. NEWS
THE BATTALIO:
rvice fee
tinned from pagel
;it Services. That year,tl
i recommended a 2 percti
ike, Oroza said,
ic MSC is the largest recip.
i student service feemo»,
cting about $2.5 t
beneficiaries inclrnt
â– nt Counseling Service
million). Student Life(Jl,
m). Multicultural Service
i,000) and the Studs
rnment Associatioi
1,000).
udents can vote Wednesdii
hursday from 9 a.m.i»
at the MSC. Stude
cation Center, Eva
ry, the Blocker Bu
Campus Library orolu
p://vote.tamu.edu.
c fee
tinned from page!
g this fee,” said Dam:
n, president of the Gradtiat
it Council,
e GSC, after listening
igton make his case for
ke last week, passed a re»
urging students to vot
the proposal,
rrington said the recreate
rts department would need!
:e hike every three yearst
inflation and new initiate
dents approve the increas
eek. the weight roomexp»
c expected to be complex
lK)6, and the Penbeit
don will be done by 2001
idem worker wage increas
e necessary, Corringlci
because the departmenu
z difficulty recruiting
ig students in skilled poa-
such as medics, aerolu
ctors and intramural ol
With about 1,000 studei
rs, the recreational sped
ment is the largest studei
yer on campus,
dents can vote Feb. 26-21
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
rial Student Center, the Rec
\ Evans Library, Wes
as Library, the Block!
ig and the West Campis
/. Students can also vote or
ernet at http://vote.tamu.ei
rington said the new
se would generate revenuf
ruble to the revenue
e recreation fee t 1
'sity of Texas at t
70 percent of students®
;c Center at least once
er, Corrington said.
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n Chief
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ivas, Photo Editor
DeLuna, Graphics Editor
rown, Radio Producer
bmaster
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The Battalion
Page 3 • Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Distorted Realities
!
Eating disorders distort their victims' physical and emotional perspectives
By Jena Honeycutt
THE BATTALION
After the death of a close friend, a
student who prefers to be known as Jane
said she didn’t eat for a month and a
half and survived only by drinking
orange juice. Jane said she used her eat
ing disorder as a comfort from the out
side world.
“Even though the reasons I starved
myself and indulged myself were to
gain some control of the world and peo
ple in my life for just a moment,” she
said, “I ended up losing control over my
body and my perception of life.”
Eating Disorders Awareness Week,
today through Feb. 28, was designed to
educate people at Texas A&M
Universityabout the dangers of eating
disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and
binge-eating.
“Eating should not be a struggle, or
something you have to think about
every time you sit down to a meal,” said
Rhonda Rahn, a health educator at the
A.P. Beutal Health Center.
Rahn said a person with an eating
disorder does not maintain a healthy
diet and is obsessed with cutting certain
foods from their diet.
People can develop eating disorders
as young as 6 years old to as old as 92
years old, though most people develop
the disorders early in high school. An
eating disorder is a learned behavior,
usually picked up from family members
or close friends, Rahn said.
Leigh Henke, a junior community
health major and health center student
worker, said she knows from experience
how people are influenced by their
peers and relatives.
“I had an 8-year-old family friend
who would only eat vegetables for fear
oigetting fat,” she said. “She had a
strong influence from a teenage sister
who was a yo-yo dieter.”
Henke said she tries to be a good
role model by eating what she
enjoys. She said that when she
goes to a restaurant and a
friend complains about the
fried chicken being too
fatty, she will order the
fried chicken to show
that you can be
heajthy while still
occasionally
indulging.
After dealing
with her friend’s
death, Jane
gradually over
came her eat
ing disorder.
“Now, I can '
be content
alone and
comfortable
with myself,
despite a few
extra pounds
from lack of
exercise,” she
said. “I try really
hard not to main
tain any sort of rela
tionship with my
food and use it to keep
healthy.”
