 students have been participating in a study to learn whether wearing masks makes a difference in who gets the flu.

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Vegging in style

Only nine other Sultry Soy Boys stand in the way of journalism junior Drew Winter's chance at vegetarian glory. Winter already has beat out about 700 other people who entered the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's, or PETA's, Sexiest Vegetarian contest in hopes of being one of 20 finalists — 10 men and 10 women. For Winter, becoming a finalist still hasn't sunk in yet. "I just put my arms up in the air and yelled and hopped.

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Experts debunk myths about trans fats

By definition, trans fat is a type of fat that contains trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids are a type of saturated fat, which have been recognized as an unhealthy fat. "It is a fatty acid that is produced during the hydrogenation process to make oils into solids," said Professor Dale Romsos. Romsos is the nutritional sciences coordinator for the Food Science and Human Nutrition program. He said the danger of trans fat is the acid's effect on cholesterol. "The trans fatty acid acts similar metabolically to a saturated fatty acid," he said.

FEATURES

Organic food grows in popularity

You can't put a price on your health, but it can be tough if you are a college student trying to afford organic food. "I went organic for a while," international relations freshman Chelsea Thomason said.

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Lenten period used for extreme dieting

Though this is Allison Ribble's first year observing in Lent, that didn't stop the advertising freshman from plunging headfirst into the tradition — she gave up all sweets and junk food. Like other students who use Lent to initiate healthier eating habits, Ribble made a pact with her friend to swear off sweets and junk food for the 40-day season. "I was actually asked by a friend, and I had never thought about it," she said.

FEATURES

WEB EXTRA: Everyone's Irish for a day

Nursing sophomore Brenna Klaft is half Polish and half Scottish — but on St. Patrick's Day, she's 100 percent Irish. Like many other students who celebrated the popular holiday Saturday, Klaft said she planned to attend a party for the occasion. Although she recognizes St.

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Trans fat content of Girl Scout cookies in question

By Julie Deardorff McClatchy Newspapers If you ordered extra Girl Scout cookies this year thinking they were trans fat-free, brace yourself. Although all 11 varieties are marketed as having "zero trans fats per ser ving," they still contain partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fatty acids. Technically, the claim doesn't breach the venerable Girl Scout Law that promises honesty.

FEATURES

Spring break road trip yields lessons to drive life

I am trotting bow-legged, my upper body cocked backward to hold my belongings against my body. I feel inefficient making numerous trips to the car from my Shaw Hall dorm room, so instead I slowly and unsteadily stumble to my steed, a silver 1993 four-door Mercedes.