.,L The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 14, 1995 -11 Effects of caffeine cause concerns Despite symptoms, A2 coffee drinkers buck national trend toward decaf By Vahe Tazian Daily Staff Reporter The possible dangers and side ef- fects from caffeine usage are creating growing concerns among many Americans, according to medical ex- perts. Sales of caffeinated coffees at some coffeehouses reflect this con- cern. Starbucks, a nationwide coffee- house chain, reports that 10 years ago, less than 5 percent of the coffee sold was decaffeinated. Today the figure is 20 percent. However, some local coffee mer- chants have not noticed similar trends in sales of decaffeinated coffees. Hicham Churbaji, an employee at Rendez-Vous Cafe on South Univer- sity Avenue, has not seen a rise in consumption of decaffeinated prod- ucts. "I would say that about 90 per- cent of all our coffee sold is caffeinated," Churbaji said. He added that the greatest con- sumption of caffeinated products oc- curs between midnight and 1 a.m. - the hours when many people leave local bars. Studies show caffeine to have both positive and negative effects. Experts say it can produce anxiety and serious withdrawal symptoms for some, yet can help others think more clearly and accomplish routine tasks with greater efficiency. This is the paradox and confusion revolving around caffeine use. It can make users tired or jittery. It also can relieve migraine headaches or make them worse. Jason Wine, an LSA junior, is a regular caffeine drinker who experi- ences many of the symptoms linked to caffeine use. "I become jittery when I drink caffeine, but I'm also Are you addicted? The American Psychiatric Association has compiled a, manual to help diagnose caffeine addiction. According to the APA you have a problem if you are consuming more than 250 mg of caffeinated products daily -2 or 3 cups of caffeinated brewed coffee -- and you have 5 or more of the symptoms during or shortly after the use of caffeine. Here are signs to look for: D Nervousness J Insomnia U Excitement O Restlessness 12 Increase in urination lQ Muscle twitching U Stomach or intestinal disturbances J Rapid or irregular heartbeat U Rambling thought or speech L Agitated thought pattems U Periods of inexhaustibility O Reddening of the face very alert," Wine said. "Caffeine is very addicting for me. I always feel like I need more." Some of the withdrawal symp- toms - lethargy, irritability, head- aches, anxiety, depression and nau- sea - are often the same symptoms associated with caffeine intoxication. These contradictions make it very difficult to diagnose caffeine-related problems. "Someone who has anxiety could be overindulging or withdrawing," said Thomas Uhde, the chair of the Wayne State University psychiatry department and a former researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health. "What makes it even more com- plicated is that the people who go into withdrawal are often the people who overindulge. So it can get into a vi- cious cycle," Uhde said. "What you should do under those circumstances is stabilize the intake and then gradu- ally taper it down." Research shows that caffeine can exacerbate psychotic symptoms in some patients with mental illness. However, caffeine is not considered a dangerous drug. Studies do not show any evidence that it causes cancer. Probably the worst it can do - which can be serious - is rob the body of calcium, promoting osteoporosis, but one glass of milk can offset that effect. - The Associated Press contributed to this report. MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily A student sips on caffeine-filled latte while reading over some notes. 'U' students create own alternatives to Alternative Spring Break By Danielle Belkin Daily Staff Reporter While some students are off to lay in the sun, a few enterprising students are off to build low-income housing. One option for the nine-day hiatus, the Alternative Spring Break, offers students the opportunity to volunteer with organizations nationwide. Nikhil Parikh, an LSA sophomore, ap- plied to participate in the Alternative Spring Break programs through Project SERVE. But after he was not accepted, Parikh decided to organize his own trip. Parikh went back to Project SERVE and asked for names of other students who were not accepted. Parikh recruited nine of those stu- dents to fill his group. The group will travel to Fort Lauderdale to work on a house for Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization that builds low-in- come housing. "It's an opportunity for University stu- dents to spend spring break helping a commu- nity," Parikh said. The trip is comprised of a diverse group of students, he added. Betsy Sargeant, an LSA sophomore, is also running a trip on herown. "Project SERVE had almost double the number of applicants than spots," Sargeant said. For more information To organize your own project for spring break or over the summer, call Habitat for Humanity at 1-800-HABITAT. Sargeant obtained the number for Habi- tat for Humanity, called them, and they sent her the necessary information. She gave the number to Parikh so he could set up a trip as well. "It's not that difficult to organize," Parikh said. "If students want to do this there are still a lot of different sites." Sargeant said she chose a location in Geor- gia for her trip because she wanted to go south. Parikh said he chose Habitat for Humanity because of its program. Volunteers must pay for their transportation and a $50 fee. On site, the volunteers typically paint houses and landscape yards in preparation for a new family. Habitat provides site leaders, who instruct students, and housing in a church or dorm, but no meals. Volunteers have tried to defer the cost of the trip through fund-raising efforts like a bake sale in the Fishbowl, and enlisting cor- porate sponsors like Cottage Inn. The trip is one week long and the partici- pants are excited to go, Parikh said. "The best part of the program is that while doing something good, (students) can still enjoy the vacation," Parikh said. "We plan on sightseeing, going to the beach, and checking out clubs." For students discouraged about going