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Show OPINION 2 ; : n: ); i ' RACHEL ROBERTSON c ANGIE MERKLEY ? SAC'S J(. ZACSONNTAG 5 r . j - ? ANNUAL CASINO NIGHT OP-E- I v It adds some excitement to dress up, said CONTRIBUTOR 4 tested their and luck with the dice prowess Casino SAC of s largest annual at Night," one events, which was hosted Nov. 4 at the Draw. Westminster CATHERINE BLAKEMORE card-counti- TAYLOR STEVENS students ng They called, raised and folded at Texas Hold em, split stacks at Blackjack and shot craps with outsized exuberance all the while know- JACOB GRONBERG ing that they might win big or win nothing at all, but knowing foremost they had nothing to lose. JOHNNIE ETHINGTON SACs Casino Night is part of an ongoing trend on college campuses where student com- mittees seek to satisfy cravings for casino-stygames without running afoul the law. Theyve found an ingenious way to create the thrill of ; MATT BAKER le ! (801) 832.2319 forumbusiness weslminstercollege.edu ; chance-takin- g without, stricdy speaking, risking a loss. (801) 832.2320 forumeditorwestminstercoliege.edu , portunity drawing, said Sarah Himing, SAC president Students give nothing of value to participate in the evening, so it is technically not considered gambling in the sense that would vi- r The first issue of The Forum is free and the subsequent issues cost $1. Please make payments to The Forum office. olate restrictions. The organizers gave each student a starting sum of chips to play with, but the players were EDITOR'S CORRECTION On Nov. The Forum printed a head-- ; line that should have read, "Westmin- ster community hopes to provide an inviting environment for LDS students." We apologize for any misleading as-- 1 sumptions the original headline may have created. . s I make the mistake of saying raffle, but for legal reasons I should refer to it as an op- allowed to exchange further winnings for extra tickets in the drawing. The better they played 4, ' the odds on the board, the better their odds at a prize. Westminster women dressed to the nines in daring high heels and shapely black dresses, and ; the men seemed to have blown off the pages of a designer brochure, with crisply cut suits and swagger in spades. 3L . J What is Wesley Spargo, sophomore with a bow tie snug at his throat. Look good, play good, kind of thing. The nights most coveted buy-in- s were at where the mood was mellow and chatty. Its casual but engaging, and its easy math, said Aspen Hopkins, neuroscience major, scraping the felt for a hit. She stayed on 18. The dealer went bust Based on the stack of her chips, Hop- Holdem. Although, onlookers never would have guessed by the players emotionless faces, which had all the cheer of a police lineup. kins had the math down. The key is not showing your facial expressions," said Andrew Wolford, environmental was the craps table. Craps is a very social game, said Ryan Cooks, whod drawn a crowd to the table with a Texas dont want anybody to know how you feel about your hand. Thats why some of them wear sunglasses. The table saw some emotion, however, when Wolford pushed all his chips in on the strength of three Queens that werent strong enough. No way! said Wolford, disappointment turned face up. He beat me with a full house on the river card. I cant believe that A number of students expressed upset, not because theyd lost at Holdem, but rather because they didnt get the chance to. No ones getting up. Their butts are glued to the seats, said one student, who asked not to be named. I felt like they were being inconsiderate. I waited forty minutes and still wasnt able studies major. You to play. Members of SAC said they did their best to involve all students who came to the event. We spoke with the dealers about complaints, and they did their best to allow more students to play, said Himing, SAC president. But there were more students than we anticipated. One hundred students RSVPd... and 150 showed up, which is double the number of last year. The most accessible tables were at Blackjack, I really dont ever play, she said. Its ners luck. The events wild-chi- ld lengthy lucky streak. A lot of people can play at once, even though only one person rolls the dice. It can get confusing, too, but the dealers were really good at explaining everything and giving us tips. And its fun because you can win really big. Big, indeed. Close to the end of the night, the crowd around Cooks had grown to nearly 30, three rows deep and packed tight. Heads craned for a view as Cooks hurled his last shot, and when the dice came to a stop, so did every last game in the house: all heads turned to witness the nights biggest commotion holy craps! Some students earned as many as 15 raffle tickets. Prizes included a $50 Amazon gift card and two $25 gift cards. Not exactly a high-stak- es payout Nonetheless, students were playing to win. On the last hand of the night, Hopkins was showing 17 at Blackjack. Hit. No, wait, stay! Okay fine, hit! No...I dont know! Hopkins said. The math, it seems, got harder with time. Hopkins sighed and looked at the dealer. What do you think? Hit? i it and why does it want to kill me? Crystals EMMA DELOUGHERY OP-E- CONTRIBUTOR What are they? Crystals are solid materials with components that are arranged in ordered structures. These structures form a crystal lattice, a series of repeating units, that extends in all directions. Even though the structure is at the microscopic level, you can usually identify crystals with your eyes based on their shape and the orientation of their flat sides. Where can I find them? Usually in rocks as things such as quartz, diamonds and emeralds. Ice is also a crystal, so snow is a collection of crystals. You can also find crystals in living creatures, such as calcite or aragonite shells on snails or clams even in your own body in the form of bone. Bones a crystal? Around 70 percent by weight of it is. Hydroxylapatite is composed of calcium, phosphorous, oxygen and hydrogen and makes up the mineral part of bone as well as tooth enamel. Interestingly, hydroxylapatite can exchange its (hyfor fluoride ions negatively-chardroxyl) groups fluorine atoms. If this happens in ged your teeth from drinking fluoridated water, your risk of cavities decreases. oxygen-hydrog- en How do crystals form? Via two major steps: nudeation and crystal growth. Nucleation is the beginning of crystal formation, where bits of solid particles in a liquid or gas gather together in clusters. If the clusters are stable, they form an organized structure specific to that type of crystal. If the crystals are not stable (due to small size or temperature, for example) they dissolve. A stable cluster undergoes crystal growth, where it adds identical repeating units, once it has formed. What kinds of crystal structures are there? A lot. Crystals are defined by their symmetry, the relative lengths of the repeating units edges, angles between those lengths and other factors. For example, hydroxylapa- tite belongs to the hexagonal crystal system, which requires a hexagonal lattice that is, the arrangement of atoms making up the crystal look like a hexagon. The mineral beryl, which includes both aquamarines and emeralds, also belongs to this system, but it belongs to a different crystal class based on its slightly different atom arrangement. Whats your bias? I am neither a geologist nor an inorganic chemist, but I do like to look at shiny things, and its always fun to find a crystal when youre going for a hike. begin- College: when going to bed before 1am is an accomplishment 23 UPVOTES Who else forgot they had homework this weekend? 14 UPVOTES UPVOTE IF YOU HUNGRY 47 UPVOTES For every up vote Ill slap my roommate in the face. 131 UPVOTES |
