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Many thanks to Mike Hillman who has instructed me on webpage
building, and also to Audrey Hillman who has cooked me dinner and
welcomed me into their home for the hours spent during this
internship. |
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...all
in a day's work
The Official Internship Website of
Michele L. Clerici |
Breaking Body
Image Barriers |
16-year old, Christina Catalani,
doesn’t diet. She doesn’t watch her weight. She’ll admit
that she eats from the time she wakes up in the morning to the
time she goes to bed at night. Her mother says that when
Christina has her girlfriends over they eat faster than she
can put food out for them. “I don’t mean they just have some
chips and dip, I mean they eat!” she says. Christina is
pretty satisfied with her body and she seems to think that
most of her friends feel the same way.
Then her
mother begins to talk about a certain girl that used to be
part of the clique. “She would come here to hang out and
while the other girls were eating, she would just sit there.
I would ask her if she wanted something to eat and she would
say, ‘No thanks, I’ll just have a glass of water.’ She must
have been a closet eater, though, because she gained weight
little by little and then over the summer, she just stopped
hanging out with the girls. I never see her anymore.”
It seems
that Christina might represent the average high school girl
while her girlfriend represents the unhappy and unfortunate
minority. Is it surprising, then, that according to recent
body image research, two-thirds of all high school females are
either dieting or planning to diet? This means that more than
half of all high school age girls are dissatisfied with their
weight, with the seeds of dissatisfaction rooted during the
preadolescent years (7-12), and sometimes tracing as far back
as five years of age.
Body image
and the changing standards of society are certainly not new
ideas; however, as teens seem to be growing up much faster in
today’s media-driven world, the pain of self-hatred and a lack
of self-confidence are becoming more and more real for them.
Some may say that the pressure of having a “perfect body” is
so overwhelming in today’s society, that it has become the
majority of what teenage girls think about on a daily basis.
“I think
that girls my age, and in my high school, think about their
body image non-stop,” says Erin Keane, a high school
freshman. Erin attends Washington Township public high school
and feels strongly about the need for girls her age to obsess
about their weight and body image. Her sister, Catlynn, a
senior, shares a similar perspective. “I think that body
image is important to girls in my school. The people I go to
school with are very superficial and image is all they think
about,” she says.
As far as
the dieting habits of the two girls, neither claim to be
concerned with them, only with being healthy. However, both
have noticed the image-driven eating habits of friends and
other classmates. “I don’t feel it’s necessary to diet,
because I don’t over-eat and I’m phyisically active. On the
other hand, many of my friends feel its necessary to diet
because they think they’re fat, when in fact, they weigh less
than me… but just have less self-confidence,” says Erin.
The
extremity of this obsession with dieting and trying to attain
a perfect body can be seen in the increasing numbers of girls
diagnosed with anorexia, bulimia, and various other eating
disorders. These cases are still considered a small minority
in the face of the “average” teen girl. Nonetheless,
two-thirds of high school age females diet or plan to diet,
revealing the “average” teenage girl as one who is
considerably dissatisfied with her body and often taking
unhealthy risks as a means of overcoming this lack of
confidence.
Studies
have even shown that girls who try to lose weight are more
likely to gain weight over time, making the challenge to meet
such high standards practically impossible. “All of the girls
in my school are perfect and I am the opposite,” says Catlynn.
She also says that many of her friends feel it necessary to
diet, but can never fully “go through with it because they
always get hungry.” Add together the constant hunger and lack
of energy that comes with dieting, and the barrage of constant
food-related media experienced on a daily basis, and the
result is a formula for failure.
Most
teenage girls are not even remotely aware of the dangers
associated with dieting. Aside from the physically and
nutritionally harmful aspects, are the mentally detrimental
effects. By limiting calorie intake, the body is deprived of
essential body chemicals that regulate brain activity, moods,
and emotions, leaving dieters at a higher risk of depression.
