Flavors of the Week is changing.

Now, rather than those confusing ice cream scoops, Flavor will be ranking recipients like it does the movie reviews, with zero stars being the worst and five stars being the best.

0 of 5 stars – Stores that think it’s Christmas

Our Thanksgiving turkeys haven’t even started thawing and you’re playing Christmas music? Seriously? Like, really? At least wait until the end of November. I was walking through DeKalb’s Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago and gawked at the jingling of “Carol of the Bells.” It was at the end of October. I thought it was a fluke. Woe is me, it wasn’t. Before you know it, Christmas promotions will start in June next year because of stores like these. Then, people can spend money they don’t have even sooner. Yippee!

1 of 5 stars – Detox

According to a Nov. 13 Northern Star article, Detox is closed because it failed to get a liquor license “due to ownership confusion.” Wow, that was fast. That location is miserable. Not because of any particular effort to make businesses drop like flies at the 1000 W. Lincoln Highway locale, but because it just seems to be cursed. Hey DeKalb, you have to change your formula, because it’s not working. Try putting an arcade or a bookstore or something else college student-friendly there that’s not guaranteed to flop. The bar thing was fine while it lasted, but cut your losses.

2.5 of 5 stars – The elimination of pass/fail courses

This one is a toss up. According to a Nov. 11 Northern Star article, the pass/fail option is no longer one that NIU offers. Reasons were reportedly given for and against its elimination, but this writer is still undecided. Sure, it’s easy to assume pass/fail is taken because the student was on the lower end of passing. However, isn’t the beauty of an undergraduate education in exploring subjects you otherwise wouldn’t dare? What do you think? Do you care?