How Healthy is BU?
Ben Harley
Issue date: 3/2/10 Section: Opinion
An emphasis on a life lived in balance," this is one of the seven core values espoused by Benedictine University. It means that students here are expected to do more than just expand their mind. They are expected to care for themselves in all facets of life.
"The University expects all students to keep a healthy lifestyle" said Associate Vice President of Student Life, Marco Masini, "that includes their emotional and physical well-being."
According to the Chair of Benedictine's Nutrition Department, Dr. Catherine Arnold, the university does not know the health statistics of its students. "I can't even venture a guess as to how healthy we are" she said, "We don't have the current data on the kids."
While the hard data eludes us, there are some signs that can show how healthy the campus is. "Overall, our students are healthy" said Masini, "I haven't seen any spikes in absences."
But others disagree about campus health. "There are a select few who are extremely healthy" said Athletic Trainer Tina Allred, "but the majority are typical college students who eat late at night and don't get the best nutritional value throughout the day."
According to Director of Student Health Services Barbara Allanach, the campus is physically very healthy but does have some lifestyle problems. "We see a lot of stress and anxiety related issues" she said, "and lack of sleep and fatigue causing other things."
What this says to me is students need to relax. During the semester it is easy to get bogged down in classes, and to forget that there is more to life than studying. However taking care of ones self with proper sleep, exercise and good nutrition habits is just as important, if not more so, than homework.
The most important thing to remember is that personal well being and academic excellence are not separate entities, they are intertwined.
According to MSNBC, British researchers found that workers who exercised during they're workday were more productive, and were in a better mood than worker's who did not exercise.
"The University expects all students to keep a healthy lifestyle" said Associate Vice President of Student Life, Marco Masini, "that includes their emotional and physical well-being."
According to the Chair of Benedictine's Nutrition Department, Dr. Catherine Arnold, the university does not know the health statistics of its students. "I can't even venture a guess as to how healthy we are" she said, "We don't have the current data on the kids."
While the hard data eludes us, there are some signs that can show how healthy the campus is. "Overall, our students are healthy" said Masini, "I haven't seen any spikes in absences."
But others disagree about campus health. "There are a select few who are extremely healthy" said Athletic Trainer Tina Allred, "but the majority are typical college students who eat late at night and don't get the best nutritional value throughout the day."
According to Director of Student Health Services Barbara Allanach, the campus is physically very healthy but does have some lifestyle problems. "We see a lot of stress and anxiety related issues" she said, "and lack of sleep and fatigue causing other things."
What this says to me is students need to relax. During the semester it is easy to get bogged down in classes, and to forget that there is more to life than studying. However taking care of ones self with proper sleep, exercise and good nutrition habits is just as important, if not more so, than homework.
The most important thing to remember is that personal well being and academic excellence are not separate entities, they are intertwined.
According to MSNBC, British researchers found that workers who exercised during they're workday were more productive, and were in a better mood than worker's who did not exercise.
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