Over the past year or so, Mountain Dew Kickstarts have risen to become one of the most popular beverage items for students at DGS. You can see it through the long lines at the vending machines and students asking you for spare change to purchase their favorite flavored Kickstart. As caffeine has become the norm for a morning or midday boost for many teens nowadays, it appears students are turning to Kickstarts as an alternative to the jumbo-sized iced coffees and traditional energy drinks.

As schools try to add “healthier” variety in terms of beverage selection, the Kickstarts always leave the vending machines by the end of the lunch periods. As many students claim it helps keep them from not dozing off during class, it can be said that Kickstarts are sold in excess, but they should not be eradicated completely. 

According to Caffeineinformer.com, the ingredients in a typical Kickstart feature 5 percent fruit juice to reduce the amount of sugar. In addition to the 90 mg of caffeine, Kickstarts have Vitamin C and B as well.

When looking at these drinks on a scale, Kickstarts are lower in caffeine with 90 mg, compared to others such as Monster Energy with around 160 mg, and Redline Energy with a whopping 250 mg of caffeine. Other flavors of Kickstart such as Strawberry Kiwi and Pineapple Mango have lower amounts of caffeine (68 mg).

While other carbonated and zero-sugar beverages in vending machines are available, Kickstarts will not solve the problem of having ‘healthier options’ for students. A better solution would be to reduce the number of Kickstarts into one or two fridges and/or vending machines. As it may be difficult to argue the health benefits of consuming caffeine, having a medium selection of Kickstarts available to students seems more rational.

Enjoying or relying on a caffeinated drink every once in a while has become the norm, and students at DGS shouldn’t be denied the privilege of having a normal-sized selection of Mountain Dew Kickstarts.