A Closer Look at Obesity Rates in The United States

For many Americans, there’s an everyday concern about food, health and living one’s life at the fullest potential. That goal, unfortunately, is harder for many men and women who have found themselves obese and even subject to societal fat-shaming. There are many factors that cause obesity in this country for reasons that go beyond the person just being ‘lazy’ and giving a platform to that view, only does a disservice to progress that could be made.  

According to a report conducted by Statista using face to face interviews, from the year 1997 to 2017, obesity rates have increased amongst adult aged 20 years or older.  In 2017 the rates were at 31.3% which is an 11.9% increase since 1997. This trend continued to grow and there are differences in numbers between various ethnic groups due to family income, accessibility, and social dynamics.

According to research done by Social Science & Medicine, low-income individuals/families who face high rates of obesity usually live in areas with predominantly high-calorie, low-quality foods along with limited access to healthful foods such as fresh produce, whole grain foods, and low-fat dairy.  Compared to other communities in Connecticut such as Westport as an example, the majority of supermarkets promote healthy lifestyles. There are more Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods in Westport compared to Bridgeport, another city in Connecticut, with more Dollar Stores and Corner stores to choose from than supermarkets. Low-income families in urban areas are constantly prioritizing price over quality in an attempt to adapt to their personal financial constraint, a phenomenon whereby shoppers find ways to stretch their dollar as best as possible.

Although one’s income may not directly be the cause of obesity, the numbers seem to suggest that there may be a correlation. This doe not, however, negate any other factors such as culture, that plays a role in food choices.  According to another report by Statista, all across the country, people of Asian descent have a median income of roughly $81.331 a year, placing them at the top of other ethnicities.  As a group within the tri-state area, Asian/Pacific Islander individuals in 2016 ranked the lowest in obesity rates compared to their White, Black or Hispanic peers. 42.2% in New Jersey, 43.6% in Massachusetts, 40% in Connecticut and 41.9% in New York.  In all the states mentioned, African Americans ranked the highest in obesity and also had third to lowest median income of roughly $40.000. The chart below shows the median income by different ethnic groups.

Many people want to think very critically about their socioeconomic status before choosing where to shop.  Some participants of the survey conducted in the research aforementioned spoke about their interactions with cashiers when processing their social benefits (Women, Infants, and Children–WIC–Vouchers) and the annoyance that came with it.  Majority of the stores that accept WIC oftentimes fail to provide the healthiest options and stores like Trader Joe’s or Wholefoods with healthier options, just recently began to accept it. With this improvement, however, there’s still an issue of cost in comparison to other supermarkets, causing many to avoid Wholefood all together.

The topic of obesity itself can be seen as problematic according to Dr. Elizabeth Hohl, an Assistant Professor of the Practice of History at Fairfield University.  Lookism plays a significant role in the numbers reported. “Some people are healthy but because they look a little bigger than the average person, they end up in the same category” said Dr. Hohl when asked her thoughts on the high obesity numbers being reported.  She also suggested that the goal should be about being healthy, rather than focusing on appearance.  

Gillette’s Commercial Speaks on ‘Toxic Masculinity’ and Breaks The Internet

Many people including celebrities such as John Legend, have been speaking on dismantling violent stereotypes associated with masculinity. The razor brand Gillette, joined in on the fight against toxic masculinity with a new ad and their infamous tagline “The Best a Man Can Get” posed as a question to encourage men to rethink certain actions in the wake of #MeToo. While some praised the razor brand for using their platform to inspire change, others argued that the ad was “feminist propaganda” and an attempt to go viral weeks before the Super Bowl.

Focusing on whether or not the brand’s intention was to use the #MeToo movement during peak-commercial watching season as a marketing strategy misses the message of the ad. The topic at hand is toxic masculinity, which as seen with all the sexual allegation cases against powerful men in our society needs to be addressed. Being upset over the ad calling out toxic men only speaks on predator protection and the oversensitivity that has become of this era.

Social media has made it easy for individuals to take everything personally even when it is not directed at them. Many people took their frustrations to Twitter, arguing that Gillette failed to acknowledge the good men who already do right by their community. These comments were made regardless of the fact that the ad showed men stepping up against boys bullying and beating each other.

The ad was also met by positive comments from people who applauded the brand’s effort in using their platform to do more than just sell products. Gillette also plans on backing their words with action by donating $1 million every year for the next three years to organizations whose missions align with theirs.

