Wednesday, September 8, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - 38 homas Kuljurgis T E JoYs oF CR\SP PLEASC IAOLV' OV4-- rm TlhT CLk $ 1C3 FPULL Tentatively Speaking T 4\S SUCKS, 0& LT GO £IET SOME MNT- fle-4 VU LJO 6 L :-,V c9 Ikuljurqoum'i. -CjLk IM-W I It Chip Cullen Grind n the Nib Thomas Kuljurgis Ten tat : tpeaKinq vt' IN T*) tW (jYeU .4 J4 ACOKXORAGTO IWE LAL AFROI$N fc AUvvmNsu% S.~~Wu U (LJ~SMI EOAI>5 QVE9 IL 464~ OF T"ltsCA$*$ S s g4ws'~ s la%.r W^ Im - - --wm-w - - - - . - - v Cilege on't aboutfindiig ajob, i's aboutfinding yourse f on future career ambitions rather than get- "Life is a great big canvas. Throw ting an education in and out of the class- all the paint on it you can." room. Yes, a Michigan degree in Business -Danny Kaye Administration or Engineering will almost assure you an automatic job upon gradua- I hope I never hear tion. And yes, in eight months when I leave any of you new students Heather the University with my bachelor of arts in the next year say you Kamins degree and most likely jobless, I'll probably want to be a lawyer ... wish I had such a guarantee. a doctor, or a rocket N But is the sacrifice worth it? I argue no. cientist, engineer, You'll hear students joke that the College investment banker, con- of Literature, Science and the Arts should sultant, actor, dentist, be called LS&Play. zoo keeper or even jour- But there is no greater gift that this uni- nalist. versity can bestow on its students than a I hope the thought liberal arts education. A chance to fall in never even crosses your KANDID love with 19th Century French mind. KAMIS Impressionism, post modern poetry or even Freshman year in col- botany. lege, or probably all You have the rest of your life to worry ur (or five or six) years of college should about tweaking resumes, to learn Microsoft be propelled by a want to learn and a desire Power Point, to practice managerial skills to have fun. Too often what are dubbed "the and to go to a vocational graduate school to best four years of your life" are misspent be a doctor, lawyer, dentist or business executive. But you only have approximately 536 class days to master symbolic logic and applied calculus, to talk to world-renowned experts on psychology and social develop- ment or to experience the intensity of a Ralph Williams lecture on Shakespeare and the Bible. And I'll bet that one day sitting in your office on Wall Street or maybe even Capitol Hill you will agree that those classes on the economics of third world countries and pol- itics in China are the earnings from the best investment you've ever made. Not only will the knowledge of how the world works and the theories of the nation's greatest thinkers enhance any job you even- tually choose, but current statistics show that Americans are changing careers every 7 years. So although spending two years in the cozy Kresge Library might be more luxuri- ous than braving the basement of East Quad Residence Hall - the home of the Residential College, the University's own intimate liberal arts college, you might be wasting your time when you discover at the age of 47 that you have always really want- ed to be a print maker or psychologist. Don't be afraid or too shy to join every campus group and take classes that will not find you a job or go towards your major. Take a music class or dabble in art. Who knows you might find a new major - the discipline you really want to study and make your life's passion. And out of the classroom go to that con- cert even though it is a Wednesday night. Forget for a few hours about the 12-page term paper on the the Battle of Hastings in 1066 due Monday and go to the football game. You'll treasure for much longer the rival- ry, spirit and pride of the Wolverines than the grade you got on the essay. For the rest of your life you will have to work 40, 50, 60 or maybe even 120 hours a week. You've got a whole lifetime in front of you and a job is just a part of it so don't waste this opportunity by planning your Ultimately, your undergraduate experience will be up to you. If you seek to find it, the University can offer it profession. Graduate with a liberal arts degree instead. And along the way meet new peo- ple, speak Japanese, study abroad, find out how to calculate the velocity of a train and learn to paint. - Heather Kamins is editor in chieftf The Michigan Datly. She can be reached via e-mail at hbk@umich.edu. Supposedly open college atmosphere can suppress talk of eating disorders By Emily Achenbaum Daily Editorial Page Editor Eating disorders are a taboo topic, which is unfortu- Ate, considering how rampant they are among stu- dents. Sufferers of eating