2-News
I
have
real
problems
with my city and my
university. It’s legal in
Ann Arbor to gather outside
in groups of 25 and inside in
groups of 10. But it isn’t safe.
The city also requires that we
wear masks when in groups,
but
even
that’s
not
safe
unless we are six feet apart.
And how easy is it to wear a
mask when you’re having a
drink and a conversation?
My
city
—
the
city
I
came
home
to
10
years
after I graduated from the
University of Michigan —
is not doing all it should to
protect students.
And
our
university?
Well, I hate to admit it, but
Michigan State University is
behaving more responsibly
on this one. They’ve opted to
have all classes online, while
our university is offering
some in-person classes and
students are flooding the
campus.
Full
disclosure:
I’m
a
senior citizen, which means
this virus is more likely
to kill me than it is to kill
students. I live near campus
with my husband and one of
my sons. I have always loved
living among students — it
energizes me. Now, not so
much.
I grew up in New York and
came to Michigan to go to the
University. After graduating,
I returned to the big city to
do a doctorate at New York
University. By the time I
was finished, I was married
to a Michigan guy, and we
both missed Ann Arbor. We
packed up and came home to
our college town, and we’ve
never regretted it.
I love this city and this
university, but I worry about
the path we’re all on. Very
few people get through this
disease
without
suffering.
If you’ve ever had the flu,
imagine
something
much
worse. And then there’s the
possibility of dying, even for
young people.
Even
though
the
virus
may be more dangerous for
old folks like me, it can do
irreparable damage to you,
sometimes in ways that can’t
hurt me any more — the loss
of fertility may be one of the
long-term effects of suffering
from this virus. Too little is
known to be sure of that, but
some of the consequences are
so unknown they aren’t even
being investigated yet.
So
I’m
asking
you
to
consider
being
more
responsible than the people
making
the
rules
around
here. Wear masks whenever
you’re out. Stand six feet away
from others. Skip parties
until there’s a vaccine. If you
can opt to take your classes
online, do that.
This is a bummer. For all
of us, but especially for you. I
have wonderful memories of
my college years, and social
life was a major part of the
college experience. I didn’t
have
to
choose
between
connecting with friends and
staying alive and healthy, and
you shouldn’t have to either.
But you do. And the choice
should
be
easy
enough,
however painful.
Stay safe. Stay well. And
we’ll all meet again on the
other side of this.
B
eginning college is an
exciting and stressful
time for most students.
The anticipation of a new
town, new campus and new
friends brings all kinds of
feelings, a majority of which
are happy ones. All too often
this excitement is tainted by
warnings of weight gain in
the form of the “Freshman
15.” Well-meaning older peers
and family members warn
you to “watch what you eat in
the dining halls,” or outright
suggest that you “don’t eat ‘x’
because you’ll gain weight,”
as
if
such
a
biologically
natural and necessary lifelong
process is the worst thing
that can happen to you. Well,
I have news for you. Weight
gain as a college student is
natural, most times harmless
and honestly, it should be the
least of your concerns. The
notion that weight gain stops
at the age of 18 and that your
teenaged high-school body
is to be maintained for life
needs to go.
Let’s breakdown the fear
and anxiety that comes along
with the dreaded “Freshman
15” for what it really is —
negative and anxious feelings
toward weight gain as a result
of a fatphobic society that has
ingrained a mantra of “thin
equals healthy and attractive”
while
being
in
a
larger
body is seen as unhealthy,
undesirable
and
carries
underlying
assumptions
about the person, namely that
they are lazy. Yet, the fears
surrounding this old myth are
uncalled for.
Not only is the saying
an exaggeration, with the
average weight gain being
2.5-3.5 pounds during the
first year of college, it is also
inaccurate to assume weight
gain
automatically
equals
unhealthy,
overweight
or
“fat.” Even if one wanted to go
by the BMI standard — which
is misleading for its own
reasons — a 2.5-pound weight
gain,
in
the
approximate
average range, barely nudges
one’s BMI. So, if you’re in the
“healthy” category, odds are
you’re going to remain right
there. Even if one were to gain
the “15 pounds” as the saying
goes, it’s also entirely possible
and common to remain within
the “healthy” category. For
example, a 19-year-old female
with a BMI of 21 can gain
15 pounds and end up at a
BMI of 23.5 which is still a
“healthy” BMI, dependent on
the height. However, I’d like
to go beyond BMI since, as I
said before, there are many
reasons as to why it’s not an
accurate measure of health.
For one, the categories of
“overweight”
and
“obese”
are so ambiguous and lacking
in evidence. In fact, in 1998,
the categories changed, and
as a result, millions became
“overweight”
or
“obese”
overnight
—
something
the diet industry has made
billions off of. Some may be
shocked to learn that more
studies
are
showing
that
being “overweight” can be
perfectly healthy. A meta-
analysis of a bunch of studies
found that individuals who
are
underweight
have
a
greater risk of death than
individuals falling under the
“obese” category.
Yet,
no
one
criticizes
very thin-bodied people the
same way they do larger-
bodied folks. It’s actually
the opposite — an immense
glorification of very thin-
bodied people that more often
than not is praise toward an
eating disorder or disordered
eating behaviors. So, this
supposedly
“well-intended”
advice given to young adults
under the guise of “health”
does
nothing
to
support
health since health is not a
number.
The Health at Every Size
(HAES)
movement,
which
encompasses the principles of
Intuitive Eating, is growing
and so is the research backing
it.
If
anything,
warnings
against
the
“Freshman
15” are way more hurtful
than helpful and send diet
culture messages that weight
gain is inherently bad and
unattractive — that we should
actively be trying to suppress
our body weight or pursue
weight loss. No wonder eating
disorders
and
disordered
eating behaviors are rampant
on campuses.
What’s
most
frustrating
about
the
“Freshman
15”
message is the assumption
that the weight you are at on
the day of your high school
graduation is somehow the
weight you must be at during
college,
and
pretty
much
the rest of your life. This is
absolutely
absurd.
Young
adults are actively growing
and
developing
well
into
their mid-20s, so ill-advised
measures projected on them
to suppress their body weight
do much more harm and zero
good.
Furthermore,
more
research in support of set
point
theory
has
come
forward,
supporting
the
theory’s belief that every
individual
has
a
pre-
disposed set weight range in
which their body functions
optimally, and the body will
actively fight to maintain
this range. This is not to say
that everyone’s setpoints will
abide by the BMI standards.
It would be foolish to think
that every unique individual
should
be
in
a
certain
BMI range because that’s
what’s healthiest for them.
Who are we, as a society,
to
determine
that?
Some
people’s
setpoint
ranges
are
within
the
“healthy”
category, and plenty of others
are within the “underweight”
or “overweight” categories.
In terms of those in the
“underweight”
group
specifically, the difference
here
is
that
one
whose
natural set weight range is
in this category maintains
their weight without effort,
meaning
without
dietary
restriction and/or the abuse of
exercise to keep that weight.
Even if they purposefully
pushed themselves to overeat
for a period of time, it would
be just as unsustainable as is
undereating for a period of
time (cough, cough, diet).
So, what to do? Surely,
there must be some nutrition
advice people must abide by,
and surely, we must exercise.
Well, yes and no. The forceful
mindset of this statement is all
wrong. What almost everyone
gets wrong about the HAES
movement is that it promotes
obesity, and not only permits
but encourages people to eat
“junk” foods 24/7 and never
exercise again. That couldn’t
be farther from the truth.
The
movement
champions
the idea that one can pursue
health
at
any
weight
by
listening to their body and
eating intuitively. Our bodies
crave balance by nature, so
while some may find they
crave the calorically dense
foods
deemed
“unhealthy”
by society on some days,
accepting that craving and
meeting it is the best thing
to
do,
and
often
results
in the body craving more
traditionally nutritious foods
at other times. Full body trust
is crucial.
HAES
also
encourages
people to partake in physical
movement that they enjoy
and that feels good. By taking
a step away from mainstream
fitness (and diet) culture,
which
pushes
“working
out” on people as something
they have to do on the daily,
movement
becomes
more
appealing and enjoyable. It’s
no longer confined to a gym or
high-pressure
environment.
Instead, it includes walks or
hikes with friends or playing
tennis with a partner. All
in all, if health is one’s true
concern, then focusing on a
number on a scale is a micro
piece of the puzzle and largely
irrelevant. Most times, it leads
to poorer health as a result
of
unsustainable
dieting
measures. The best thing to
target is behaviors, and that’s
exactly what HAES supports
by encouraging people to tune
into their individual body’s
needs and explore movement,
with the goal to adopt healthy
movement as an enjoyable,
recurring practice.
The healthiest thing for
us college students, then,
is to skip over the years of
pointless
and
unhealthy
dieting entirely and start
practicing the principles of
HAES and Intuitive Eating
now.
8 — Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
W
ith
the
end
of
summer
drawing
near,
many
students, faculty and staff
fearfully
anticipate
the
repercussions of University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s
vague and impractical plan
for a public health-informed
fall semester. Beside basic
measures such as increasing
social
distancing
in
classrooms,
requiring
face
masks on all campus grounds
and offering a great number of
online courses, few concrete
steps have been taken to
repress a COVID-19 outbreak
on any of the three University
of
Michigan
campuses.
Schlissel himself stated that
much of the reopening plan
is
dependent
on
students
following
public
health
guidelines, which — as we’ve
seen as students begin to
move back to Ann Arbor — is
unlikely to happen. Despite the
University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill moving classes
online after one week and
Central Michigan University
increasing their case numbers
tenfold within the first week
of classes, both due to student
behavior, Schlissel somehow
still
believes
that
our
campuses will have a different
result.