For all the negative things that social media has given an undeserved platform to, this ad was refreshing and it is appalling that the message is being taken out of context. These “amazing men” who according to Jessie Jane Duff, were profiled as a problem by the ad needn’t worry about an issue not directed at them. At the end of the day, there are men who are toxic and could benefit from the message in the ad. The good guys could simply go on about their lives instead of feeling attacked or going as far as boycotting the brand, unless of course, they benefit from toxic masculinity.

Cardi B vs Nicki Minaj -Women Empowerment

For a while, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, two of the most prominent female rappers of our time have been in a feud over who is the best rapper. As Cardi B gained popularity from her hit song Bodak Yellow, Nicki Minaj felt pressured to secure her position as the queen of rap. Many thought that their so called “beef” was settling down after the incident at New York Fashion Week, but last weekend, both rappers took to social media to vent. The conversation on social media has been about which team people side with and I’d like to say that neither of them have my sympathy nor support.

As women of color, there are so many doors that are hard to even be opened for us. We see it all over the media as far as lack of diversity as a whole and the last thing we need, is two women who should be working together, act like three year olds. It was not long ago that we had the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite because till this day, our society is still hesitant when it comes to people of color. In the rap industry, it can’t be denied that people of color dominate but we still lack female representation. Cardi and Nicki have been able to stand as that representation for many aspiring female rappers but this behavior is nauseating.

The industry is dominated by male rappers and both Nicki and Cardi need to be glad that more women are being recognized, instead of giving into the idea that there can only be one woman succeeding. Every other day, there’s a new male rapper coming out with the name “lil” something and all of them are welcomed to pursue their craft without competing for the “top”. That narrative needs to be abandoned and both rappers should hopefully use their platform to actually promote each other and women as a whole.

The midterm election is fast approaching and many celebrities have used their platforms to encourage people to vote. Cardi B gave a speech during her performance at the Global Citizen Festival and that was a better use of her platform than any of the videos she put out over the weekend. It’s bad enough that our society refuses to see women of color as anything other than stereotypes, so it’s critical that those with a platform not play right into them. Musically speaking, they’re both very talented and yes, there’s so much room for both to coexist but this nonstop argument makes them undeserving of their platforms.

GQ Magazine Places “Woman” In Quotation Marks To Describe Serena Williams

It appears that the 23-time slam champion and mother, Serena Williams found herself in the middle of yet another controversy, following her US Open loss to Naomi Osaka.  Williams was featured on the cover of GQ Magazine that led many to criticize designer Virgil Abloh for putting “woman” in quotation marks. Many took to Twitter to voice their concerns on how disrespectful that choice is to Serena while others maintain that this was simply Abloh’s stylistic choice.  As much as both sides make good points, it seems that this topic highlighted the era of hypersensitivity and close mindedness we live in.   

Whether or not this was a stylistic mistake or an intentional disrespect does not take away the fact that if anyone is to be named woman of the year, Serena Williams is that woman.  Her fight to inspire women both on and off the field, to be the greatest they could be, qualifies her for the woman of the year or whatever other title there is. Quotation marks or not, Serena Williams is and will always be the greatest of all time (GOAT) and one of the most remarkable women in this era.  

The three men of the year have no quotation marks and given that Williams has been accused of being born a guy, this controversy could have been avoided with “Serena” in quotation marks. This compromise allows the designer to follow their creative style while not questioning Williams’ womanhood with the quotation marks.  

Focusing on the quotation marks and whether or not it was an intentional disrespect instead of her stories and the journey she’s allowing us to be apart of, is missing the point.  This is not an attack on anyone’s feelings but her message on how women do it all, from motherhood to career while suffering in silence is what we need to focus on. This is a perfect example of how people in this country view things differently and as opposed to arguing for the sake of argument, we need to sit back, think, and hear each other out without being sensitive. The hosts of “The Real” discussed this topic in a segment and within those few minutes, showed their viewers what it means to discuss controversial issues.  

The journey of my 8am class: coffee and more coffee

This class was one of the most challenging classes I have ever taken in my life.  It was basically because of the time rather than the content.  I really did enjoy the materials but waking up before 8am was not fun.  The most interesting part of the class was the project I did on RAs at Fairfield.  It made me feel like a real journalist covering a topic.

As far as this project, I did face some challenges because I previously did not have a Twitter account.  I never found twitter to be interesting because of their history of bullies.  So many incidents have happened with users on Twitter and the CEO has not really done much to address the topic.  With this in mind, I wasn’t really as excited about this assignment as I was the previous one but it came out okay at the end.  I think the key is to avoid certain topics and know when to voice your opinion or just walk away in order to have fun with it.

I followed different kinds of people as a consumer.  From comedians, politicians, musicians and actors.  I did so to balance the content.  I did not want to be overwhelmed with politics so I tried to follow people who post less heated topics.  At the same time though I did not want to just laugh all the time and pretend as if there’s nothing else going on with the rest of the world.  I followed president elect Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders who talked about recent political issues.  Both posted almost everyday and retweeted things that they found interesting. The rest posted more about their personal issues like promoting their work and so forth.  There was a lot of retweeting with this group of people.  There was also a great deal of hashtags with each post so journalists have a way to track different topics.  They are the ones who made Twitter less intense because they also posted fun memes, gifs and so forth.

As a curator, I really enjoyed researching different topics.  I did my story on the issues going on with Standing Rock and because it is still going on right now, it wasn’t hard to find people who talked about it.  I think the hardest part was figuring out what I wanted people to take from the topic because there are so many angles this story could go.  I tried balancing between the multimedia and the written content.  I also tried to finish with one idea, put a visual on it and then move on to the next.  I sort of stayed away from writing too much or have too much visual content.  It was just all about balance and I hope I reached that goal.

The creator part was the hardest for me because I was still very new to Twitter.  I felt limited in a sense but at the same time I like that it was set up that way because people tend to just ramble on social media.  I actually enjoyed the event that I attended since two of my close friends and favorite teacher were involved in it.  I was a bit nervous to post people without their permission but It was an educational presentation so I figured it would be good publicity for them.  The gifs were my favorite but like anything else, I tried not to overuse it @Bennymk21.

As far as how it ties with the article “My 13 Golden Rules of Twitter” I felt as if it failed to reflect a couple of rules there.  I did agree on a couple of the rules especially the last one about walking away.  I think it applies with all social media as far as avoiding arguments and just take the high road.  I did disagree especially with the rule about not being such a think as over tweeting.  I think you can over use the site and just bore people with a lot of unnecessary content.  I personally felt that I did over tweet and was a bit of a bother to people.  I don’t have as many followers there so that made it a bit easy but other than that I felt like it was a bit much.

Overall the experience was interesting and I did enjoy the class.  I am looking forward to more journalism courses and just becoming a journalist all together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairfield University’s Residential Assistants (RA)

When it comes to building communities and friendships that last a lifestyle, Residential Assistants (RA) do it best regardless of the challenges the position brings.  

Some of the challenges include “lots of work and paperwork” said Sean Tomlinson 19’ who is a first time RA in Mccormick.  The building placements are random and sometimes RAs end up with their class year as Tomlinson did.

Fairfield University’s staff in charge of the program spend the time required to train its students to be positive role models.  They also have high expectations for them but they do acknowledge that the position can be hard.

Sonya Alexander, the Area Coordinator (AC) at Mccormick hall says she expects the RAs in the building to build relationships with all the residents.  She added that she was an RA herself during her undergraduate years and is still friends with some of her former students.

“You have to make some tough decisions when addressing policies” Alexander added.  When it comes to friends, RAs often have to figure out how to separate their commitments with the program from their personal lives.

Kaadiana Barnes 16’ who is an RA at Dolan Townhouses said that being a role model comes with a lot of responsibilities.  “I feel like I am always watched” she said and that often means that she has to attend parties or events elsewhere to avoid any misunderstandings.

RAs get free room and board that covers a big part of their tuition but they also get to be leaders in their communities and impact change.  Regardless of the work involved, Tomlinson and Barnes both agree that knowing that they made a difference in their peers’ experience here at Fairfield makes it all worth it.

‘The Perfect Guy’ stalks up on the competition

Viewers always need to see something with a little twist, something that makes one’s body shiver or has you saying “I did not see that coming.” If that’s you, then “The Perfect Guy” is the movie you definitely need to see. 

The plot of “The Perfect Guy,” written by Alan B. McElroy, revolves around a successful woman whose desire to settle down pushes her boyfriend away and sends her right into the arms of maniacal sociopath.

The main character Leah Vaughn, played by Sanaa Lathan, is tired of waiting for a proposal from Dave Young, played by Morris Chestnut, her boyfriend of two years who is very much afraid of commitment and insists on proposing when the time is right.

