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
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