By Kathryn Garcia staff reporter The freshman 15. Almost every college student vows not to gain those feared 15 pounds. Katie Crumrine, a freshman pre major, and Erica Bell, a freshman nutrition and Spanish major, promised themselves last fall that they wouldn't become victims of the dreaded weight gain. Crumrine said she uses various methods to help her maintain her healthy lifestyle. Exercising and eating right are among her secrets, she said. But freshman radio-TV-film major Eric Davila doesn't share their sentiments. He said since entering college, his health has taken a turn for the worse.
The Main, Davila said, offers the healthy foods needed, but one problem still remains. "(The Main's) healthy stuff doesn't taste very good," he said. Crumrine also said she thinks The Main needs a bit more variety. "It's eat fried foods all day, or I eat like a rabbit," she said. "There is no in between." Anne VanBeber, an associate professor and chairwoman of the nutrition and dietetics department, said a balanced diet and physical activity are the first steps to good nutrition. VanBeber, a registered dietitian, said the importance of a variety of foods from the Food Guide Pyramid cannot be stressed enough, especially fruits and vegetables. "There is a program called Five a Day for Better Health, which tries to get the American consumer to eat more fruits and vegetables, which have been proven to fight off cancer and heart disease," she said. Anne Jordan, a nutrition counselor for Sodexho-Marriot and food service manager for the Deco Deli, said the dining services staff at Marriott strives to help students maintain healthy eating habits."Basically, what we do as a company is plan a variety of menus to suit every student," she said. "We have a nutritional assessment databank that shows us the nutritional description for the portion size of each recipe. And you see those in front of every dish." Jordan offers free nutritional counseling year-round for students concerned with their overall wellness, she said. "First, I call a general consultation meeting where I learn more about the student," she said. "From there, I ask them to keep a food diary with three weekdays and one weekend day and any medication and vitamins they take. I try to find a pattern in their eating and try to connect it to emotional reasons they eat, like stress, enjoyment or for social purposes." She also publishes a monthly nutrition newsletter that is posted around campus and sent out to each of the residence halls. Students can also turn to the Counseling Center for help with maintaining their emotional and physical well-being. Monica Kintigh, a licensed professional counselor, said the Counseling Center works with a variety of aspects to help improve the lifestyles of students. "When you feel good about yourself - leading a stress-free life, have less anxiety - you have a better lifestyle," she said. Counseling Center representatives also visit residence halls and give presentations on nutrition and fitness, Kintigh said. Jenn Van Veldhuizen, Sherley hall director, said the All-Hall meetings, wing socials and, especially, the girls' relationships with their RAs help the residents maintain their health. "A lot of residents will come directly to the RA to talk about what they can do for a healthy lifestyle and losing weight," she said. For All Halls, the topics have been focused on different aspects of wellness, such as nutrition, fitness and kickboxing, she said. The Rickel Building is yet another place students can go to maintain a balanced lifestyle.Tom Vonruff, the Rickel's personal trainer, said his evaluations and programs help students adjust and get into the habit of physical activity. He offers students fitness evaluations, weight training programs, cardio-vascular programs and nutritional information Monday through Thursday in the weight room. The Rickel helps junior economics major Kerry Dean stay in shape, she said. "The facilities are more than adequate, and there's people everywhere to talk to for help," Dean said. "There's the trainer, Tom. He's full of information and techniques to help you with your exercises." VanBeber said a few suggestions she can offer to students wanting to shed or prevent that freshman 15 are to take a walk with a friend instead of sitting down for that 1/2-hour TV program and when snacking, choose a banana or other fruit over those potato chips.
Kathryn Garcia
By Kathryn Garcia staff reporter Students headed to the Rickel Building's cardio room to work out will soon have a different experience with the opening of the new cardio-theater room located in the former Center for Academic Services. Mary Ellen Milam, associate director of recreational sports, said the new room is a concept about which recreational officials are quite excited. The new facilities will house the machines from the current cardio room plus one new elliptical, or EFX, machine and one new treadmill, Milam said. Each machine will be capable of accepting headphones so students can listen to the eight televisions stationed in the front of the room or the two pre-set radio stations. Students said they are looking forward to the opening of the new room. Desiree Fultz, a junior theater arts major, said a new cardio room will decrease the number of students that visit the exercise room.