through Project SERVE, Sargeant stressed that any student can set up a trip. "Everyone should do something like this once in their life, it's a great experience. If you can't do it now, do it when you're older," she said. Student honored at N.Y. film festival p Documentary shows 'Body and Soul' of Detroit school By Maggie Weyhing Daily Staff Reporter A University telecommunication arts graduate student won high hon- ors at the 1994 International Film and TV Festival in New York. Beth Winsten, who is a teaching assistant for Film Analysis, won a bronze medal for her documentary, "Body and Soul" - a 10-minute film about Detroit's Cass corridor, focus- ing on an inner-city music school in a building that used to be one of the city's most elegant funeral homes. Winsten's documentary was cho- sen out of 3,500 entries from 36 coun- tries and has been aired a few times on Detroit public television station WTVS (Channel 56). The film was part of a project required by Prof Frank Beaver for the telecommunication arts graduate ,program. "This documentary is a contrast of what was and what is," Winsten said. "I wanted to do a documentary where I could tell a story. The image of this bleak neighborhood with this beauti- ful and decaying building that is now a music school certainly tells a story." Winsten said telling the story through the words of the people at- tending the music school allows one of the film's themes to show through. "Given today's political situa- tion, I wanted to show in a tangible way what art does for a community. In this particular community (Cass corridor), art makes a big differ- ence. You can see by listening to the people that if the school was taken away, it would be a great loss." She also mentioned that she hopes her documentary will help the music school to continue. Winsten said "Body and Soul" reflects her work with Beaver in that it is more of a poetic film. She said that one example of this more poetic approach is a coffin that is shown representing the building's past as a funeral home. The coffin then turns into a musical instrument case and opens up, representing the building's new life. Beaver, the director of the gradu- ate program, said he noticed right away that Winsten's film was a win- ner. "It just had a life of its own which is what you look for in a good film. It is a very dynamic film. The idea that this place was once a place of body and soul is now a place where won- derful life emanates from music is fascinating." Winsten, on the other hand, was not sure of her film's potential when it was first completed. "There is always that murky part in the middle of production. You just don't know until you're finished whether or not people will respond to it," she said. "I'm pleased that there was a response." Winsten previously worked with Sue Marx FilmsInc. in Detroit, where she produced and directed a number of programs, including documenta- ries that aired locally, nationally and internationally. Winsten said she decided to at- tend the University to advance her career to the next level. "The disciplined and critical envi- ronment here, combined with the re- sources of the University, have strengthened my foundation, en- hanced my abilities and moved my career to the next level." Winsten and Beaver are currently working on a film about Beaver's experience in the early 1960s as one of the first U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. Alert! Computer Virus Outbreak Detected Anyone who used a Dell computer at the Angell Hail Courtyard Computing Site between mid-January and February 3 is encouraged to check any disks used in these machines for computer viruses. On Friday evening, February 3rd, Information Technology Division (ITD) computer consultants discovered several different computer viruses on some of the newly-installed Dell Pentium-90 computers in the Angell site and took immediate steps to eradicate the problem. (The machines were virus-free when they left the factory.) Additionally, measures were taken to increase the virus security of these machines. No Macintosh computers were affected, and the problem was restricted to Dell machines at the Angell site only. Computer users who suspect they may have infected disks are encouraged to scan them using antiviral software as soon as possible. Anybody finding an infection should check any other machines on which the infected disk was used. A computer station dedicated to detecting and removing viruses from infected disks has been set up at Angell Hall Courtyard, and consultants are available to help users check their disks and remove any viruses they may find. Telephone assistance is also available by calling 764-HELP. The University has a site license for the F-PROT antiviral package for DOS/Windows computers. Faculty, staff, and students can obtain free copies by bringing a formatted high- density disk to Angell Hall Courtyard, the NUBS Computing Resource Site, or other ITD computing sites with DOS/Windows computers. After authenticating with a unigname and password, a user .an retrieve the F-PROT package by going to the DOS Utilities m nu (5), choosing Virus Tools (8), and selecting the appropriate option to copy tne files to risk. The viruses discovered (AntiCMOS, Monkey, Nolnt, Stealthboot, and V-Sign) on the Dell computers are "boot sector viruses." Fortunately, none of these specific infections are particularly damaging or malicious. These viruses can only spread by having an infected disk in the A: drive when the machine is turned on or rebooted. Since most computer users don't keep disks in the floppy drives when not in use, we hope that the spread of these viruses _!Itt__I rn N L _ . _. _.L.I .._ __L __, _ . .L- - - ... Volunteers read texts to help disabled By Sam T. Dudek For the Daily Every night, as the campus quiets and the sun sets, a group of people gathers at Haven Hall to take part in a centuries-old tradition. They read. Armed with tape recorders, textbooks and coursepacks, volunteers meet nightly at the Services for Students with For more information Call Services for Students with Disabilities at 763- 3000, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. said volunteer Peter Eipers.