BRUARY 1988 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER 19
222-0 Spelunkers explore Most-used drug Steroids
Relive the football game If you can't see your Caffeine is good for What you don't know can
that rewrote the record hand, you must be in a studying, but not so good kill you.
books. cave. for the stomach.
Page 20 Page 22 Page 22 Page 20
Sacrificing health for thinness

Letter to Connie:
We can help you
By Editorial Staff
Daily Kent Stater
'Kent State U., OH
Dear Connie,
You said that you had often
thought about taking your life, that
sometimes the pressure got to be
unbearable and you just wanted to
get away from it all. .
Connie, everyone needs to get
away sometimes. The pressure gets
to everyone; you are not alone. Too
I often students think they are fac-
ing the world by themselves and
they are the only ones who can't
handle the problems that arise.
You said being in the Honors Col-
lege made you feel as if you had to
succeed at all cost. People believe
you have a special gift, you said,
and when you don't achieve excell-
ence they think you are wasting it.
Connie, these are people that
love you, and they only want the
best for you. Sometimes they push
too hard because they don't know
any better. Maybe if you sit down
and talk to them, they'll under-
stand.
Tell them that sometimes it is
OK to get a B instead of an A. Tell
them that sometimes it is OK to go
downtown on a Saturday night in-
stead of studying. Tell them that
sometimes it is OK to watch televi-
sion instead of going to the library.
Connie, all students are feeling
the pressure to succeed. But you
have to put things into perspective.
The world will not end ifa B shows
up on your report card. However, if
you don't learn to cope, if we don't
learn to cope, our world may come
crashing down on us.
That doesn't have to happen to
you. There are too many people out
there who care. Talk to a friend ab-
out how you are feeling. Tell them
you feel as if you are facing the
world alone. They may feel the
same way. If so, maybe you can face
the world together.
Everyone needs someone to lean
on-a friend, a family member, a
professional. Whatever you do, talk
to someone. Cry on a shoulder. You
are not alone, and you shouldn't
have to face your problems alone.
There are other solutions besides
suicide.
Connie, we care. We want to
help, but you have to let us. Open
up a bit; you'll see that we are just
like you. We all have problems and
we all need friends. Let us be your
friend. Love,.
Your fellow students

By Toni L. Wood
The Pointer
U. of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Lanie was always cold and always on
the move. In summer weather I'd find
her in a thermal-wear shirt and a swea-
ter, racing up and down the aisles of the
hospital, pushing her IV pole in front of
her. She would have a sallow, "no sleep"
look, so gaunt and thin that at 85
pounds her sweater slipped off her 5'6"
frame. Lanie was an anorexic that I'd
known for two years. "Hi," she'd say as I
caught up with her, "I'm in for a 'tune
up,' all I want is the usual." That is, the
usual meal tray request of two tables-
poons of raisins, one-fourth cup of plain,
low-fat yogurt and a cup of coffee with
half a packet of Sweet & Low. She'd get
tuned up, gin out against medical
advice and show up in emergency two or
three months later, dehydrated and
very thin.
Mel would sit on the edge of her bed,
holding a teddy bear; she was 14, looked
12, and at times looked like a streetwise
20-year-old. She had been admitted to
the adolescent unit for substance abuse
with a normal weight for height, but
had swollen cheeks, bloodshot eyes, rot-
ten breath and eroded teeth. In addition
to alcohol and pill abuse, Mel was a buli-
mic. During the course of our many con-
versations, she admitted to frequently
"pigging out" on large quantities of food
at a single sitting. A typical binge for
Mel was three personal size pizzas, a
half-pound of potato chips, a quart or
more of ice cream, a two-liter bottle of
soda and a half dozen donuts. She would
then make herself vomit. Mel would al-
ways get quiet after describing a binge-
purge; she'd chew her nails, stare into
space a while, and then softly say, "You
know, it's so damn hard to stop." Mel
and Lanie are patients I've had with
eating disorders.
Eating disorders are serious condi-
tions of self-destructive behavior that
are expressed as anorexia nervosa, buli-
mia, bulimarexia or severe obesity. This
article will deal with anorexia and buli-
See Thinness, Page 23

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SIGN& OF EA TING D #SoRES
Constant worry about body appear-
ance and weight
SA 'good' or 'bad' day is defined by
how much food has been eaten
Daily activities are centered around
an exercise schedule
Food intake is determined by what is
'deserved' rather than hunger level
Meal size and frequency are contin-
gent upon previous meals
Anxious anticipation or excessive
dread of the next meal
A tendency to associate happiness
with body size mAndrea Etovson-Daily
Bruin, U. of California, Los Angeles

Student hunk pumps up for Mr. America
By Tim Leonard
The Jambar
Youngstown State U., OH
Youngstown State U.'s George
Poullas will be competing in the
Mr. America body-building com-
petition this year.
His career spans a long list of
body-building titles, the most re-c
cent of which are Mr. Collegiate.
America in 1985 and Mr. Ohio in -
June of 1986.7
"Right now, I'm trying to gain
more size and more density. Inr
other words, I'm trying to mature;
the muscles, get more cuts and pol-
ish my physique," Poullas said. -
Poullas, a senior, said studying
nutrition has been immensely help-
ful. "Lifting is half the battle," heC
said. "The other half is watching
your weight."

Student 'docs'
meet health needs
of dorm residents
By Melanie H. Fridl
Daily Northwestern
Northwestern U., IL
Students in one group drag each
other around on blankets, tie each
other's legs to boards and practice the
art of bandaging broken bones. In
another area, a student asks, "What ex-
actly is gangrene?"
Activities and questions like these
are not out of the ordinary for the 53
students who serve as health aides in
Northwestern U. 's dormitories,
fraternities and sororities.
Each Thursday afternoon during the
school year, these students are at Searle
Student Health Service, studying basic
first aid and cardiopulmonary resus-
citation.
"The health aides work as a liaison
between the student community and
the student health service," said Patti
Lubin, health educator at Searle.
By studying weekly health aide re-
ports, Searle can monitor the spread of
viruses from one side of campus to
another, said Lubin.
Health aides usually treat students
for minor ailments such as colds and
small cuts. They may dispense over-the-
counter medications like Sudafed at no
charge.
While they must be prepared to hand-
le sudden emergencies, health aides are
not meant to be substitutes for profes-
sional medical care.
"We're not a medicine chest. We're
just there to help out," said senior Jen-
See Doctors, Page 23