Senior marketing major John McConnell works as a Rickel Building staff member in the exercise room. "I think it will alleviate a lot of traffic because a lot of people come just to use the cardio room," he said. Another addition to the Rickel will be the Wellness Center. It will be located in what is currently the cardio room, and it is scheduled to be completed in August. Director of Alcohol and Drug Education Angie Taylor is playing a big role in the plans for the center. "It will be a combination between prevention services and recreational sports," she said. Milam said the Wellness Committee has not made its final decision on what the center will provide. However, the current plans are for nutritional counseling to be made readily available, as well as fitness evaluations, clinical assessments, computerized wellness assessments, informational pamphlets and work-out routines. The massage therapist will also be relocated to Room 106, next door to the cardio-theater room. There will be two rooms, a waiting room and the massage room. "It will allow for more privacy for the clients," Taylor said. "The massage room will have more insulation, like a sound-proof room to allow for better relaxation." Besides the new cardio room, the Rickel also offers a variety of facilities and activities for all students. There are racquetball courts, a lap pool, sand volleyball courts, a diving well and tennis courts. The Frog Fit program is another alternative for exercise. Classes are offered five days a week for a membership fee of $75 for the semester or $120 for the year. The classes include hi/lo aerobics, step aerobics, butts-n-guts, toning, aerobic kickboxing and water aerobics. Students who prefer playing sports to keep healthy can join intramural sports or a sport club. The sport clubs offered are roller hockey, women's and men's lacrosse, the high adventure club, rugby, rifle, tae kwon do and men's volleyball. There is also a challenge course available for groups. For more information about Frog Fit, intramurals, the sport Clubs or the challenge course, call Recreational Sports at 257-PLAY.
By Matt Jones Design Editor/Features Editor Well, here we go again. Another year. Another semester. With it comes expensive new books, late payments on bills and another semester of UCRs and liberal arts. Sound familiar? Well, almost everything is - except my job. You are looking at the first page of the new Features section of the Skiff. This new section, Features, will run daily as an inside page of the Skiff. Each day there will be a page devoted to one of several issues concerning members of the TCU community. Pages will be devoted to health, life, travel, home, science and technology, student and faculty profiles and arts and entertainment. When originally asked about my future goals as an editor of the Skiff, I realized I had several. I wanted to further my design work and help create a visually pleasing publication. I also wanted to strengthen my experience writing and editing stories. But, most importantly, I wanted to create a new section that would appeal to students, faculty and staff. In my two years at TCU, I have realized there are many people on this campus who are not always reached by the daily coverage of the Skiff. Although our editorial board is devoted to presenting campus news, opinions and sports, many stories are left out or overlooked because of the overwhelming wealth of information and limited space in a single paper. I, like many others, enjoy arts and entertainment. But I couldn't justify featuring arts and entertainment daily while ignoring the need for a health and life section. Then came the idea for travel. Shortly after, science and technology. Then house and home. Soon, I had too many ideas and needed to condense. I decided to rotate my pages in two-week cycles, focusing on all of my topics and balancing my coverage. For our first week, we will present information about how to maintain health and wellness on a college campus. We will explore different housing options and suggest thrifty shopping ideas and decorating tips. We will feature the Kimbell Art Museum's new exhibition as well as current movie and CD reviews. In the future you can expect to see coverage on the latest trends in science and technology, issues concerning education, campus affairs and student involvement. We will devote pages to religion, sexuality, lifestyles, safety and global awareness. Along the way, you will find directions on how to get off campus and into the community. You will learn more about venues for art, food, music and entertainment. We will give you suggestions to improve your diet and health as well as guides to strengthening physical fitness. If you are a member of the TCU community, this new section is your new section. Truth be told, I work for you. To do my job, I need to know what you want to hear and see. I need to know what you want to learn more about, and most importantly, I need to know you, my readers. If you have questions, ideas, suggestions or complaints, feel free to e-mail me at matthewsjones@hotmail.com. If not, enjoy your new page and remember, I work for you. Design/Features Editor Matt Jones is a sophomore news-editorial journalism major from Sikeston, Mo. |
"(My health) has all gone downhill mostly because I
was working and going to school and didn't have the time," he said.
"This semester, I'm going to try to eat healthier."
"There's a lot of rush-hour traffic in (the exercise
room), and I only have a minimal amount of time to work out," Fultz
said. "It will be a lot better for me."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |