Page 3
Wednesday • March 19, 1997
E
rtJ
sign
t.
The 4 Fake Bake’
Students who tan at
salons say artificial
tanning saves time and
is just as 'safe' as
tanning under the sun.
But dermatologists
argue that the long
term effects of such
tanning remains
unknown, and that
tanners may be setting
themselves up for a
health timebomb.
nd
:alling
By Shea Wiggins
The Battalion
obody is looking. Run into the sa
lon, fire up the ultraviolet lamps
and get that bronze glow-to-go.
/ndoor tanners, once rare and ostra-
ed, are becoming popular in today’s
ipearance-driven so
lely. About 50 tanning
ieds in the Bryan-Col-
leStation area cater to
leindoor-tanning pop-
kion at Texas A&M.
The salons Bronze
ody,Perfect:Tan and Uni-
KalTan estimate 70-85
Kent of their clientele
^college students.
Bronze Body owner
on Knowles said
lout 80 percent of the
odents who tan there
e female.
“The guys who tan
e generally fit and
hletic,” he said. “Most
tys don’t tan just like
ley don’t do aerobics. It is not that
«y don’t want to, but they think it is
6C
You feel better
about yourself.
You always hear
people saying, 'I
am so white.'
Jessica Holub
Bronze Body employee
Sophomore business
major
gay or feminine.”
Knowles considers tanning a luxury.
“It is not a necessity,” Knowles said. “It
is like working out. It is all obsessive and
compulsive and it depends on how you
look at it. People are more attuned to
their appearance, and it has to do with
self-confidence.”
Knowles said the tan-
rbng bed was developed
by doctors for treatment of
skin disorders, such as
psoriasis. Created in Ger
many, the bed was
brought to the United
States in the ’70s.
He said tanning has be
come popular in a society
where “time is money.”
“Ten years ago you
couldn’t get anyone to
wash your car, but it sure is
nice to have someone do it
for you now,” Knowles
said. “Do you have time to
lay out all day when you
can pop in for 15 minutes
and get a tan?”
Josh Mills, tanner, employee of Per
fect Tan and a junior journalism major,
said some tanners come in to relax their
muscles, and others use indoor tanning
to help clear acne.
“A lot of people go
to school, go to work
and then go to tan,”
Mills said.
He said girls are
more concerned about
how they look, leading
to the large number of
female tanners.
“A few girls are very
obsessed,” he said.
“They buy the best lo
tion, and constantly ask
us if our bulbs are
changed, trying to get
the strongest bulbs.
One girl drove back to
Houston to buy a ‘su
perb’ tanning lotion
that was $70 and a bot
tle of tanning pills.”
However, Knowles said a majority of
“obsessive” tanners are older clients.
Miss Teen, Miss Texas and Miss Bra
zos Valley contestants have tanned in the
salon for beauty pageants, Mills said.
Brian Mazzola, tanner and a senior
biomedical science major, said he tans
once a week to keep a base tan.
“I don’t want girls to
know that I tan,” Mazzo
la said. “If they ask me I
say I fell asleep in the
fishing boat.”
Jessica Holub, tanner,
employee of Bronze Body
and a sophomore business
major, said indoor tanning
creates a healthy outlook
for the tanner.
“You feel better about
yourself,” she said. “You al
ways hear people saying, ‘I
am so white.’”
The connection be
tween tanners and those
who work out makes
sense, Holub said.
“People worried about
their bodies are going to
be worried about what they look like,”
she said.
Universal Tan worker and Blinn nurs
ing student Kasey Roberts said salons try
to prevent tanners from burning.
See Tanning, Page 4
U
A few girls are
very obsessed.
One girl drove
back to Houston
to buy a 'superb'
tanning lotion
that was S70...J ^
Josh Mills
Perfect Tan employee
Junior journalism major
Pert pals prove
friendship's roots
grow past letters
M ost people do
not believe me
when I tell them
I have 20 pen pals.
After an initial state of
shock, people usually
bombard me with ques
tions such as “How do
you find the time?” and
my personal favorite,
“Are you on crack?”
No, I’m not on drugs,
and I don’t have an abun
dance of free time. After
all, I am a college student. But since pen pal
ing is something I love to do, I make time for it.
I have been writing to pen pals for eight
years and love it today as much as I did when I
started writing my first pen pal, Jodi, at age 14.
Jodi and I still write 25-50 page letters to each
other every few months.
Meeting a pen pal is something most pen
pals only dream of, but luckily for me, this has
become a reality — five times.
Over spring break, I met two more of my pen
pals. While visiting my uncle in Seattle, I spent
a day with my pen pals Lisa and Elaine. Even
though meeting a pen pal was not a new expe
rience for me, my heart pounded as my uncle
dropped me off at Lisa’s apartment complex
near the University of Washington.
I couldn’t help but wonder what she and
Elaine would be like in person. Although we
have written off and on for about five years, I
didn’t talk to them on the phone until a few
days before we met. They seemed outgoing and
friendly on the phone and in their letters, but
people can disguise their true personalities.
Then I had a startled thought: “What if they
don’t like me?” Lisa and Elaine had gone to col
lege together and were good friends. I felt like
an outsider. But I kept reminding myself that
we had gotten along through letters and on the
phone, so I had nothing to worry about. Lucki
ly, I was right.
While walking to Lisa’s apartment, I passed a
few people and greeted them with a resounding
“Howdy.” No one returned the greeting — all I
got were weird looks. One guy said, “You must
be from Texas.” I thought to myself, “Well, golly
gee, I sure am — where people are actually
friendly.” I hoped Lisa and Elaine had better
manners than their neighbors.
As Lisa opened the door to her apartment,
we stood there with smiles. Although we were
both excited to meet each other, it was obvi
ous from the minute I stepped inside that she
was just as nervous as I was. I didn’t know
whether to hug her, but I did, and we both
commented on how weird it was to finally
meet in person.
We soon left for a local mall where we were
meeting Elaine at noon. Because we arrived
early, we killed some time by walking around
and talking. Conversation came naturally and
soon we were laughing and carrying on like
old friends.
See Pen Pals, Page 4
Columnist
Missy Price
smior journalism
major
TY
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Newsroom Pi
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m. Forca«l
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