When asked
about female celebrities they most admire, all three girls
mentioned singers or actresses who exude the standards of
perfect body image. Christina chose Ashanti because of her
“sex appeal,” Erin chose Jennifer Garner for her beauty and
“muscular build,” and Catlynn chose Cher for her ability to
look “awesome” even though she is “fifty-something.”
Does the
media hold sole responsibility, then, for the way that young
girls are obsessed about their inability to achieve such
perfection? These three teenagers seem to agree that the
biggest influence on their self-image is television, movies,
magazines, and music. “Reading beauty magazines make me feel
like I need to better myself, like I’m not good enough the way
I am. I feel determined to ‘fix’ what’s wrong with me, even
though nothing’s really wrong… it’s just not ‘perfect,’” says
Erin. And while Christina considers herself pretty
self-confident, she is a witness to the influence of media on
other girls who are “worried about their bodies…and they’re
only teenagers.”
A lack of
respect for one’s own body throughout high school leads to
even more complicated issues further on in life. Most college
females fear the notorious Freshman Fifteen, and they continue
to battle the pressures of weight and size as they get older.
They linger between the realization of real freedom and the
unconscious internalization of the “thin ideal,” rooted in the
painful struggle for a perfect body throughout their teenage
and high school years.
In today’s
society, it’s no wonder girls are caring more and more about
their physical appearance. How do we teach them? How do we
make them see that a beautiful female is more than a
Britney-Spears-body and an endless diet? Strong female roles
are the key to self-confidence, and breaking down the barriers
of media-driven body ideals will keep teen girls from falling
into the tragic struggle of perceived exterior inadequacy and
ugliness.
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To Draft Or
Not to Draft: Resolving US Military Issues |
In the wake of September 11th
and the occupation of Iraq, The United States military faces a
struggle of retaining manpower and bridging defensive gaps.
Active-duty soldiers have been forced into longer assignments
while families wait patiently at home for their loved ones to
return, only to once again, bid them farewell for another
demanding fulfillment of duty. In terms of numbers, the
United States forces have been stretched to the limit, and
continue to search for new ways to increase military
enlistment.
As the
possibility of the United States as a weakened superpower
penetrates both government and society, debate over possible
resolutions to this looming problem has caused a stir among
military and civilians alike. Perhaps the most controversial
of these is the reinstatement of military conscription.
It has been
nearly thirty years since the United States has eliminated
military drafting after the Vietnam War. Public support for
government and military officials declined heavily during the
war as draft calls intensified, taking a severe toll on the
morale of both the country and those drafted soldiers off in
battle. “The opposition was manifested in a variety of ways:
…sit-ins at selective service offices, the burning of draft
cards, demonstrations on college campuses, and weddings to
take advantage of marital deferments.”[i]
As the Vietnam War came to an end, the United States realized
the ineffectiveness of its forced military participation, and
the draft was lifted.
Since then,
the country has operated on an All-Volunteer Force and has
continued to gain both international power and public
support. As some would argue, the U.S. military has rebuilt
its strength and success based on this freer force of military
enlisted. According to former Secretary of the Army, Louis
Caldera, “today’s all-volunteer military recruits only
motivated, trainable people who, by definition, have other
options but who choose to stay in the military because they
find satisfaction in serving their country.”[ii]
However, it
remains that the strain on military troops grows larger and
larger as the need for more soldiers in new and old areas of
occupation continues to increase. Lt. Gen. John M. Riggs
argues “I have been in the Army 39 years, and I’ve never seen
the Army as stretched in that 39 years as I have today.”[iii]
Reservists are putting in more time than they imagined upon
enlistment, and new “stop loss” policies have prevented
soldiers from leaving active-duty even when their service
agreements are up.