Two months after Leah calls it quit with Dave, she meets Carter Duncan, played by Michael Ealy, who appears to be the perfect guy, except that he is mentally disturbed, obsessed and violent.

The pair fall in love and everything is perfect until Carter’s true character comes rushing out, scaring Leah off.

For her safety, she decides to break things off with Carter and finds refuge in her ex, who realized that Leah was the one all along; but, Carter decides that if he cannot have her, no one else will.

Leah explores all resources within the law to get rid of her stalker, but her efforts fail desperately.

As she loses everything, she is forced to face this all by herself. 

The movie was well-paced, which allowed the audience to be part of the story instead of rushing through scenes.

Ealy did a phenomenal job taking on the role of Carter.

He is mostly known for the “gentleman” roles he plays, such as in the movie “About Last Night” where Ealy plays Danny, an everyday guy who falls in love with the girl of his dreams.

To see him play the role of a  villain was very refreshing.

This movie not only celebrates the actors’ unique talents, but starring a predominantly African American cast is a tremendous feat in the film industry as actors of color deserve to be recognized for their work.

The story is very educational, teaching young ladies to be patient and learn to see certain signs in men which could save their lives.

It also teaches us to approach life one step at a time, keeping in mind that not everything that shines is gold.

“The Perfect Guy” reached No. 1 in the box office and has received generally favorable reviews since its premiere, according to Deadline Hollywood. 

David Doorman breathes life back into dance

When it comes to David Dorfman, one needs to dismiss from mind one’s views on the art of dance and performance. Dorfman used his unique talent to start the David Dorfman Dance in 1987 with the mission “to get the whole world dancing.” Through dance, music and text, Dorfman and his team have travelled both nationally and internationally spreading the ideas of freedom, life and its struggles by incorporating it into their choreography. Dorfman had always enjoyed dancing, but it was not until the age of 23 that he know for a fact that performing was his future.

On Saturday Nov. 7, David Dorfman Dance performed live at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. From the music, dance, set and lighting, the show was worth the watch. Based on his most recent work “Come, and Back Again,” Dorfman’s performance highlighted mortality and the daily life of the common man, or as Dorfman put it, “about the mess in our daily lives, how we deal with it, the choices we make and how they change as we get older.” In one of the performances, there was a particular movement where he fell on the floor and the younger dancers picked him up and kept on moving. He perhaps did so to say that we are all bound to age and fail to do the things we once did. David also celebrated his 60th birthday on the day of the performance, adding to the notion of aging and placing questions of mortal uncertainty into his work, which made the story even more relatable.

The performance was all about expressions, and how often we feel we fail to communicate. One of the dancers mid-way through the show asked the audience to look at the person to their right and try to guess if they have ever truly been in love. With humor, she proceeded to discuss a formula recently discovered to calculate love, and this created a connection between the audience and the story being told.

Freshman Kayla Craig, a dancer, said that “It was the most heartfelt part of the show. I cannot believe I have just been introduced to his work.” Craig continued, “Where has he been all my life? As a dancer, we need to be exposed to more of this.”

There was so much freedom, yet struggle, in this post-modern dance performance. David Kyuman Kim, a creative consultant for the dance company, talked about how Dorfman shows both the artistic flow and struggle that comes with performing that most performers often try to hide.  Kim stated that, “He uses both to portray the idea that our lives are messy and flawed, but it’s OK.”

The dancers performed with such freedom and imitation that it seemed as if the show was not rehearsed at all. There was an element of surprise in the choices they made as if the events in the stories being told were happening right there.

Putting together this show came with its own set of challenges, Dorfman admitted. His wife, who was to be a part of the show, was injured days prior and needed a replacement. In addition, the group had a new dancer and musician. At the end of the day, they all managed to pull through and give a great performance. Having Sam Race Dorfman (David’s son) as one of the dancers not only gave hope or certainty if you may of David’s legacy continuing, but was also genuine to see them spend his birthday doing what they love.

‘Fuller House’ builds on successes of its predecessor

Same plot, same setting and same characters, “Fuller House,” premiered on Netflix on Feb. 26, recreates the magic of the classic “Full House, which ran from 1987 to 1995 with the girls from “Full House” now grown and helping each other.    

After D.J. Tanner’s (Candace Cameron Bure) husband dies, she is left with 3 boys and is in need of help. Her sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) her best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) and Kimmy’s daughter Ramona (Soni Nicole Bringas) move in their childhood home to help with D.J.’s three sons.

