You see people in Valentine walking out of the servery to the annex with five or six plastic cups filled with some neon-colored sports beverages all the time. So why should a tray with cups full of yellow liquid concern anyone? It's not like they were trays full of marijuana brownies.

But if you were eating dinner on Thursday or Saturday night, then you definitely noticed something unique about these particular trays when the lemonade mimics quickly found their way out of the cups and onto the table in rowdy games of flip cup and beiruit.

"I think it was hilarious, personally," said Krys Perry '04. "It didn't seem to hurt anybody."

Two different nights, two different groups of people and two different games but with one common, inebriated goal. And, contrary to popular myth, this time even the sober people were having a great time.

Perry described the Saturday beirut show as "an interesting change from the norm." If only the Daily Jolt or the Valentine menu had listed this dinner course, then perhaps Saturday dinner would not have been as poorly attended as it has been in the past.

"People were cheering them on and everything," said Perry. "I think some people noticed and some people didn't want to notice, but gradually they all started to pay attention, especially because one guy who was winning was really loud and egging [the crowd] on. He was telling everyone to put up their hands and cheer and he got on the chair."

Although the Beirut game was already transcending considerable boundaries, the participants decided to steer away from streaking in the dining hall. Despite the criticism that hardcore Beirut players might have, most spectators in the annex were not all that upset by the change in rules.

"The birthday boy got nudied. All of a sudden we realized that maybe [one of them] was going to nudie him," said Emily Crespin '04. "But, of course, he wouldn't get naked in Valentine."

"It made my week," said Perry. "I think it should be played more often in Valentine."

Lions, tigers and bears

You're reading quietly on the freshman quad when, out of nowhere, a pack of ravenous, blood-thirsty wildcats comes rushing at you from Memorial Hill. What do you do?

Meet Bob Wiley, instructor of the Amherst College Outing Club's Wilderness First Aid course. "He had a wealth of knowledge and personal experiences and he's seen more than his fair share of wilderness experiences," said Carl Angiolillo '04.

Well, that's not exactly the type of situation that the course was dealing with, but their potential emergency situations were serious and exciting all the same.

"Even though we knew our patients were just acting, it was hard not to get swept up in the adrenaline rush of saving them," said Angiolillo.

The 16 Five College students that passed the class may not be ready to fight tooth and nail against torrents of sanguinolent wildcats, but they certainly feel prepared to face the wilderness.

"The course was extremely informative," said Hallison Putnam '02. "We learned about what to do in cases of hypothermia, dehydration, broken bones and soft tissue damage."

"I feel like I would know where to begin if I was faced with a wilderness emergency; that's a really comforting feeling, to be able to rely on yourself and make a plan," Angiolillo said. "I also feel nervous because I realize that wilderness medical emergencies are extremely serious. When you're in the wilderness, you have only your wits and whatever you're carrying."