Date-rape drug an e-mail hfeix ■ Horse sterilization pill that does not exist is said to have been used as date rape drug on campuses. College Heights Herald Western Kentucky University BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (U WIRE) - Women on college cam puses across the nation have been receiving alarming e-mails warning them about a new drug that date rapists are using. The new drug, Progesterex, simultaneously sterilizes and knocks out women so they may be raped and not become pregnant. The e-mail is a hoax. “It’s an urban myth,” said Theresa Edmundson, assistant health educator at Student Health Services at Western Kentucky University. Comments and secondhand tes timonials have been sent through e mail to women across the country. The e-mail claims that a horse steril ization pill called Progesterex has been used to rape .women on college campuses across the nation. The e-mail claims the drug is administered by mixing it with alco hol or soda. It sterilizes women so that the woman cannot become preg nant, according to the e-mail. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American m It sounded real. It made me worry about my friends who go to parties all of the timer Laura Ressler Western Kentucky University freshman Veterinary Medical Association say the drug does not exist. Experts say the only drug that is similar to the stated purpose of Progesterex is a drug called Estrus, which is used to temporarily prevent mares from coming into heat The fake e-mail also says Progesterex usage has been reported at fraternity parties at Columbia University. Spokespeople for Columbia University confirmed there has been no reported use of such a drug at the university. Columbia University spokespeo ple also checked with other universi ties and drug education organiza tions. None of the groups had heard of Progesterex or its alleged use. “It sounded real,” said freshman Laura Ressler. Ressler received the e-mail from a friend and forwarded it to other female friends. “It made me worry about my friends who go to parties all of the time.” Although Progesterex is not a real drug, there are several other drugs that are often used in date rapes. One of those drugs is called Rohypnol. Rohypnol is used med ically as an anesthetic or sleeping pill. It has recently become known as “the date-rape drug.” It is used by rapists to sedate their victims. Roofies, as they are commonly called, are dropped into drinks at bars and parties. The drug leaves the victim weak and causes him or her to lose memo ries of what happened after the drug was taken. Detection of Rohypnol, now ille gal, may become easier. The manufacturers of the drug recently reformulated the drug. If added to light-colored drinks, the drink would turn bright blue. In a dark drink, the liquid will appear cloudy. Another rape drug is called Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, common ly called GHB. When taken at high dosages, it has a sedating effect. www.dailyneb.com ■mmrnmm—————i—-—mmm - i. :*!■? & The Customer is the Reason Why — — —402-467-3559 In recognition of our tremendous success with the University of Nebraska-Lincolns Greek System. Versatility Food Services would like to thank aU of it’s associates and wish them a joyful and bountiful holiday season. scientists grow human corneas WASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists for the. first time have grown human corneas m a laborato ry, a major step that could help replace controversial chemical test ing on animals’ eyes and perhaps one day even develop a supply of artifi cial corneas for patients who need eye surgery. “They show the same function as a real human cornea” in laboratory tests, said lead researcher May Griffith of the University of Ottawa, who reported her discovery in today’s edition of the journal Science. “This is a fundamentally new approach,” added toxicologist Rosemarie Osborne of manufactur ing giant Procter & Gamble, which helped fund Griffith’s work. “If we had had these sorts of tissues avail able years ago, there would have never been a need for animal tests.” The delicate cornea acts as a win dow into the eye, a transparent cover ing that protects the iris and pupil and also focuses light to the proper spot for vision. Some 40,000 corneal transplants are performed every year thanks to corneas donated at death, enabling people whose corneas became dam aged or clouded to see again. But there are barely enough donations to fulfill that need, leaving little for researchers to use in studying eye diseases. Congratulations Collin Johnson Collin Johnson is a graduating senior in Agricultural Business and has chosen a career at Archer Daniels Midland Company in commodities trading. ADM is one of the largest graiij and food processing companies in the world. Based in Decatur, Illinois, ADM is continually expanding throughout the United States a& weH as in China, Europe, Mexico, and South America. Collin found out about ADM’s career opportunities from career services 0 r k e t . on campus and scheduled an interview with ADM. After completing a < ^ ° two-stage interview process, Collin was offered a position as a Job market open in computer fields The Daily Free Press Boston University BOSTON (U-WIRE) - Graduate student Jeff Considine is a man in demand - a major corporation is offering him a starting salary of $63,000. But he is not sure if