When I was a little girl, I used to imagine how wonderful it would be if chocolate were healthy. And all the disgusting vegetables like Brussels sprouts and spinach were the junk food. Cookies and cakes could provide protein, chips. Dip could be the vitamins, and ice cream and butter could be the (healthy) dairy. If all the goodies were healthy, imagine how wonderful it would be. Imagine how healthy I would be.
OK, I'll admit it: I am having these thoughts now as a college student, as whimsical or as childish as they may seem. After midnight, sitting in my room, at my computer and with a Novack cookie-- the nightly ritual. You know you've been there. Why is it that the foods we crave most are the most terrible types of food?
It doesn't make sense in the biological scheme of things. Being the biologist that I am, it seems to me that we should crave the foods that are good for us. Foods that provide nutrients. We shouldn't want chocolate or ice cream or any scrumptious item on the Hop's shelves.
What's the science behind it? Is there some Freudian explanation about craving the wrong types of men, I mean, food? What is lacking in the lives of college students that cause such large junk-food cravings?
Well, let's not go there.
But let's do go into any of the dining halls, where an ample supply of large cookies, cakes, muffins and brownies can be found. And when I say large, I mean large. Have you ever tried slicing one of Food Court's cookies into pieces, like a pizza? The cookies are the size of eight normal cookies! That's eight times the junk food serving that the normal population is eating. It's like a whole meal, calorie-wise, in one cookie. It's ridiculous, unhealthy and unfortunately irresistible.
You see, I'm just as guilty as everyone else. I am a vulnerable, hungry college kid with a card that allows me to spend with no consequences. I, like my peers, have the stress of work, relationships, finals, sleep deprivation, sickness and bad weather. All this stress piles up in my mind and body, and snacking is one of the easiest ways to deal. And it is hard to "deal" with the stress in a moderate way since everywhere you go has a mountain of junk food.
What is our school doing to us? Does Dartmouth Dining Services not realize that meal-sized snacks send the wrong message to the Dartmouth community? It's easy to absent-mindedly finish an entire home-baked Collis brownie bar without tasting one bite -- because the reading for tomorrow's midterm is so overwhelming. You can't buy something small and sweet with our dining options. You have to go all out. And basically, college students are going to buy study snacks -- the environment here requires food to help us cope with life. But why does DDS need to make the desserts so big?
Maybe they want us to share. Share stress, food, Blitz pink eye. But seriously
A sign in Kresge just popped up this past week: "Over Exercise: Are you a victim?" If campus resources deemed it necessary to put such a sign up, the problem is probably bigger than we think. Dartmouth kids are used to having their lives under control. We are used to being able to look and feel healthy. Having these snack-meals just adds stress and complicates lifestyle with eating disorders.
I am not suggesting that we get rid of junk food all together. Everything is good in moderation and we do need something to give us a release. But if the cookies were quartered, if the Rice Krispie treats were halved, and if the "low-fat" selections in Home Plate offered a normal serving size, then Dartmouth might just become a little bit healthier.
Please, Dartmouth Dining Services, everything in college doesn't have to be larger than life. At least bring in some normal serving sizes in addition to the larger servings of desserts. But eventually let's get rid of the pizza cookies too. If people like the big portions, they can buy two -- or more accurately eight -- of the newly sized ones. Charge 25 or 50 cents. You'll probably make more money if you do it that way.