While some fans love the idea of rebooting old shows, many others feel like writers can come up with some more original ideas that will also last a lifetime. “It says a lot about our generation’s creativity when we look to the past for good shows,” said Sean Tomlinson ‘19.

Others also feel like they are being forced to like “Fuller House” simply because they were fans of “Full House” as children. “It was funny the first time, I don’t know if it will be funny now,” said Julia Lam ‘19.  She felt that it is unnecessary to continue a show that streamed that long ago and fears that the writing and jokes is bound to be repetitive.

With fan service in mind, the pilot episode brought back all the characters of “Full House” as guest stars to warm up the audience and take them down memory lane.

The sitcom is funny in a predictable kind of way with reference to scenes from “Full House”.  When D.J’s youngest son Tommy Fuller Jr (Dashiell Messitt) cried, the cast gathered and sang the same song they sang for a baby in “Full House”.

Although the plot is the same, there are few differences with “Fuller House” compared to “Full House” such as how family time is spent with the increase use of technology.  Kids in the show  had smartphones or tablets and we see how they learn to spend time together without their devices.

Dave Coulier, reprising his role as Joey Gladstone, guest starred in “Funner House,” the third episode in the season, as a babysitter for the kids so D.J., Stephanie, and Kimmy can go out.

Coulier manages to keep the kids off their devices in a game that he refers to as family-friendly violence, speaking against the overuse of electronics and encouraging family time, a lesson many need.  Overall, just like “Full House” the show was family friendly, the acting was good and it was entertaining.

Binge-Watching culture and American College Students

 

You tell yourself “One more episode” and before you know it, you are 5 hours in, all caught up with shows but not so much anything else.  On one hand Binge-watching satisfies viewers’ curiosity but on the other hand, It is changing how American college students approach their school work.

With a lot of things on TV fighting for people’s attention, it is easy for students to take more breaks than they should.  “A five minute break, means two hours of Friends episodes” Lacey Kirton ’19 said when asked if Binge watching has changed how she studies.  

“I tell myself just one more episode” Kirton added and admits that it is easy to get addicted to these shows simply because she can.  Trying to get back to work after only 2 episodes is a waste of her time because “you can’t focus on the work” she said.

This shift has changed the way people consume TV and has benefitted a lot of people, but it also has negative impacts. More and more students say that they fall victims of procrastinating their school work to catch up on shows on Netflix or Hulu.

Six episodes in one sitting is the minimum number common amongst viewers but some students admit to watching an entire season during school time.  Zavon Billups ’18 said he has binge watched at about 9 episodes in one sitting.

Billups believes that the trend prevent students from giving their best.  These habits, he believes takes away from students’ ability to foster good learning habits

In an article with USA Today College, Andrew Goldman, an adjunct professor at the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at the New York University said that college students are more likely to binge-watch because of the flexibility in their schedules compared to adults with families to care for.

Thanks to the technology advancement we see these days, students have access to their favorite shows on their smart phones, making it even easier to get carried away.

In addition to its interference from an educational standpoint, binge-watching is said to have negative health effects.  According to an article with the Guardian, research suggest that binge watching can lead to obesity and diseases such as diabetes from inactivity.  

Further research by Texas A&M study suggest that binge watching can also be tied to feelings of depression and loneliness.  Viewers will often become anti-social and inactive as a result.  

More research needs to be conducted seeing that binging is a new behavior but with recent survey results, the article suggest that loneliness or “self-regulation deficiency” are indicators of Binge watching.

Some students recognize that binge watching is addictive so they avoid TV in general.  Terrie Anne ‘19 says she easily falls victim of the trend so she only starts TV shows when school is out. “You don’t realize how much time you’re wasting, until you’re done “ she said.

Emma Wagner ‘19 does not watch TV when school is in session and would rather go to the movies instead to resist temptation.  

Wagner feels like Binge watching promotes the culture of having everything right away and hinders students from putting in the time required to give their best.  “Some assignments take time, and should not be procrastinated” she said.

Some students however found binge watching helpful in keeping them sane with the pressure of being a college student.  There is usually a lot of reading and each class’ homework takes at least two hours so the break is well deserved, they say.

These students felt that binge watching is a form of an escape for them.  After putting in two hours or more studying, it doesn’t hurt to catch up on your favorite shows.  

“Netflix keeps me balanced” Thereza Kalangala ‘18 said, and feels like people exaggerate the idea of binge watching.  She says she does her homework first then watches TV.  “You can’t just study 24/7, a break doesn’t hurt” she added.