Coffee, Tea... or Herbal Ecstacy?
EGAL HERBS AND HERBAL extracts with names like Cloud 9, The Original Herbal X and Herbal Ecstacy are advertised as safe tickets to euphoria. Promotions claim users may experience warm sensations, enhanced sensory perception and increased energy and sexual response. What do college students say after popping the pills?
PULSE
"I tried Herbal E once at a rave," says a student at the U. of California, Santa Cruz.* "I had lots of energy, danced for many hours and had a mild 'body high.' I was a bit more sensitive than usual." He says the herbal experience was comparable to drinking 15 cups of coffee.
Most forms of natural high contain ephedera from which the drug ephedrine is extracted. Found in expensive over-the-counter asthma medication and alertness aids, ephedrine speeds up the user's blood pressure and heart rate and can increase skin sensitivity.
"Every time I ran my fingers through my hair, it plowed a path of tingling sensations in my scalp. I
liked that a lot," a user on the Cloud 9 Web site says. At 20 bucks a pop for Cloud 9, washing your hair with medicated dandruff shampoo might be more cost-effective.
"It's obvious why it's legal — the effects are negligible," says a U. of California, Davis, student. "The only time I ever really felt it was when I took twice the recommended dosage. It sort of felt like I was stoned but wide awake."
Effects aside, are there any potential dangers to taking Herbal E? "Not really," says a spokesperson at Cloud 9's manufacturer, Advanced Research 2000 in Redding, Calif. "It's not something you want to abuse, though. It is a stimulant."
"I took five tablets, almost half a gallon of water, and maybe, maybe, I got a little perkier from it," one well-hydrated Cloud 9 user says. "Mostly all I did was urinate a lot."
There's no guarantee you'll feel anything, but if you're looking for a tingly scalp or a good buzz, the choice is yours. Take an herbal combo, slap some Denorex on your head or funnel espresso down your throat.
*The students quoted in this article requested anonymity.
The Name Game
By Adrianne Bee, Virginia Tech U. / Illustration courtesy of Global Media Work
REMEMBER THE 1991 World Series? Bob Burda can't forget it.
Before the Atlanta Braves even hit the field, Native Americans launched a movement to remove such nicknames from professional and college sports nationwide.
The politically correct inquisition had begun.
Burda, assistant sports information director for the Florida State U. Seminoles, recalls how the controversy affected his school.
wek is not the mascot of the University of Illinois," says Illinois freshman Michael David Smith. "Probably 95 percent of the students at this university support the chief."
And it's not just Native American mascots who are endangered. The U. of California, Santa Cruz, Sea Lion gave way to the Banana Slug — a nondescript mascot administrators say is more in line with the school's principles of contemplation, flexibility and nonaggressiveness. Poor beleaguered Otto,
a genderless orange that roots for the Syracuse U. Orangemen, still teeters on the verge of extinction for being too nondescript.
But there are two sides to every Otto, Illiniwek and Banana Slug coin. Changes or proposed changes are often met with protest by traditionalists supporting their favorite non-PC mascots. Which just goes to show that you can offend some of the people some of the time...
IN-PLAY
"A group of Seminole Indians in Oklahoma took exception to our mascot," Burda says. "But they were contacted by the Florida Seminole tribe and received assurance that everything was being done in the best possible taste."
Clare Homan, U. of California, Davis / Photo courtesy of U. of Illinois
FSU continues to work with the Seminole Indian nation of Florida to ensure that the school's mascot meets the nation's high standards of authenticity and inoffensiveness.
"There was a time when it was in vogue to look at mascots [for political correctness]," Burda says. "But no students protested our games, and there was no need for a student vote."
So far, FSU has weathered the PC storm with mascot, logo and tradition intact. But others have fallen under the barrage of protests — Marquette U., Wis., dropped the controversial Warriors moniker in favor of Golden Eagles. The Eastern Michigan Hurons also soared to new PC heights, renaming themselves the Eagles, too.
Of all mascots, the U. of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek is possibly the most embattled. The dancing, mythical figure — complete with face paint, headdress and other stereotypical Indian regalia — remains under fire after years of debate.
"The university should be on the forefront of what's right," says Frank Recaniello, St. John's sports information director. "We represent a large, multicultural population, and it's not right to offend anybody."
Two years ago at St. John's U., N.Y., administrators deemed the long-standing Redmen nickname insensitive to Native Americans. When they set out in search of a kinder, gentler nickname, the St. John's Red Storm was born.
"I would be very surprised if I ever see the day that Chief Illini-
PC — raining on mascot parade?
May 1996 • U. Magazine 13