It
could
be
considered
flattering that Schlissel is
outwardly shows such strong
faith in the student body.
However, this outlook assumes
that
the
immunologist
running one of the world’s
best public universities is
naive and ignorant enough
to
believe
his
students,
who
have
been
partying
throughout the summer, are
suddenly going to stop. In his
most recent announcement to
the University of Michigan
community, he implied that
students who don’t follow
public health guidelines will
be to blame if the University
is forced to revert to online-
only
classes.
Placing
the
responsibility on the students to
follow public health guidelines
upon
returning
to
campus
is an attempt to scapegoat
the student body so that the
administration cannot be held
accountable
for
triggering
the inevitable viral outbreak.
While any student who hosts
or attends a party with more
than 25 people is culpable for
whatever consequences that
gathering has on their campus
or surrounding communities,
the University administration
is still at fault for enabling
them.
If
the
University
had
any true intent to keep our
campuses open throughout
the upcoming school year,
there would be explicitly
stated and properly severe
consequences
for
any
student found to be violating
public
health
guidelines.
There would be a plan for
rigorous
asymptomatic
testing of the entire campus
throughout
the
semester.
Every single course would
have the option to be taken
online. All students living in
dorms would live in single
rooms and be provided with
adequate personal protective
equipment. Bathrooms would
have
plexiglass
between
sinks. Any and all testing
and
COVID-19
related
treatment for students, staff
and faculty living on any
of the three U-M campuses
would be paid for by the
University. These demands
are included in a petition
created by #NotMICampus,
a
coalition
of
students
from
various
universities
in the state of Michigan
demanding
changes
in
problematic reopening plans
arising from their schools.
The petition can be found
here, and I strongly urge
anybody
concerned
about
the
University’s
current
reopening plan to sign it.
Still, if the administration
truly cared about the well-
being of its students, staff
and faculty as well as the
communities that host our
campuses,
classes
would
have already been moved
online
for
the
upcoming
semesters.
In
fact,
there
would not have been a plan
for in-person classes in the
first place. The university
with a leading School of
Public Health would have
lived up to its “Leaders and
the Best” slogan by leading
the transition into an entirely
online education throughout
the rest of this pandemic.
There would not have been a
1.9 percent tuition increase
but rather a reduction in
tuition for all three campuses
to compensate for the lack of
university
facilities
being
used throughout the school
year.
The
administration
would have dipped into its
massive endowment fund in
order to provide financial
support to its students, staff
and faculty throughout the
recession triggered by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Each
of the demands arising from
the
University’s
ResStaff,
the residential advisors and
employees
of
University
Housing, would be met and
respected.
Students,
who
were forced to pay a $50
COVID-19 fee for a safety kit
whether they were returning
to campus or not, would not
be required to pick up said kit
in person during limited time
windows. The University’s
COVID-19 Emergency Fund,
funded by the Coronavirus
Aid
Relief
and
Economic
Security
Act,
would
be
more widely advertised and
accessible.
At this point, it’s nearly
impossible to argue that the
University is still moving
forward
with
its
current
reopening
plan
with
the
health
and
safety
of
its
students, staff and faculty
in mind. Schlissel and his
administration
are
likely
aware of how problematic
their current plan is but are
still moving forward with
it — even their own COVID-
19
Ethics
and
Privacy
Committee explicitly stated
its disapproval in a statement
released on July 31. In order
to
take
action,
we
must
sign
the
#NotMICampus
petition, sign and share this
petition that demands the
cancellation
of
in-person
classes
and
email
the
President’s Office (presoff@
umich.edu) explaining our
disdain
for
the
current
plans.
Additionally,
those
who are willing and able
to
continue
protesting
must
do
so.
If
enough
people
put
this
pressure
on the administration, the
University
may
just
do
something about it.
Until then, stay safe Ann
Arbor.
U-M’s reopening plan promises nothing but failure
ELAYNA SWIFT | COLUMNIST
Elayna Swift can be reached at
elaynads@umich.edu.
If enough
people put this
pressure on the
administration,
the University
may just do
something
about it.
An open letter to U-M students from a 1966 graduate
DAVI NAPOLEON | OP-ED
I’m asking you
to consider
being more
responsible
than the people
making the
rules around
here.
Davi Napoleon is a class of
1966 alum and can be reached at
davinapo@att.net.
Nyla Booras can be reached at
nbooras@umich.edu.
This supposedly
well-intended
advice given to
young students
under the guise
of “health”
does nothing to
support health.
So, you’re worried about the “Freshman 15”
NYLA BOORAS | COLUMNIST
Design courtesy of Lauren Kuzee