New York
Congressman, Charles Rangel, has pushed the issue even
further, believing that without the re-instatement of the
draft, our nation’s freedom will continue to be a product of
socioeconomic imbalance. “I strongly believe that fighting
for our country must be fairly shared by all racial and
economic groups… the burden of service cannot fall only on
volunteers who, no matter how patriotic, are attracted to the
military for financial reasons.”[iv]
This argument follows the fact that statistically, larger
numbers of lower-class citizens make up the enlisted
population because they are more prone to seek out the
monetary advantages of enlistment. Rangel predicts that
without the draft, “we will be a nation in which the poor
fight our wars while the affluent stay home.”
This is
precisely why legislation for the reinstatement of the draft
was introduced to Congress by Rangel. Additionally, a bill
was introduced in the Senate in early January by Senator
Fritz-Hollings that would “provide for the common defense by
requiring that all young persons in the United States,
including women, perform a period of military service in
furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and
for other purposes.”[v]
Under this bill, every citizen, regardless of class would be
responsible for contributing, in some capacity, to the
military force that defends and supports the nation. With
these added numbers of non-active and active draftees, relief
could be provided for those soldiers spending exhausting
amounts of time in the line of duty.
In
opposition to this Senatorial legislation, Libertarian
presidential candidate, Aaron Russo has formed a petition that
outlines this new legislation as an “infringement on our
personal freedoms.”[vi]
This continuing debate draws on the experiences of the
Vietnam War, and the country’s aversion to sending unwilling
men, by lottery, into the fatal throws of battle. This
petition serves the argument that enlistment in United States
forces should remain a choice rather than an obligation, as
the nation’s very basis for military power is to retain its
commitment to freedom itself.
The debate
over military conscription continues to become more luminous
as the issue of limited manpower and a strain on active troops
becomes more problematic. Government legislation will
ultimately decide the fate of our national obligations and
responsibilities as citizens. The question remains: Is
military drafting justified in its effort to provide relief
and balance socioeconomic situations, or is it a direct
violation of the very freedom our military serves to defend?
[i]
David Segal, Recruiting for Uncle Sam. (Lawrence:
University Press of Kansas, 1989), p. 34.
[ii]
Louis Caldera, “Should the Draft Be Reinstated?” Time.
Vol 162/163, Iss 26/1. (Academic Search Premier, 23 Feb
2004), p. 3.
[iii]
Joseph Anselmo, “Pentagon Plans for Bigger, Better Army
With ‘Spike’” CQ Weekly. 31 Jan 2004. p270.
(Academic Search Premier, 23 Feb 2004), p. 271.
[iv]
Charles Rangel, “Should the Draft Be Reinstated?” Time.
Vol 162/163, Iss 26/1. (Academic Search Premier, 23 Feb
2004), p. 1.
[v]
“Petition Drive Opposes Military Draft.”
WorldNetDaily.com 13 Jan 2004,
,
p. 1.
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Life Lessons
From A College Student |
I begin to wonder, as this
four-year slumber party we call college comes to an end, how
my time in this place has really carved the way for my future.
I am reminded that in a few short weeks, I will experience
"last-call" on this unforgettable party, and an invitation to…
queue the dramatic doom music… the REAL WORLD. And while in
the pit of my stomach, I feel like a guppy thrown to the
sharks, ready for a rude awakening in the face of
unemployment, a lifetime of debt, and the realization that the
luxury of naptime will soon cease to exist, I can not help but
feel a certain comfort in knowing that my time as a college
student has not only prepared me scholastically, but mentally
and socially.
What I intend to say is that, in my
experience, college life is invaluable. The friends you make,
the successes you achieve, the failures you learn from, and
the lessons you acquire through the passage of time will stay
with you always as you move on and grow up. With that said, it
is my ambition to impart some of the fortunate wisdom I have
adopted over the years as a product of college life. These are
my life lessons from a college student…
Make Lists. I've learned that
the most efficient way to manage your daily stresses, is to
make a list. Not just a list. Lots of lists. In fact, lists of
lists. I've made "to do" lists that include lists I must
remember to make. Neurotic? Maybe. But I have learned, and I
am sure that many of my college colleagues would agree, that
you will never get anything done unless you make a list. If
you need to procrastinate, and God knows we spend more time
procrastinating than actually being productive, then make a
list. Because nothing feels better than crossing off something
on a list. I truly believe that if more people worried less
and listed more, the world would be a less stressful and more
productive place.
