cannabisnews.com: The Day the Urns Went Dry










  The Day the Urns Went Dry

Posted by FoM on May 11, 2001 at 10:09:28 PT
By Julie Flaherty 
Source: New York Times 

On any given day, the coffee house in the Amherst College campus center offers a dozen brews, plus espresso. But today the pots were covered with white shrouds, and the dispensers in the dining hall were empty. This was the day that coffee was banned forever from the campus. Or so it seemed. Actually, it was an elaborate class project staged by an art student, Andrew Epstein, and pulled off with the help of friends and the administration.
While not exactly the War of the Worlds, students and staff members did panic when they showed up for their morning cup and found signs that read: "In order to curb the use of caffeine at Amherst College, the sale and distribution of coffee are no longer permitted on campus. Effective Immediately." Questions were to be directed to the Caffeine Control Coordinator.And indeed, the dining services, which were in on the joke, brewed not a drop today.Mr. Epstein, who is 22, conceived the Day of No Joe as a final project for his art class on social sculpture, to draw attention to what he regards as the hypocrisy of drug laws. A painting is easily ignored, he said, but remove part of a person's daily routine, and notice is taken. "I came upon this idea of trying to re-create Prohibition by taking away a substance that's been culturally domesticated, to make people aware of their own substance abuse," Mr. Epstein said. He recruited friends to act as black-market coffee dealers, who sat outside the dining hall and offered bootleg java at inflated prices. "Hey, you need coffee?" Dan Farbman, 22, a senior, hissed from behind his dark glasses. To entice hard-core addicts looking for a quick hit, he added: "Espresso beans, 10 cents a bean." Some bought; many averted their eyes or just said no. Several confused students attended a news conference at which Mr. Epstein enumerated the dangers of caffeine. "Is this for real?" one asked.The true art of Mr. Epstein's work was in persuading the college to go along with his scheme. The student government approved his plan in a closed-door session late one night. He also met with Charles Thompson, the director of dining services, and Tom Gerety, president of the college, who gave their tacit blessing.A college administration supporting the legalization of drugs, however indirectly? DeWitt Godfrey, the assistant professor who oversaw the art projects, said Mr. Epstein, who is known around campus for his involvement in Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, was wise to couch his proposal as art, not policy."I suspect if he had come to the administration as an activist, there would have been much stronger resistance," Mr. Godfrey said. "It shows us how art has this kind of peculiar permission." Mr. Thompson, the head of dining services, said he had trouble sleeping the last several nights, knowing that he and his staff would be on the front lines when people discovered that coffee was no more. Denying his customers a product "went against everything I believe in my job," he said. He planned to post signs on Wednesday apologizing for the inconvenience, and offering hazelnut and other specialty coffees in the dining hall as penance. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Mr. Thompson admitted.Mr. Epstein had originally proposed to stage his coffee ban next week — finals week. But Mr. Thompson objected, feeling that that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Complete Title: New Kind of Test at Amherst, on the Day the Urns Went DrySource: New York Times (NY)Author: Julie FlahertyPublished: May 9, 2001Copyright: 2001 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/Related Articles & Web Site:SSDPhttp://www.ssdp.org/Stop Prohibition of Drugshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8996.shtmlProhibition Fever http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8198.shtmlNew Perspective on Prohibition http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8008.shtmlDrug War Is Much Like Prohibition http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7989.shtml 

Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help





Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 11, 2001 at 17:16:43 PT
rok
I missed seeing your comment until I posted about the special tonight. It was a good article and one that we needed with all this depressing news we have been getting.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by observer on May 11, 2001 at 17:10:48 PT
Palpitations! Gastric Catarrh! Depression! Mania!
 "In order to curb the use of caffeine at Amherst College, the sale and distribution of coffee are no longer permitted on campus. Effective Immediately." . . ."I came upon this idea of trying to re-create Prohibition by taking away a substance that's been culturally domesticated, to make people aware of their own substance abuse," Mr. Epstein said.A prohibitionist movement, which Was short lived but quite capable of attributing the evils of the world and the devastation of human beings to its particular despised chemical, gave wide circulation to a statement by Sir Clifford Allbut, M.D. and Walter Dixon, M.D. which appeared in A System of Medicine in 1909. At the time Sir Clifford was a professor of internal medicine at the University of Cambridge in England and Dr. Dixon was a professor of pharmacology at Kings College in London. An excerpt follows: The sufferer is tremulous, and loses his self-command; he is subject to fits of agitation and depression; he loses his color and has a haggard appearance. The appetite falls off, and symptom of gastric catarrh may be manifested. The heart also suffers; it palpitates, or it intermits. As with other such agents, a renewed dose of the poison gives temporary relief, but at the cost of future misery.20 The substance referred to is coffee, and the statement was circulated for a short time in an attempt to garner support for the prohibition of coffee.NIDA: Themes in Chemical Prohibition, 1979, William L. Whitehttp://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/ticp.html 
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #6 posted by FoM on May 11, 2001 at 16:54:18 PT

Wingspan Tonight at 9 PM EDT
Hi Everyone, For those who are from this era I thought you might like to see the promo for Wingspan. I hope it is good. The preview seems very good. I believe this link will work and they have a nice video preview if you click on the bottom link.Friday, May 11, 9/8cThe inside story of how Paul and Linda McCartney dared to follow The Beatles with their rock band Wings will be told for the first time on television. The dramatic and revealing film--which is led by extensive and candid interviews with Paul McCartney--tells the very human story of how, while trying to raise a young family and follow The Beatles, Paul and Linda formed a back-to-basics band that rose to become one of the biggest rock bands of the '70s.Select your video speed for a Wingspan preview.56 / 100 / 300 Download Wingspan Medleyhttp://gatekeeperla.amplified.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+AssetPickup?affiliate_id=139&download_id=58&format_id=2 http://abc.go.com/primetime/specials/spec_home.html
What's New
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #5 posted by rok on May 11, 2001 at 16:15:41 PT

Good show !
Good show !!!! Glad you found this article FoM...much more to it than appeared in the News-Sentinel (they deserve scolding check the link below). This was very humorous and enlighting both.
http://news-sentinel.com/ns
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #4 posted by Hungry Hippo on May 11, 2001 at 12:06:59 PT:

l'art
True art is critical thinking.
http://overgrow.com
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #3 posted by Morgan on May 11, 2001 at 10:55:21 PT

Beautiful!
Never underestimate the power of Art. **************************************
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #2 posted by Cuzn Buzz on May 11, 2001 at 10:46:06 PT:

BRAVO!
Sort of restores my faith in the youth of our country!Well done Mr. Epstein, well done indeed! 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #1 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on May 11, 2001 at 10:39:43 PT

Bean fiends
>>Denying his customers a product "went against everything I believe in my job," he said.  Remember that next time someone asks you where the cafeteria keeps its cannabis!>>Mr. Epstein had originally proposed to stage his coffee ban next week — finals week. But Mr. Thompson objected, feeling that that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.  And while we enjoy making light of the War On Drugs, we don't want to sink to its level, do we?
[ Post Comment ]





  Post Comment





Name:       Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment:   [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]

Link URL: 
Link Title: