Editorial: Students get whipped

First college students were going loko and now they’re getting whipped.

With the recent FDA… First college students were going loko and now they’re getting whipped.

With the recent FDA ban on Four Loko and other major brands of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, we weren’t surprised to see college administrators concerned about an alcohol-infused whipped-cream product called Whipped Lightning, or “Whipahol.”

According to the product’s website, it is the world’s first alcohol-infused whipped cream.

With 18 percent alcohol — more than three times the amount found in most beer cans — in each $9.99 container, “college campus leaders are concerned that the new whipped cream product poses a serious threat to college students because many students use the whipped cream on drinks already induced with alcohol such as Jell-O shots,” reports Chicago’s WGN News.

Are we likely to see the alcoholic whipped cream — which comes in flavors like white chocolate raspberry, cinnamon and coconut — banned next?

One major difference between Four Loko and Whipahol is the presence of caffeine. According to the FDA, the combination of caffeine and alcohol found in alcoholic energy drinks led to their users reaching a state of “wide awake drunk.” Whipahol doesn’t pose this risk.

In addition, one of the appeals of Four Loko was its cheapness. At nearly $10 a can, Whipahol seems like more of a novelty than a way for students to get trashed on the cheap.

For several reasons, we hope that it doesn’t face the same scrutiny that Four Loko did.

First of all, we think the product will make stereotypical foreplay a little more interesting.

In addition, we have to wonder where the responsibility line will be drawn.

At what point do we get to claim responsibility for our own decisions rather than asking the government or campus leaders to make them for us?

Are we really not capable of deciding whether downing an entire can of alcoholic whipped cream is a good idea?

Sure, there are downsides to a product like this. Law enforcement officials might not be able to quickly recognize whether the whipped cream is alcoholic, and there is always the danger of children mistaking it for their ordinary sundae topping, Reddi-wip.

But as college students, we need a little less parenting from school administrators and agencies like the FDA. College campus leaders should encourage and prepare students to make their own decisions.