Devon Hopkins » Wesleyan University

Fat Prejudice at Liberal Arts Institutions

Devon Hopkins — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:02:55 +0000

Current trends show that 75% of adults in the United States are projected to be overweight and 41% obese by 2015. I think that in order to fight these shocking statistics, we must first address the overt and widespread prejudice towards overweight and obese people. We need to fight obesity through compassion and support, not discrimination and hate.

I recently published an article for The Wesleyan Argus on Fat Prejudice at Wesleyan University, a competitive liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut. I am sharing it with you here because I feel like it is important to increase awareness on this issue.

“Are You Wesleyan?” Apparently Not If You’re Fat.

The fairly new admissions website asks the question “Are You Wesleyan?” It shows a representation of Wesleyan’s student body (carefully selected, I assume) doing various intellectual tasks, from dancing about neurobiology to discussing Homer in the library. According to the site, being able to “contemplate infinity” and “find patterns in complexity” are important qualities for students here. I would add one other thing: not being fat. I searched through Wesleyan’s website for about half an hour and was unable to find a single picture of an overweight person.

However, it is hard to place blame on whoever selected the photos for this website as it is equally as hard to find an overweight person while walking around Wesleyan’s campus. Wesleyan constantly stresses the diversity of our student body. Wesleyan’s “At a Glance” pamphlet boasts 27% students of color and our Freeman East Asian Studies program. What I am trying to understand is why my friends could only name an average of three overweight students they knew on campus, when according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67% of American adults are overweight.

From <> on Flickr

I don’t think that the small number of overweight students at Wesleyan is necessarily due to discriminatory admissions policies. I think that students here legitimize or validate their negative beliefs against overweight or obese individuals instead of acknowledging that their beliefs are prejudiced. While many forms of prejudice in liberal institutions like Wesleyan are subconscious, fat prejudice is still overtly displayed. From childish name calling to proclamations of disgust, I see instances of intolerance of obese people on a daily basis. So why then, if we are one of the most progressive liberal arts schools in New England with the reputation for social justice and civil liberties, is it still common practice to discriminate against overweight or obese people?

It is difficult for people to understand why an obese person wouldn’t change something about their life so that they could lose weight. Comments like “why don’t they just go to the gym” or “just don’t eat as much” are good examples. People are quick to jump to conclusions that fat people must be fat because they are lazy or do not care enough about themselves to make a change in their lifestyle. However, coming from a family where obesity is an issue, I know that many obese people would love to be skinny and have been trying their entire lives to be that way. It is easy for someone who has never struggled with weight to say that an overweight person should just “go to the gym.” But looking at the kind of exercise-crazy college students that go to our gym, I cannot imagine the kind of anxiety an overweight person must feel just stepping foot inside.

From colros on Flickr

It is easy to hold prejudice towards a group of people that is characterized as having a lot of internalized self-hatred. From NBC’s The Biggest Loser to Oprah’s weight-loss specials, we see images and hear stories of overweight people who hate themselves and want to change. When I spoke to one of the few obese people that I know on campus, he told me that he would definitely prefer to be skinny. “If people focused on helping people be who they want to be as opposed to pitying or discriminating against people who are different, I think I would be in a much better position. I don’t need your pity, I need you to not judge me when I’m on the treadmill,” he says.

Clearly, obesity is a problem in the United States. However, holding prejudice for obese or overweight people is not a solution to the problem and we, as Wesleyan students, should know better than that. We should focus on supporting overweight people reach their goals, whatever they might be, rather than discriminating against them for looking different.

Please feel free to share this with friends or family or share your comments below.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Semester

Devon Hopkins — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:14:36 +0000

The semester has started and many of you are busily working away, spending the days in classes and the nights in libraries, quietly munching on your pita chips and humus while reading about how Ancient Greeks actually invented Velcro. Maybe you’re worried that there is more you could be doing to prepare yourself for a career or sweet summer internship. Good news: there is!

Welcome to the age of self-publication and promotion. You don’t need a prestigious professor as your mentor to get published anymore (although having one doesn’t hurt), and there are more than a few things you can do to prepare yourself for life in the real world.

Take advantage of on-campus groups and activities

College campuses are loaded with student run groups and events that are not only fun, but offer the chance to gain valuable leadership and teamwork experience. My most valuable experience at Wesleyan has been managing my a cappella group, The Wesleyan Spirits. Most employers look to see whether you have leadership skills and the ability to work with other people, so don’t be afraid of taking responsibility within your groups.

You know all those flyers and emails you get about interesting lectures and talks? And you know how you always intend to go? And you know how you’ve never actually been to one? Go! Make it a goal to go to at least one talk or lecture this next semester on something that really interests you. These kinds of events won’t be available to you once you graduate, so think of it as free personal and professional development.

Get an on-campus job

There are hundreds of different possibilities for student workers on campus. From library assistants to food workers to technical consultants, students can find work in almost any field as long as they are willing to look. Instead of opting for the easy desk job that lets you do your homework, or a well paying job that a monkey could do, try finding a job that challenges you and provides opportunity for upward mobility. Let’s look at two popular on-campus jobs at Wesleyan University:

Weshop Grocer

Hourly Pay: $10
Hours: Negotiable
Required Experience: None
Skills Learned on the Job: None
Opportunity for Advancement: None

Events Technician

Hourly Pay: $8
Hours: Fixed
Required Experience: None
Skills Learned on the Job: Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools LE
Opportunity for Advancement: Various paths of promotion, to lab assistant or help desk operator, to lab manager or IT manager.

While the Weshop Grocer gets paid more hourly, the Events Technician is receiving free training on multimedia software and has the opportunity for upward advancement. Yet surprisingly, the Weshop Grocer is one of the most (if not the most) popular jobs on campus. With your on-campus job, ask yourself: Am I learning something? And if the answer is no, then why are you there?

Volunteer

With the current economic environment, paid jobs are sometimes hard to come by. Volunteering is another great way to get hands-on, out of the classroom experience in a variety of different work environments.

Be creative. Look for volunteering positions that give you responsibility or leadership opportunities. If you’re interested in journalism, contact the local newspaper. If you’re interested in the arts, find a local arts center for kids that you can teach at.

Stay Informed

Instead of spending your time on Youtube and Gossip blogs, (although I do love seeing cats jumping out of boxes and reading about Kanye’s exploits) try to become an expert in something you are interested in pursuing. There are so many tools out there (like Google Reader) that make it easy to manage your news sources and help you be more efficient in your “news consumption”.

Try this: You know those 20 minute walks across campus? Instead of listening to Coldplay and Madonna, try listening to an NPR Podcast! Podcasts are digital audio or video files that are released episodically. You can download them directly through iTunes, or a variety of other sources, upload them to your MP3 player, and make that trek between classes an efficient use of your time.

Start a blog

I´ve said this before in my post on Internships and the same is true during your semester. Keeping a non-personal blog is one of the most effective ways of establishing yourself as a dedicated, passionate, and knowledgeable individual. It shows employers or future bosses that, among other things, you have the discipline to self-motivate and self-manage, skills often lacking in recent college graduates. We are the Procrastination Nation.

College campuses have so many opportunities for students to get involved that it is easy to get overwhelmed and sucked into our work, hiding in the library for hours. We have to remind ourselves that there is more to the college experience than just work. Use these tips to ensure that you make the most out of each and every semester; you only get 8!