he wants the job. To Considine, who will graduate with a computer science degree, the $63,000 offer from Compaq is a run of-the-mill starting salary in the computer field. Compaq is one of many companies courting Considine. Mitre, another computer company, may pay him up to $52,000 a year to design software. Facing a variety of offers, he expects to have his pick of jobs upon graduation but hasn’t made a deci sion yet. And he is not alone. According to a recent University of Michigan survey, Considine is one of many students facing a rich job market, where starting salaries are up 3 to 5 percent. The study also found that the college labor market is expected to expand 10 to 15 percent in the coming year. in general, salaries are up, said Boston University Career Services Director Richard Leger. The job market is especially hot for graduates with computer science degrees, since recent surges in tech nical innovations have made comput er experts highly prized by employ ers, Leger said. Scott Savarese, another GRS stu dent, has an offer pending with General Dynamics, a high-tech cor poration. But he is not sure if he will take the job because he may wait for an offer from a start-up company, which could hold more immediate benefits. “If I were to work for Compaq, I’d have safety and benefits,” Savarese said. “But with a start-up company, you can earn a lot more money in a shorter amount of time.” While a number of high-tech companies are offering Savarese the chance for a large salary, the benefits to work in a computer-related field . extend beyond money. In addition to the $800 a week he earned as a software developer, 66 My guess is technology is...going to command top dollar and be competitive.” Richard Leger Boston University Career Services director Savarese’s employer, Compaq, offered him a variety of extra bene fits, including flexible hours, the use of a health club and the option to work at home. Through the combination of extra benefits and high salaries, Leger said, corporations hope to lure top candidates, especially Internet opera tors, designers and security program mers. “Anything that clicks into the Net seems to be doing very well right now,” Leger said. “My guess is tech nology is ... going to command top dollar and be competitive.” Leger says two factors typically determine a starting salary - geo graphic location and job type. According to the Electronic Engineering Times, engineers work ing in Northern California make more money than anywhere else in the nation. To have a shot at earning some of these high wages, Leger said, an, increasingly large number of gradu ates are exploring alternate ways to get a job, such as working as tempo rary employees. “There are lots and lots of folks* around who are hiring students on a temp basis,” he said. Leger urges students to begin their job search as early as their freshman years to familiarize them selves with job search resources available on campus. “Get an idea about what you like | doing,” Leger said. “Ultimately, you’re going to be good at what you do because you like it.” Former officer implicated in death of Notorious B.I.G. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Detectives are investigating whether an ex-policeman in prison for bank robbery played a role in the slaying of rapper Notorious B.I.G., the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. Investigators are looking into the possibility that former officer David Mack arranged for a friend to carry out the shooting outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in 1997, the newspaper said. There have been no arrests or charges in the rapper’s death. Some investigators believe the killing of Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, involved a feud between Los Angeles based Death Row Records and New York rivals, the paper said. Detectives who searched Mack’s house in connection with the bank robbery found what a police source called a “shrine” to Tupac Shakur, the Deadi Row star gunned down in Las Vegas six months before Wallace was killed. Police wouldn’t discuss the news paper report, which was based on con fidential police documents and used a former detective assigned to the case as one of the sources. “It sounds absolutely ridiculous to me,” said Mack’s lawyer, Donald M. Re. Investigators are trying to deter mine whether Mack hired longtime friend Amir Muhammad to kill Wallace at the behest of Death Row founder Marion “Suge” Knight, the Times reported Detectives previously have identi fied Knight as a suspect in the Notorious B.I.G. killing, alleging he may have ordered it while in jail on a parole violation. He is serving nine years for a 1992 attack on two rappers in a recording studio. Knight’s attorney, Robin Yanes, said Thursday that his client doesn’t know Mack. “He’s not a friend, not a business associate, nothing.” “A year ago it came up, and now they’re recycling it to cover their butts. They have nowhere to go. They are at a standstill,” Yanes said. “They went up to the prison and tried to get people to snitch out Suge, and they got noth ing.” Mack is serving 14 years for a 1997 bank robbery fiat netted a still missing $722,000. He is a former partner of Rafael Perez, the jailed ex-officer at the col ter of a Los Angeles Police Department corruption probe involv ing falsified reports, evidence planti ng and a shooting that paralyzed a man.