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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2015)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE Taking control lcean ;; ire A&M researchers: Eating disorders fueled by artificial media portrayals COLUMN: Eating disorders are debilitating, but they can be overcome By Victoria Rivas Thin. Thigh Gap. Fit. Tall. Muscular. Stylish. Eating disorders know no limit to gender, age or eth nicity. Researchers and pro fessionals at Texas A&M are working to learn more about these disorders, to treat stu dents and to better inform the public. The average American-' woman weighs 160 pounds — a fact Texas A&M re searchers say is rarely reflect ed in modern media and is instead replaced with impos sible or improbable ideas of beauty. Srividya Ramasubramani- an, communication instruc tor at Texas A&M, knows the disconnect between real ity and the media well. She studies how mass media af fects the body images of me dia consumers, and said the media’s narrow definition of beauty can have a damaging effect on women, especially young girls. “There is a lot of research that shows that media plays an important role in shaping the different ideas of what is an ideal body,” Ramasubrama- nian said. “There is a drive to ’ pursue a thinness, in even girls as young as 9 or 10.” Ramasubramanian said the media reinforces a “very nar row definition of beauty.” “We see that in many, many ways,” Ramasubrama nian said. “We see that in magazines that show very thin images. If we look at the av erage American woman, her size is around 160 pounds. But the average model in many of these ads and mediums is much smaller. It’s a very con- structed idea of what is beauty and that kind of body is im possible to achieve.” Ramasubramanian said EATING DISORDER ON PG. 4 I was 19 the first time I felt comfortable sharing I a meal with someone who had cooked for me, I after I had been ill three years prior. It was a I poignant experience, because for someone who struggled with an eating disorder and was able to recount every calorie I ate, a night where my compulsions were averted, was rare. What I remember, though, is how satisfied I felt, how I wanted to linger at the table and savor the conversation and that moment of freedom. In the fall of 2009 I spiraled into a dark place of malnourishment, isolation and erratic behavior. The “issue” — the “it” — the disorder that I and anyone who knew me had fumbled to name, had made its ugly debut. Here’s the thing most people know about clinical eating disorders and behaviors leading up to them — little — and people can’t necessarily be put at fault. The multidimensional nature of this illness and related behaviors are usually not discussed past the brief reading requirements in HEALTH ON PG. 2 creator Martin to deliver old 'Hobbit' Friday By Lindsey Gawlik Winter may be on its way out, but George R.R. Martin is coming to Texas A&M Friday morning. Martin, author of the “Song of Ice and Fire” book series that inspired the hit show “Game of Thrones,” will present the five-millionth volume to the University Librar ies. Martin, as a gift to the University Libraries’ Sci ence Fiction and Fan tasy Research Collection, funded the volume, a rare first-edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” Texas A&M serves as Martin Martin’s official reposi tory. Kevin O’Sullivan, instructional assistant pro fessor and outreach and public services curator for the Cushing Memorial Library, said Martin chose A&M as his repository site after attending Ag- gieCon, the longest-running student science fic tion convention. MARTIN ON PG. 2 Welcome to the wild Battalion Life & Arts reporter Bethany Irvine spoke with animal enthusiast and zookeeper Jack Hanna to discuss his upcoming visit to campus Saturday and his experience with animals, conservation and television. THE BATTALION: As a child, I watched your television series "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" in the 1990s. How has your audience demographic developed since then? HANNA: Well, the audience really hasn't changed, people think it's a children's show but it's just as much for adults as it [is] for children. The main audience is like in their 20s to 50s now. It's still a family show but there are just as many adults watching as kids, the audience is families. THE BATTALION: With your live show coming to campus, what are some ways that students can aid in the conservation effort you promote? Anybody, whether you are in a dorm or wherever you are, can always help in conservation. You can visit zoology departments, you can visit websites and see if you have an interest in certain types of animals. You have to be careful what you support and make sure that your dollars go to the right places. That's how you can help as well. For example, it might be in Texas or in Ohio, and plastic PROVIDED Television personality Jack Hanna will visit campus Saturday. that might last a hundred years or forever, you know, especially in Texas. Fishing for example — in fishing, you have your line or your hooks and it has caused a lot of big problems with wildlife in Texas because the whole state is on the coast. So some people don't realize that the plastic bags they keep their food in and throw out, the sea turtles think they're "plastic jellyfish" and they can be fatal for sea turtles and other animals. The fishing hook and lines? I've seen animals die that way and it's not a pretty sight, it's a long cruel death. W. BASKETBALL Last-second dagger ices Aggies in home finale By Milkyas Gashaw A buzzer-beating Missouri 3-pointer soured Senior Night in Reed Arena Thursday on a night in which A&M’s point guard went down with a knee injury. With five minutes remaining, ju nior Jordan Jones fell to the floor with a sprained knee. She will receive an MRI Friday, head coach Gary Blair said. “When she went down, my heart went down with her,” Blair said. After a sluggish start, the No. 12 wom en’s basketball team (22-7, 10-5 SEC) fell in a thriller to the Missouri Tigers (16-12, 6-9 SEC) on a last-second three pointer from Maddie Stock 70-69 in final home game of the year. Lone freshman starter Khaalia Hillsman was an impact player in the paint all night, grabbing a double-double with 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting and 11 rebounds. Hill sman converted from the charity stripe as well at an 8-for-l 1 clip. She attributed the slow start to a lack of energy. “I just think it was our lack of energy,” Hillsman said. “Missouri is not a team we could take lightly.” Mizzou came into the game as one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the nation, leading the SEC with 7.4 3-point- ers per game. The team struggled from behind the arc initially, shooting 1-for- 9 in the first half, but finished the game 6-for-18. Leading the Tigers was sophomore Jor dan Frericks, who finished with 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting to go with 12 re bounds. For seniors Achiri Ade, Tavarsha Scott- Williams, Allison Chu and Tori Scott, this Cody Franklin — THE BATTALION Junior guard Jordan Jones suffered a knee injury Thursday and will receive an MRI. was a tough way to complete their careers at Reed. The Aggies were on the verge of completing the season without a home loss for the first time since going 16-0 at home in 2006-07. The Tigers tied the game at 58 with a; three from Stock. It was a back-and-forth game until Williams hit a shot with 25 sec onds left to tie the game and a pair of cold blooded free throws from Curtyce Knox put the Aggies appeared to ice the game 69-67 until Stock stole the victory. A&M concludes the regular season at 1 p.m. Sunday at LSU. - HANNA ON PG. 3