Take Naps. Perhaps this seems
elementary and even hilariously impractical in today's working
world. When business calls, family issues loom ever-present,
and you still haven't made time for that new years' resolution
in which you swore to work out at least 3 times weekly, time
for a nap just wouldn't make the cut. I understand this.
However, college life has a way of taking its toll on even the
most ambitious and responsible of us. Naps are sweet little
energy-boosters that can, ironically, save time rather than
waste it. While the world sees a stereotype of lazy college
kids sleeping until all hours of the day and in between
classes, I see a generation of wise geniuses, ahead of their
time, in knowing that every day must be taken in stride, and
that a nap is just the cure to the oblivious rush through
life.
Take pictures. You may not
always remember that you got an awful test grade in American
Literature your spring semester of junior year, but you
certainly will remember how funny it was when you went to the
bar the night before and sang karaoke to the music of "Glory
Days" with a random girl from your Bio class. These are the
times you'll want to remember, because this is the stuff of
life. Pictures remind us of the people we are and the great
friends we have. Without them, we forget all too easily that
life is more than work and money; it's about good times with
good people, and remembering the fun we've had. So take
pictures - lots of pictures - and make the memories that mean
something last forever.
Clean your mess. Dorm life is
what humbles every college individual into valuing the
preciousness of space and time. Every dorm-goer must
experience his/her share of frustrating roommate hassles and
inconsiderations. By sharing what might be considered
exceptionally small living spaces with strangers and friends
from year to year, I have learned that cooperation and
consideration is absolutely, unequivocally, undoubtedly the
key to sanity. It doesn't matter if you don't want to wash
your dishes until the morning… do it anyway. It doesn't matter
if you want to leave your personal items all over the bathroom
sink, don't do it anyway. People expect respect - respect for
their space, respect for their time, respect for their sanity.
You'll never keep sane in this world if you don't realize
early on that all you have to do to get along is clean your
mess.
Call your Mom. You may have
never liked to admit it when you were a teenager, but Mom's
got the answers to most of the things in life you can't handle
on your own. It doesn't matter how old you are, sometimes you
need to feel like someone else can sort things out for you,
and believe me, if anyone can, it's your Mom. Let her do the
things she wants to do… let her sanitize your new apartment
cabinets before you unpack the dishes, even if you think its
already clean; let her send you off with extra food to take
home, even if you think u won't eat it; let her talk about her
experience and her opinions and give you advice on
relationships, even if you think you don't need it… because
you do. Listen to the things she says and don't take them for
granted. Above all, when things seem too hard, too scary, too
much,… be sure to call your Mom.
Eat healthy. While I cannot
deny that I am a tremendous advocate and great lover of food,
I have found that there is nothing as self-torturous as the
Freshman Fifteen. This pertains more so to females than to
males, but I have indeed, seen both sexes fall to the depths
of beer belly-ism, and survival merely on diets of pizza and
Doritos. While your new found freedom has trained you to eat
whatever you want whenever you want, any college student will
tell you that kicking the habit before springtime rolls around
is essential to fitting back into what you will now refer to
as your "skinny jeans" (aka the jeans you wore when you were
in high school). And even after college graduation, you will
pine for the days when you could slide those jeans over your
thighs without having to use your yoga moves and a set of
pliers. So eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen,
dinner like a pauper, and never lose faith that one day you'll
wear those skinny jeans again with pride.
