Wash. U., like many universities, is a breeding ground for eating disorders, as students are surrounded not only by the typical media influences that encourage unhealthy lifestyles but also by skinny, young, driven, Type A personalities with high standards and low tolerance for failure. This kind of environment, composed of deceivingly flawless fronts, has strong implications for what we see when we look in the mirror. It is difficult to ignore the distorted reflection this mirror creates. The drive and intensity of students at Wash. U. contributes to widespread success, but such extremes have fallbacks that emerge in the form of the underweight, unhappy girls who are far too common on our campus.

I do not intend to place the blame for the prevalence of eating disorders solely on the reality of living in a college campus bubble. An eating disorder is a disease with a complicated source, triggered by the environment along with the nature and psychological health of the affected individual. It is a disease that ranges in severity. It is a disease that is both emotionally draining and physically handicapping. It is a disease in which recovery translates into a lifelong battle. It is a disease that is both potentially fatal and preventable. It is a disease.

This is a touchy subject, especially at a university where the community is undoubtedly comprised of many who have a personal connection to someone who has suffered from an eating disorder. The delicate nature of eating disorders, however, should not discourage conversation, but rather, should emphasize the importance of open communication as far too many girls fight for their control by starving themselves or by engaging in purging behaviors.

I suspect that many people shy away from recognizing symptoms in themselves and their friends because they feel isolated and are not sure where to turn for help. This is an aspect of eating disorders that doesn’t seem to have been fully examined in our college setting. What is the role of any university in shaping a campus that encourages a positive body image amidst a less stressful environment?

The blue lights surrounding campus serve as a constant reminder that, if our physical safety is threatened, we are not alone. Countless widespread Student Health Services posters warn us of flu symptoms and instruct the steps we should take to stay healthy. S.A.R.A.H provides a hotline for victims of sexual assault, recognizing that awareness is not sufficient. Where does a student who is stuck in the detrimental cycle of an eating disorder turn? There very well may be options on campus for this student and her friends, but those options are not visible enough.

Am I asking for flashing lights and big arrows? Well, maybe I am. Otherwise the mirror that causes girls to compare themselves to some perfect image of their empowered, well-rounded, put-together peers will remain untouched. This mirror is powerful in its ability to distort images, lower self-esteem and diminish any remaining sense of control. Keeping ancient superstitions in mind, with the risk of seven years of bad luck, it is time to break the mirror.

We owe it to ourselves to ensure that our campus-wide efforts to promote healthy body images and combat eating disorders do not end with this week. Our University, like many comparable institutions, is inhabited by privileged, driven, perfectionist personalities—who, between the ages of 17 and 19, will experience a shift in metabolism and question the way they perceive their bodies.

Part of an adjustment to college is learning how to take care of our bodies and eat at appropriate intervals. Because of nearly unlimited access to food, high levels of alcohol consumption and busy schedules, freshmen often gain weight and must learn, for the first time in their lives, how to create a healthy lifestyle for themselves.

Many, however, take the newfound ability to control their habits to an extreme. Some studies suggest that as many as one in five female college students has engaged in self-induced vomiting. College is a time of radical self-direction—in theory, we control when we study, when we party and with whom we associate. Because we are new at directing ourselves, however, we often fail in our academic and social goals and are comforted by our ability to control habits that are more easily manipulated—among them, our diet and exercise routines. Moreover, we are image conscious, engaging in frequent social interactions where we are sized up largely on the basis of our appearances.

In many cases, these factors do not result in full-blown eating disorders, but in instances of unhealthy eating and exercise patterns. These patterns, though not pathological, are cause for concern because they are often the starting point of true diseases.

Bon Appétit includes many healthy options in its menu staples, and the South 40 Fitness Center provides classes and incentive-based programs to encourage healthy lifestyles among students. But college is a time of extremes, and information must be publicized about the other end of the spectrum—a place where students starve themselves, work out obsessively and engage in purging behaviors.

Resources at Student Health Services for eating disorder counseling should be promoted; a list of the signs of eating disorders should be posted in dorms alongside those describing the signs of sexual assault. The Office of Residential Life should introduce programming to make students aware of the risks of eating disorders before coming to college, just as Alcohol.edu programming has enhanced our awareness of the risks of alcohol abuse.

Our community has united behind other health issues pertinent to students such as drug use, STIs and sexual assault. Similarly, it is time for us to ensure that those who suffer from eating disorders and unhealthy body image need not suffer in silence.

From Oct. 19-23, Washington University will participate in a national “Fat Talk Free Week,” in which participating students will sign pledges agreeing to think positively about their bodies.

The Reflections Body Image Program of Tri Delta created Fat Talk Free Week last year. On the University’s campus, the student group Reflections—not associated with Tri Delta’s Reflections Program—will run the event.

Reflections promotes positive body image and spreads eating disorder awareness.

“Nowadays, these issues are really starting to become very prevalent, and more people are starting to pay attention,” said senior Tess deBlanc-Knowles, event chair for Fat Talk Free Week at the University. “I think it’s really important that we’re on campus now.”

Fat Talk Free Week aims to ban the use of the word “fat” and other terms associated with a negative body image.

“Our modern society, especially on college campuses, is [a] breeding ground for negative body image,” deBlanc-Knowles said. “We really have to cultivate a positive body image for every person to be comfortable with themselves.”

The standards for a positive body image are not extreme or even out of reach.

“A healthy body image is someone who is comfortable in his or her body,” Steve Kraushaar, staff psychologist at the Habif Health and Wellness Center, wrote in an e-mail to Student Life.

Students with healthy body images “are not spending excessive time focused on their body that may result in interference with academic and social functioning or general quality of life,” Kraushaar wrote.

During Fat Talk Free Week, participants will wear pins as reminders to “be cognizant, for this one week, of how many times a day they think negative thoughts about themselves or others,” deBlanc-Knowles said.

Students may participate by signing pledges to be “fat talk free” for the week.

“The Underpass itself will be a blank petition,” said senior and Reflections president Sara Silbert. “We’re also going to have a big board outside the DUC. Every day, there will be those places that people can come sign.”

Fat Talk Free Week has both short and long term goals for improving body image.

Reflections would like to see students refrain from thinking negatively about their bodies, “even if it’s just for that one week,” deBlanc-Knowles said. “Hopefully, that’ll spark something in them to try and change their thinking so they think about themselves in a more positive way.”

Silbert added that one objective of Fat Talk Free Week is to encourage students to appreciate their bodies and stop comparing themselves to others.

Struggles with body image are not uncommon on college campuses.

“85 percent of college females believe that they are either slightly or seriously overweight,” Kraushaar wrote. “Males tend to have less body image concerns, however, they can still be quite significant.”

Body image concerns may be related to the media. Kraushaar noted that women’s magazines tend to have 10 times more advertisements about body image and weight loss than men’s magazines. Many of these magazines emphasize weight loss over health.

“It is important to note,” he continued, “that far fewer individuals will act on [body image issues] with disordered eating behaviors. Some studies suggest that 10 percent of female students have engaged in self-induced vomiting.”

Fat Talk Free Week might help students begin the process of improving their body images.

“Beginning the process of accepting their bodies may result in [students’] engaging in therapy or other valuable resources,” Kraushaar wrote.

Other universities in Missouri planning to participate in Fat Talk Free Week include Saint Louis University, the University of Missouri – St. Louis and five others.

Wrote Kraushaar: “Anytime we break down prejudice about words that have been historically inflammatory or hurtful we are moving in the right direction.”