page 14 Lunar lunacy Too many responsible people con- tinue to believe that the full moon, in _particular, influences our body and belie. Dr. Michael Coles of the S.F.U. HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT psycology department at Simon Fraser University isn’t one of them, but research he has conducted over the years does offer some explanations for the perpetuation of this ancient super- stition. ‘If you speak to the staff of any of the local obstetrics wards you will find nurses who firmly believe that there are mere:births at the time of the full moon, as though the moon pulls on the amniotic fluid the same way it pulls on the oceans to create tides.There are also psychiatric proffessionals who will tell you that there are more unusual occurences and incidents of ‘crazy’ behaviour around the time of the full Coles has not found credible scientific data to support these theories and thinks instead that a combination of factors have contributed to the belief in lunar lunacy. ‘the word ‘lunacy’ has never been precisely defined. Two thousand years ago it meant that a child born at the time of the full moon would develope into an epileptic. Later it was changed to refer to the induction of a seizure in fact or fiction a person who already suffered from epilepsy. During the past 50 years the emphasis has been on the latter point of view - the elicitation of crazy behaviour, rather than the creation of the lunatic individual - but the be- haviours that have been considered to be elicited by the moon have ranged all the way from childbirth, through telephone calls to crisis centers, petty theft,.to suicide and homicide. ‘*..each quarter of the lunar cycle is a fraction over seven days long. Con- sequently, when we look at abnormal behaviour, what we could be seeing is the result of a weekly cycle, not a lunar cycle and any police officer will tell you that Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest. . ‘Finally, there is the fact that, again as human beings, we are inclined to be very suggestable creatures. Frequen- ly in recent years newspapers have reported a series of copy cat murders. There are those among us who use the full moon - just as we use Hallowe’en - as an excuse to indulge in the kind of behavior we would not normally like to be associated with. And those of us who don’t act like lunatics tend to encourage such behavior.’’ Coles concludes that lunacy is a belief in a disorder that has never been pre- cisely defined and rather than rep- resenting fact, acts as a prime illus- tration of the pervasive power of sug- gestion. The Other Press m= Stimulus-response behavior in dogs. Library tours Every first year English or Com- munications student will receive a library orientation class during the first few weeks of the semester. In addition, many instructors in other subject areas arrange for a library class to demonstrate the reference books and periodicals most useful for that subject. If you are not taking an English or Communications class, and have not had a tour of the library in a previous year, walk-in tours are available every day at 1 P.M. during September. Just: come to‘the Information desk in the library. Students wishing for more in-depth instruction should consider taking the course Skills for College Library Research [LIB 111]. This 1% credit course runs for 7 weeks from October 3 to November 14, 1984. Research for a term paper for another course can be done as part of your LIB 111 assign- ments. Remember, your student card is your library card and it must have a Fall 1984 registration sticker to be valid. The Wosk’s clock at 8th and Columbia has seen better days. The closing of the store to make room for New Westminster’s water- front redevelpment has slated this long standing relic for demolition. Monday, August 27, 1984 .Workers have been cutting sec- tions off and taking them away on flatbed trucks. Bus riders will find the dis- appearance of this handy time piece a trifle inconvenient once our handy transit system starts up again. Youth orchestra starts — A new youth orchestra in the Douglas College region is starting up this fall. Lloyd Blackman, a former director for the Vancouver Youth Orchestra will be conducting interviews for musicians early this September. The year long program will be held once a week at the new facilities here at Douglas College, also featuring an emphasis on ensemble paying and musical workshops, says the college’s musical director, Tatsuo Hoshina. Blackman and Hoshina will be look- ing for people between the ages of 13 and 21 with at least a couple of years training on any orchestral instrument. The accent in the youth orchestra will be on increasing the students repetoire with the music of Canadian com- posers, baroque and classical music. Hoshina is hopeful some local profes- sional musicians will be available for sessional instructions to complement the program’s additional training in symphonic literature. Once the group begins practise in September, the students will be hold- ing regularly scheduled concerts in the college performance theatre. At least 30 students are needed for this program but more will be accepted if the demand is shown to be greater. “It’s not just young virtuosoes we’re looking for. The Douglas College Youth Orchestra will be accepting any- one with a fine ear for music and a strong desire to play,’’ Hoshina said. ~ The cost for the year long non-credit program will be $184 for 33 lessons. Auditions for the course will begin on September 6th and interested students should get in touch with the Douglas College music department. : “We're all very anxious to get this orchestra started,‘’ Hoshina said. DATES TO KNOW THIS SEMESTER Monday September 10 Last day to r cent refund for any receive 80 course withdrawl. Monday September 17 Last day to late register. To add a course, or drop a course without receiving a ‘‘W’’ on record. Redundant filler This is what is known in the layout business as ‘‘plugging’’ or “stopping a rift’’. Usually when one becomes stuck looking for a ‘‘continuation’’ or a cute graphic, and there is still a inch of space left over, we’ll put in a nice little story about the caffeine con- tent of marijuana or something on the guy down the road who prac- Library hours are 0745 - 2215 Monday to Thursday, 0745 - 1715 Friday and 0900 - 1700 Saturday. Closed Sundays and Holidays. Monday September 24 Last day to receive a 50 per cent refund for any course. Monday October 29 Last day to drop a course. Last day to challenge a course. Last day to change from credit to audit status in a course. Monday November 12 Last day to completely withdraw from Fall semester. tices bestiality. What this really is is a lack of redundant tripe at a time when th person doing layout can’t finc anything in the graphics file to finish off the page. So what happens is you usually sit down at the typesetter with a little ‘News in Brief’’ thing that nobody cares about and you try to stretch it to the desired length using cutesy catch phrases and words that aren’t in the dictionary.