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Tag: drink vending machine More and more Arlington school district students are showing up in nurse's offices with chills, chest pains, diarrhea and tremors, and officials are blaming their maladies on over-consumption of energy drinks. An advisory committee wants the district to consider banning the drinks. The school board is split on the issue. They would have to vote to add such a policy to the student code of conduct. "It's not becoming epidemic here, but it is becoming a problem," said Malcolm Turner, the district's executive director of student services. "Our concern is, parents are buying this stuff for their kids and they have no idea they're buying them alcohol." The canned energy drinks are often heavily caffeinated, and some contain alcohol. They are not sold on the district's campuses, but students often bring them to school as well as coffee-style drinks. On Friday afternoon, Arlington High School students sitting outside a Starbucks expressed concern that their favorite drinks could be banned. They said they often bring in a coffee-based or high-caffeine drink early in the day. "It helps me focus on my classes," William Peterson said. Denise Battee said the school selection of chocolate milk and fruit juice is not appealing to students and is often overpriced. "If people would limit their amount, it wouldn't be a problem," Battee said of the reports of students sickened by energy drinks. Gradual changes The state regulates what drinks can be sold at school. Texas Department of Agriculture guidelines require that at the high school level, no more than 30 percent of the drinks in school vending machines can be carbonated soft drinks. Next year, only 15 percent can be soft drinks, and by the 2009-10 school year, none will be allowed. No soft drinks are sold in elementary schools, and they are allowed to be sold in junior high school vending machines only after lunch. Other school districts across the country are also considering the effects of caffeine and sugar on students, particularly vending machine offerings. School districts in Florida and Michigan had recent debates on the issue, and one Michigan district banned the energy drinks altogether. Although it is a discussion point for area educators and school boards, bans are rare. "We don't have energy drinks in our schools," said Megan Overman, spokeswoman for the Grapevine-Colleyville district. "The closest thing like that we would have in our vending machines is Gatorade." What about a ban? Arlington school board President Jim Ash said he was not inclined to support a broad ban on energy drinks from campuses because the district does not define them. "I thought we were talking about Gatorade," he said. "I'm not willing to ban anything we think an energy drink is. It's too broad and highly unenforceable." He said it would be possible to ban the drinks during the school day but a ban would be difficult to enforce during after-school events. Other trustees wondered how different energy drinks are from other caffeinated drinks, such as those sold at Starbucks, that students may bring to school. Trustee Sherri Wade said she didn't think that students should be allowed to bring any drinks onto campuses because officials have no way of knowing for sure what is in them and because it will mean students have to use the restroom more often. Turner, of student services, said the committee will work on wording to differentiate the energy drinks, which have high amounts of sugar and caffeine, from athletic drinks that replenish the body's electrolytes.
 2008-05-19 17:24:04