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