Herike said many
underlying issues, other than
an intense fear of becoming
overweight, cause eating disor
ders. Perfectionists and people
exposed to traumatic situations such as
death or divorce are also at a high risk
for developing disorders.
According to the Student Counseling
Services, potential issues include a need
for control, a distorted body image, a set
of rigid physical standards and an inse
curity with oneself and others.
“Every time something bad hap-
IVAN FLORES • THE BATTALION
pened to me that I couldn’t change,”
Jane said, “I would build a wall of pro
tection using food and weight control.”
According to the SCS, some short
term effects of not eating properly
include dizziness, disrupted sleep pat
terns, weight loss and hair loss.
Long-term effects on the body
caused by anorexia and bulimia
are severe weight loss, malnu
trition, a weakened immune
system, a loss of muscle
mass and strength and
even death.
Jane said her
anorexia made her
so weak and life
less that she
, couldn’t hold
herself up
straight.
“In all, I
have loved
and lost '
myself for
many rea
sons, all
very dramat
ic and trag
ic,” Jane said.
“But, none
(were) worth
I losing my
health, over 30
pounds, one
IPF 1 ' third of my hair,
and any sort of a
normal metabolism
and respect for
myself.”
Recovery time varies,
but usually takes three years,
Rahn said, and relapse is
extremely common.
Jane said she doesn’t know if she
won’t starve herself again, but each
relapse gets less severe and doesn’t last
as long as the previous one. She said
starving herself never accomplished
anything. Knowing this, she said, gives
her courage to face her fears instead of
masking them in an eating disorder.
Rahn said many students come to her
who want to know how they can help
their friends or roommates. She said it is
most important for people to approach
their friends with a caring attitude about
health instead of scrutinizing them
about not eating.
“It is extremely difficult to talk to a
roommate,” Rhan said, “but it is
imperative that you leave food out of
the discussion.”
To help someone with an eating
disorder, the SCS advises that friends
avoid calling the person with the eat
ing disorder crazy, ignoring them or
commenting on their weight. Friends
should listen with understanding,
should be supportive, and should give
them hope that with professional help,
they can overcome the disorder.
According to the SCS, those want
ing to help themselves should first
admit that they have a disorder, and
then tell someone they trust.
The SCS will host activities
throughout the week that promote eat
ing disorder awareness.
BATING
a lS0RDER s
ww
SEEm
K
TUESDAY, Feb. 25
I Eating Disorders
Discussion Panel
I • 2 p.m. - 8 p m.
• 301 Rudder Tower
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26
Shatter the Image: The
Truth About Eating
Disorders”
• 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
• 281 Student Recreation
Center
THURSDAY, Feb. 27
"Mind, Body and Spirit
Celebration”
• 11 a m. - 2 p.m.
• Memorial Student Center
| foyer
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
A Richard Gere S Drepung Loseling Production
The Mystical Arts of Tibet
Sacred Music
Sacred Dance
For World Healing
Robed in Magnificent costumes and
PLAYING TRADITIONAL TIBETAN INSTRUMENTS, THE
Loseling monks perform ancient temple
MUSIC AND DANCE FOR WORLD HEALING
...FASCINATING AND ENTERTAINING...
The Chicago Tribune
"A TRULY BALANCED CONCERT"
Tucson Citizen
'...PRIMORDIAL POOL OF SOUND THAT
YOU FEEL AS MUCH AS HEAR."
San Francisco Chronicle
.
n
1*1
8Y THE FAMED MULTIPHONIC SINGERS OF DREPUNG LOSELING MONASTERY
Tuesday, February ZS 111 7:30 pm-9:30 pm
Rudder Auditorium
Tickets only $5, available at MSC Box Office
Brought to you by MSC ACE, MSC VAC, MSC LT. Jordan Institute, MSC OPAS
Voting sites: v
MSC, Student Rec Center,
Blocker, West Campus
and Evans Library
9:00 a m. to 5:00 p.m.
SPORTS
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