While one might argue that over-the-top booze sessions and sex is part of the college experience, cafeteria management at the institution appear to disagree.
Middlebury College's dining services have released an information flyer that links energy drinks to drunk driving, "high-risk sexual activity," and the use of other "intoxicating" substances, report NBC News.
The college has taken the arguably radical step of banning the caffeine pumped drinks' sale in the belief that they may lead to unsafe behavior in young people, reports the college paper, The Middlebury Campus.
Sales of drinks like Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy will be banned from the college's retail units as of March 7.
Director of dining hall services, Dan Detora told NBC News: "I see it as the equivalent of banning cigarettes."
The fate of the energy drinks was sealed after it was agreed at a council meeting that they contravened the college's mission to sustain "mind, body and earth."
Scientific studies in the past have noted a correlation between energy drinks and binge consumption of alcohol.
While alcohol seems to be the main bogeyman that Middlebury College is concerned about, they seem to view the energy drinks as a kind of gateway drug, which may be too much for the poor little darlings to handle.
Comment:
But we may finally be approaching the limits of our appetites. A spate of recent caffeine-related deaths is challenging the perception that caffeine is a safe and legal high. Over the last four years, 13 people have died in incidents that involve 5-Hour Energy, the 2-ounce drink which boasts in television ads that it's been recommended by 73 percent of doctors.Similarly, the Federal Drug Administration acknowledged in October that five additional people have died in incidents that involve Monster Energy.
Caffeine has long flown under the radar of the FDA's aggressive drug testing, in part because energy drinks are often sold as either beverages or dietary supplements, and in part because caffeine has become so ubiquitous in American society that it's considered an essential part of our 24-7 culture. The chemical's powers are so storied that some have even claimed it's the basis of the global capitalist structure and industrialized society itself. "The widespread use of caffeinated drinks - replacing the ubiquitous beer - facilitated the great transformation of human economic endeavor from the farm to the factory," asserted aNational Geographic cover story. Five-Hour Energy capitalized on this belief, marketing itself as a remedy for "hardworking adults who need an extra boost of energy."
But would Americans consume caffeine if they knew the drug's true effects? Chemically, caffeine mimics adenosine, a neurochemical that effectively acts as a time clock for your body's nervous system. Without caffeine, adenosine keeps track of the number of neurons that fire in your brain throughout the day until you've clocked so much activity that it's time for the precious reward of sleep. Caffeine, however, temporarily blocks the adenosine time clock, allowing your neurochemicals to fire like it's 1999 without causing you to pass out. As FDA filings reveal, the real-world consequence for caffeine overdose can be fatal. Since 2009, nearly 100 people reported 5-Hour Energy's consumption being associated with adverse medical issues. About a third of the filings included potentially fatal issues like heart attacks, convulsions and even a spontaneous abortion, according to an analysis by the New York Times.
However, some students think that the college's administration may be taking their nannying role too far. One student told NBC News that "there are more important things for them to address."
It remains to be seen how Middlebury students will now cope with burning the midnight oil while cramming for exams at the end of the semester.
Comment: While students make an important point that the college administration may be taking their 'nannying role too far' and that there are 'more important things for them to address'. The truth is that banning the sale of energy drinks by the college's retail units may actually be beneficial for the health of the student body.