Laugh at yourself. Every
student walks into the wrong classroom at least once during
their first year. Every one of us has dropped our food in the
dining facility, or fallen out of our chair in class, or been
called on by a professor when we were not paying attention.
Every one of us has been caught in a fire drill during a
shower, or been spotted walking down the hall in our bright
green alien pajamas, or been caught singing in our sleep.
Embarrassing moments like these happen to everyone everywhere,
and if we take them too seriously, we'll never live them down.
I've learned that the only way to walk around with my head up
after tripping headfirst into the pavement during the rush of
students on their way to class is to laugh at myself. Your
embarrassing moment will only last as long as it takes for
someone else to do something as equally stupid, so why not
just let it go and laugh it up.
Ask questions. If you don't
ask, you'll never know. The greatest thing I could have
learned from my professors is that people like to talk. They
like to be understood and acknowledged. It never hurts to ask
questions no matter how juvenile or simple-minded you think
they are. The more you ask, the more you know. And if I dare
to be genuinely profound, and without sarcasm, in this single
life lesson from a college student, I wish to emphasize the
power of asking questions. When we were young, all we wanted
to know was "why?" I've learned that now, more than ever, it
is important to keep asking "why?" - to wonder about things,
to search for answers - to never, EVER, stop asking questions.
Spend Money. This may sound
funny coming from a poor college kid. I just recently sat down
with the financial office to confer on the thousands of
dollars I owe to my lenders for educational loans. But there
is a difference between saving money and being cheap. Every
college kid knows what it's like to spend your summer working
trillions of hours serving tables or filing papers. It's an
experience that everyone should have. I never appreciated my
education before I started working summer jobs and realized
that I had better do well in school if I didn't want to be
stuck taking orders from short-tempered clients or answering
phones for the rest of my life. I appreciate every cent that I
have, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it even more
when I can take a good friend out to dinner or buy a nice
dress for a big dance. Sure, it would be nice to have all the
money in the world and spend what I want and not have to
worry. But that's not life, and living in college has taught
me that there's more to work for than a paycheck… there's
pride, achievement, and personal respect. So work hard, do
what you love, but remember that it's not always about the
money… and spend!
Choose your friends. As I
mentioned in my preamble to these life lessons, college is
like one big sleepover. Sure, you have lots of
responsibilities: homework and tests and campus jobs and
internships and due dates and presentations and career
searches and on and on and on… BUT, you get through it because
of the people you surround yourself with. I'm not just talking
about your classmates or the girl you got stuck living with
freshman year. I'm talking about the people who treat you like
family while you're away from home, because over the years,
they have become like a second family to you. I'm talking
about the friends that put on a song and dance when you're
having a bad day just to cheer you up, the friends that sit by
and tell you you're better off without whoever it was that
broke your heart, the friends that share everything with you
and act as if whatever they have is yours for the taking
because they know you feel just the same way about them, the
friends who aren't afraid to say "I'm sorry" or 'I "was wrong"
because they know you'll forgive them and who are just as
quick to forgive and forget; the friends who make your
birthdays unforgettable, your weekends worthwhile, and your
graduation all the more unbearable because you never really
imagined there'd come a day when you wouldn't always have them
around. Not every person you meet in college will be your
friend. In fact, there are many that you will call your
friends, only to find out later that they are not the people
you thought they were. College life has taught me that your
time is too short to waste on people who make you miserable.
In college and in life, choose your friends carefully and
always remember that they are the people who helped you make
of yourself what you are now and who you will become.
With these lessons for life, I know my
short time here has left lasting impressions on my head and my
heart. College is more than a frat party or a classroom, it's
like a pre-school for the Real World. It has equipped me with
the basic social tools and lessons I need to make it in that
big ocean of responsibility and life. I know I'll spend my
last two weeks here as if the end were coming all too soon,
but with every last night at the bar or late-night cram
session for exams, I'll know it's only the beginning, and I'll
thank college life for the wonderful memories and the lessons
I'll never forget.
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