TEMPORARY CAFFEINE BAN AT AMHERST COLLEGE GETS NATIONAL COVERAGE

AMHERST, Mass. -- A temporary caffeine ban at Amherst College Tuesday
received national media attention and left some students bleary-eyed and
disgruntled.

A 24-hour ban on the sale and distribution of coffee caught the attention
of The New York Times and local newspapers but left students questioning
the legitimacy of signs adorning their cafeteria:

"The alarming rise in caffeine use and the adverse side effects associated
with this drug are seen as a significant public health risk. In order to
curb the use of caffeine at Amherst College, the sale and distribution of
coffee are no longer permitted on campus."

Some students were shocked to find empty coffee pots in Valentine dining
hall and Schwemm's Gourmet Coffee House, but they may have been more
surprised to learn that the ban was part of an elaborate ruse orchestrated
by senior art student, Andrew Epstein.

By banning coffee, Epstein said he hoped to demonstrate the hypocrisy of
drug laws that sanction certain substance abuse while banning others. He
came up with the plot in an art class called "Social Sculpture," and with
the blessing of the administration and student government organization
(SGO), he set himself up as the Caffeine Czar of Amherst College.

"Obviously there's hypocrisy in the application of drug policies," Epstein
said. "I wanted to raise awareness of this by forcing people to look at
their own substance abuse."

To achieve the desired affect, Epstein said that students had to believe
the caffeine ban was real. As part of the ruse, Epstein dressed up in a
suit and held a press conference for a small group of curious onlookers.

"Today is a great day for Americans who value a drug free society," Epstein
said. "Caffeine is a dangerous stimulant that increases levels of stress
and increases health problems."

He went on to describe the many ailments associated with caffeine
consumption, including stress, high blood pressure and increased risk of
heart disease. Some students booed and demanded their coffee, but others
seemed to be in agreement with Epstein.

"I think it's very dangerous," Josh Levy said, a sophomore and a non-coffee
drinker, "coffee should be banned."

Another student who admitted he was in on the secret said Epstein's message
went to the heart of prohibitive drug policies.

"I think it's ridiculous to try to ban anything," junior Alex Hochron said.
"Who is the SGO or campus administration to control what kind of substances
I want to put in my body?"

During the press conference, one of Epstein's cohorts asked him why the
faculty still had coffee in their dining hall. Epstein's prepared response
was, "I guess just like in the real world, illicit drugs are readily
available for the privileged only."

Epstein had some unlikely allies in his plot to ban coffee. Along with the
dining hall and campus cafe, Epstein got the administration's approval and
persuaded the SGO to pass his coffee resolution during a closed-door
session. Michelle Oliveros-Larson, junior and student body president, said
the resolution passed overwhelmingly.

"We were able to endorse this as an academic project," Oliveros-Larson
said. "I don't think he could have done this if he approached us as a
political activist."

Epstein is the founder and president of Amherst's chapter of Students for a
Sensible Drug Policy. He said that it's hard to get people to listen when
he approaches them directly about drug reform, so he hoped that he could
get a stronger response by indirectly involving them in his art project.

According to associate professor DeWitt Godfrey, the instructor for "Social
Sculpture," contemporary artists now create art out of situations instead
of objects. The concept is based on the work of Joseph Beuys, a German
artist and founding member of Germany's Green Party.

Beuys believed that art had the capacity to heal the hurts of the world and
save humanity, Godfrey said. In his class, Godfrey's students use this
concept to create situations in which the public is forced to interact with
the artist's message.

"Andrew can do a lot more as an artist, in the context of an art project,"
Godfrey said. "Even a simple action -- taking away coffee -- has a powerful
impact."

Friends of Epstein were stationed around campus in vans, surreptitiously
pushing black market coffee to create a prohibition like environment.

"Hey, you need coffee? I got coffee," said one student, who refused to
identify himself to the "narco-media."

After the press conference, Oliveros-Larson said one angry student wanted
to sue the SGO for taking such drastic action without addressing the
student body. But by the end of the day, Epstein circulated an explanation
of his project and student complaints subsided.

"I think it's cool that a lot of people were affected by this and pissed
off about it," said Hochron. "There's too much apathy about this on our
campus."