disorders are the masters of deception, but I see subtle hints of it everywhere, from the snippets of conversation I overhear to the traces of -vomit I see in the Angell Hall womens' bathroom. * Maybe I've just been conditioned to sense the dam- age being done by eating disorders, the way my doctor, who has done work with alcoholics, can sit down at a dinner party with acquaintances and tell right away who's got the drinking problem. Eating disorders conjure up a variety of stereotypes - that they plague white, affluent over-achiever who are already thin. I know women who fit that image. Sorority girl jokes that do not relate to shopping or sex- ual accessibility tend to be about their alleged eating habits. But I also know women who are not thin but have eating disorders - bulimia is sneaky like that -- *d women who aren't good students, don't belong to a sorority and don't read Vogue but are quietly dying inside. Think that sounds overly dramatic? I don't. Admission to the University is a ticket to the land of opportunity. Damaging eating patterns can grow into a full-time obsession that leaks into all parts of the indi- vidual's life. It wrecks self-confidence in areas unrelat- ed to one's body, such as academic performance. Victims are literally wasting away. .1 don't know why exactly college creates an enviro- ment where eating disorders flourish. College students seem to be particularly vulnerable to poor body image that can leadnto depression and anxiety or a full-blown eating disorder. During college, we're taught to scruti- nize everything we see, and maybe some people apply these newly honed skills to themselves. Maybe it's because college can be pretty damn overwhelming, and eating disorders are a misguided - although oddly logical - attempt at control over at least a single aspect of one's life. According to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc., 86 percent of peo- ple with an eating disorder develop it before the age of 20. A professor of mine who I greatly admire - she's an outspoken feminist, has written several books, is a noted academic in her field - once admitted to me, privately in office hours, that she suffered from an eat-, ing disorder in college. My first thought was: What if this vibrant woman had been snuffed out, her growth stunted, her potential never reached because this plague crept into her life and held her hostage? Who saved her? Could she have saved herself? Can anyone pull through such a crippling addiction on their own? University Health Services offers some treatment options to suffers of eating disorders. There are also endless therapists in this touchy-feely, liberal town. Good thing, too - the sooner an eating disorder is identified and treated, the easier and faster the recov- ery, and the smaller the potential for physical and emo- tional damage. Behavioral issues - like learning how College can be pretty damn overwhelming, and eating disorders can be a misguided attempt at control over one aspect of one's life. to regain healthy eating habits and how to feel and respond to hunger again are addressed in treatment. So are the psychological issues - understanding and coping with the reasons behind and problems related to the eating disorder. Not all sufferers even know they have the disorder Please, watch your friends, your lovers, yourself you'll find this nasty disease popping up in the most surprising places. Eating disorders are alive and well on this campus. Look carefully at friends, at classmates when you walk to class, at dormmates when you sit down in the cafe- teria. There's a ghost that is possessing some of them. It breaks my heart. It doesn't need to be that way. - Emily Achenbaum can be reached via e-mail at emilylsa@umich.edu. City of Ann Arbor RecyclePlus Call the 24-Hour Hotline, 99-GREEN PAPER Place these loose products in the tan bin. Newspaper, Magazines, Mixed Paper & "Junk Mail" Phonebooks, Paperback Books, Brown Paper Bags, - Corrugated Cardboard. No hardcover books or plastics.-, CONTAINERS Place clean items in the green bin. Glass & Ceramics, Plastic Bottles #1 and #2, Metal Cans, Aerosols &Scrap Metal, Milk & Juice Cartons No foam products, plastic bags or light bulbs. BAGGED Bag thefollowing materials separately. Textiles Place clean, used textiles into a plastic bag, tie shut and mark "Textiles." Includes synthetic and natural fiber clothing, linens, and paired shoes and socks. Boxboard Includes flattened separated cereal boxes. Call also for information on recycling household batteries, used oil filters, motor oil and the Drop-Off Station. Home recycling services are provided by the City ofAnn Arbor and Recycle Ann Arbor