Every incoming freshman is told of the horrors of the freshman 15. Even the utterance of its name is enough to strike fear in the hearts of us all. Most people have a plan coming in to avoid the abominable phenomenon. Upon arriving on campus, however, it’s quickly become apparent that eluding the freshman 15’s grip is easier said than done.
The evidence begins in the dining halls. Though daily salad bars and (generally) healthier options at 1849, Global Kitchen and Deli-cious provide healthy alternatives, they largely take a back seat to the more tempting, popular and fattening options at Fired Up and Capital City Pizza Company. If the one or two options presented at the healthier locations don’t appeal to you, there are dozens of more unhealthy options just across the way, awaiting your guilt-laden consumption.
After scavenging the bountiful savanna known as Gordon Dining and Event Center for a healthy meal (don’t forget the five food groups), you reach the hardest part of the gauntlet: the dessert station.
Conveniently located in almost every dining hall right in front of the cashier—meaning you have to walk right past it in order to pay for your food—the collection of cakes, pies, cookies and tarts has continued to wreak havoc on even the most health-oriented student. I’m doing well today, got myself a nice salad with some chicken on it, lots of vegetables and nutritious ingredi—hey is that chocolate silk pie?
If you can successfully evade the sirens’ call emanating from the dessert station, the Charybdis-like creature known as Flamingo Run will surely be your downfall. While it’s helpful to be able to run down and get milk or deodorant at a moment’s notice, the temptation of its veritable potpourri of unhealthy snacks is too enticing to pass up. Residents of Dejope and Chadbourne, who have a location right in their buildings, are surely doomed. Why snack on the leftover Wheat Thins and carrots from last Tuesday’s lunch when you could pop downstairs and have a delicious scoop (or four) of Babcock ice cream instead?
Once you’ve filled yourself with calorie-rich, nutrition-starved snacks, a trip over to the SERF or the Nat could help solve your problems. Although the convenient hours make it easy to go any time of day, the supply-and-demand situation that manifests itself in the weight rooms is enough to convince you to stay at home. A 10-minute walk through the cold, just to stand around and wait for one of the four bench press stations, in a room of over 100 people? Yeah, I’ll just do a few push-ups in my cozy room instead.
To the university’s credit, the athletic buildings are planned to undergo renovations to accommodate more students and improve the facilities. This, however, will require that the SERF be closed from summer 2017 until 2019. This means that students in Southeast will have to trek all the way to the Nat for two full school years, a difficult proposition for students struggling to find the time (or motivation) to work out.
Fortunately, the area we live in is educated enough about healthy living and wealthy enough to afford more nutritious options. As college students, most of us (myself included) also have our metabolisms to thank for protecting us from the consequences of generally unhealthy choices.
On a more serious note, however, this campus-wide phenomenon is just a microcosm of a much larger issue in the U.S. At a Subway restaurant last week I was told that buying a sandwich and chips together was actually 60 cents more expensive than a value meal, which included a soda. Naturally, I ended up consuming a Dr. Pepper I wasn’t planning on.
The widespread availability of cheap, unhealthy food and general dearth of affordable, nutritious options is an unsavory situation. We’re fortunate enough to live in an area wealthy enough that fresh produce is ubiquitous. Other areas, however, have vast “food deserts” in which fresh food is unavailable. Many people couldn’t even afford fresh food to begin with, and are forced to rely on processed or fast food options to sustain themselves, thus contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic. So while we continue to fret about the freshman 15, we need to keep in mind that to many people in this country—some not so far away—a few measly pounds is just the tip of the iceberg.
Sebastian is a freshman majoring in environmental studies and political science. Do you agree with his views? Please send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
