Elite Colleges: Response

I really liked Charlie's pick for this week with the article "Elite Colleges Open New Door to Low-Income Youths" by Sara Rimer in The New York Times. I think that this piece is a great example of something short, sweet, and interesting.

First, the lede is fairly interesting. It could have been done better and more artful, but I also like the fact that it gets down to business quickly. It is a great lead in to the theme and subject of the piece and overall serves its purpose. The piece begins with a close up of Jack, zooms out to a portrait of his family, and zooms out again to the issue at hand: that elite colleges are taking measures to attract and invite low-income individuals. This type of cinematography is quite simple, and again, serves its purpose to use Jack's story as a door into a more widespread issue.

The piece begins to get factual, but the author does a good job of interspersing the boring (but important) details with those "gold coins". For example, after dealing with the facts of the socioeconomic status of students at the elite colleges, the writer inserts a great, funny, true statement about Jack to bring the focus back to him: "The only debt he says he owes is the $41 it cost to make copies of his 107-page honors thesis.

The piece then flashes back quickly, which does a good job of providing personal background information. The flashback is inserted at just the right moment to allow the reader to continue building Jack's character.

A few times I was disappointed in the lack of efficient transitions. For example, the story about Jack's run-in with the police seems out of place.

I like the conversation with Jack near the end of the piece, because I felt like I really got to know him better. I wonder if any of his dialogue wouldn't have been more effective more toward the beginning, though, instead of diving right into the issue and then returning to Jack to finish up.

The kicker, like the lede, is generally interesting, but I do think it could have been done better. The writer uses a good quote from Jack, but it seems like a forced quote that, after getting to know him through the piece, I wouldn't expect him to say - at least not in those exact words. I like the idea of quoting people how they talk, and I didn't get a feel for Jack's voice in any of the quotes used in the narrative.

Overall, I thought this was a great piece among some of the shorter, more brief ones we have read for class. After having read it, I get a pretty good feel for character, I am introduced to a broader issue, and I care. Good pick, Charlie!

Feature: First Draft

Get Up, Get Out, Get Active

by Jenny Thomson

In about 30 minutes per day, it is possible to reduce the risk of a heart attack, diabetes or stroke, reduce the prevalence of anxiety and depression and reduce the occurrence of illnesses. In that same thirty minutes, a contribution can be made toward building healthy bones, muscles, and joints. These 30 minutes can also provide therapeutic benefits for people suffering from physical limitations or chronic disorders. Thirty minutes.

The answer isn’t the elixir of life or the fountain of youth. It’s not a magical cure-all pill or miracle gadget. It’s an hour that can be spent in- or outside the home, alone or in a group, morning or night.

It’s physical activity.

Yet despite the countless obvious and proven benefits, over half of the adults in the United States don’t participate in the recommended amount. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, at least five days per week is essential in order to maintain a healthy body, both physically and psychologically. Still, most Americans don’t bother to get up and get out. In fact, a report published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 24% of American adults are inactive during their free time.

This trend is not just affecting adults. Though often ignored because they are assumed to be healthy, college students are not immune to the damage inflicted by lack of exercise. In fact, current research is showing quite the opposite: college students are unhealthy.

A recent study of 937 students conducted at Ohio State University found that the majority of those surveyed were physically inactive or exercised irregularly.

The impact is being felt nationwide. An ongoing study at the University of New Hampshire showed that almost half of male students and almost 30% of female students are considered at least overweight. A report from the University of Albany revealed that 23% of subjects were overweight while 11% were obese.

The negative effects of physical inactivity are staggering. The recent rise in obesity has also increased the prevalence of many chronic disorders, such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Obese individuals also suffer psychologically, from social discrimination and decreased self-esteem.

The list goes on.

The heath problems that result from inactivity are well documented. The CDC has devoted an entire national health objectives program, called Healthy People 2010, to improving the health of Americans by the year 2010.

According to the report, a major problem is that most college students simply aren’t provided with accurate information. The CDC estimates that a mere 36% of university students were given facts about inadequate physical activity.

Compounding the limited instruction about the importance of physical activity is the ever-growing presence of the “obesigenic environment”. More and more, students are spending their time in front of the television or the computer, watching their shows and playing video games. This is not to mention the fast food joint at ever corner whose purpose seems to be to lure penniless, busy college students to buy cheap, quick and most importantly, unhealthy, food.

Just take a stroll up to the Bronco Mall: universities like Western Michigan are even incorporating fast food choices into their meal plans.

Nutrition aside, the main obstacles preventing students from actually partaking in physical activity itself are the lack of convenient facilities and the lack of safe environments in which to be active.

This is where colleges have the ability to fight back.

In the study conducted at Ohio State University, it was found that a major contributor to whether or not students exercise is their own self-efficacy: their motivation to participate despite complications or obstacles, such as the weather. Universities can help motivate students by providing them the opportunity to be active in a pleasant and convenient setting.

It hasn’t taken long for colleges in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference to catch on.

Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan is planning a $35 million dollar expansion to their physical education and athletic facilities. The hope is that by increasing in size and in resources, students, faculty, and staff will have more opportunities to focus on recreation and holistic health.

Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan has built extensive new athletic facilities and added numerous sports teams in an effort to recruit more student-athletes to the school. Adrian’s efforts have resulted in a higher student academic profile and an increased retention rate. The addition of active people to the college has even increased overall morale.

Kalamazoo College is not slow to follow suit, either. During the Spring Quarter Campus Forum, President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran announced that the next capital campaign for the college will be for a new, upgraded fitness facility. The facility, comprising the current natatorium and the open area just to the east of it, would feature a brand new, 50-meter Olympic-size swimming pool, a number of new dance and yoga studios, and an auxiliary gym for intramural and student use.

The most important step, though, is to educate students about the importance of regular physical activity so that they may make informed choices about becoming and staying active.

This is where Kalamazoo College fell behind. A Nutrition course is offered to students only once per year and required physical education credits only span five of a student’s 10 or more quarters on campus. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, this is just not enough.

And, all it takes is 30 minutes.

**This is not quite 1,000. I have been trying since the end of last week to get the interviews I wanted to start with, but unfortunately with my busy Triathlon planning schedule, I couldn't meet with anyone before I needed to post this. The interviews are now set up, so I will be doing some extensive reportage during the revision period to fill this in. I'm hoping my workshop group will be able to guide me in that process!

Profile: Final Draft

Reliving a Legacy

by Jenny Thomson

Bruce Johnson, K’76, doesn’t walk anymore. He limps.

A recent knee surgery attempting to reverse years of strain left him with a slightly impaired gait.

He still bikes and swims. He is still active at Gazelle Sports, the store he co-founded in downtown Kalamazoo, where he is forced to master a set of stairs each time he travels between the store on the first level and his office above.

He doesn’t talk about it, except to explain why he needs someone to run for him in this year’s Kalamazoo College Triathlon.

“I can bike and swim, but I can’t do the run,” Johnson said.

The Triathlon is an event he looks forward to every year. He won in 1989.

This year, he won’t be able to participate.

Worse still, Johnson can’t play the sport he loves, his passion. It is the same sport that took his knee from him so early, the same that left him a legacy at ‘K’. Ultimate Frisbee.

Johnson’s Frisbee legacy began the summer before he arrived at ‘K’ when he bought a bus ticket to Atlantic Mine, Michigan. Traveling 14 hours to the heart of the Keweenaw, he was attracted to the International Frisbee Tournament.

The event hosted teams from all over the country, as far as California and Boston. People competed in Guts Frisbee and throwing and accuracy events. They also competed in Ultimate.

“There were these guys there from Maplewood, New Jersey. I remember they had these shirts on that said CHS – Columbia High School. These were the guys that invented Ultimate. It seemed like a cool game, so I learned to play,” Johnson said

He had the right idea. A couple guys donning maroon and gold – Calvin College colors – learned to play with him.

Johnson hitchhiked back to ‘K’ with Ultimate on his mind.

He became passionate about starting an Ultimate team. For him, nothing was better than playing a team sport in which he got to use his running ability.

“It looked a lot like running. From the standpoint of running, I can do better than most people. I loved to throw a Frisbee, so to combine my passion of Frisbee throwing with a sport I was good at – I mean, you’re going to like something you’re good at.”

At first, no one knew who he was.

“At a freshman dorm meeting,” Johnson remembers, “I made an announcement that I was starting an Ultimate Frisbee team. I told anyone who wanted to play to stop by my dorm. Later, in the middle of the night, this guy came and knocked on my door – probably drunk, you know – and yelled ‘Hey Frisbee guy, I wanna sign up for your game! Hey Frisbee I wanna play!’ The nickname just stuck.”

Soon, “Fris” was notorious across campus for the Ultimate team and for the discs he bought and sold to students from his usual spot on the quad. The Ultimate Frisbee team kept practicing, and was finally ready, Johnson thought, for a game.

He contacted those guys from Calvin, and ‘K’ played the first Midwestern Ultimate Frisbee game versus Calvin College at Angell Field.

He doesn’t even have to think twice about the date. It was the summer of 1974.

His passion for Frisbee continued throughout his four years at ‘K’. In 1975, Ultimate Frisbee was offered as a physical education credit during the since terminated summer quarter.

Johnson encouraged people to play Frisbee whenever, wherever, and however they could.

“Frisbee golf, the most popular Frisbee sport here at K, is simple,” he wrote in The Index in 1975. “Just pick a tree or a sign, give it a par, and you’re in business. There’s even a 36 hole course here around campus.”

Despite his excellent reputation at ‘K’, Johnson couldn’t find his niche after he graduated in 1976.

When the owner of the local sports store he worked at was looking to sell, Bruce offered to buy.

“I got the loan, and then the owner decided he wanted $5,000 more. I quit on the spot.”

Johnson was stuck. He didn’t want to work at a corporate store that didn’t care about its customers. He wanted to sell the stuff he knew best – sports gear – at a local place where patrons could get quality service.

His persistence paid off. Gazelle Sports was born.

More than 30 years later, Johnson continues to be passionate about athletics at ‘K’.

Through Gazelle Sports, he sponsored one of the “4 and Forever” events and donated – more than once – toward the Homecoming 5K and the Triathlon. The Gazelle sports logo is sported by students all across campus on T-shirts acquired at these events.

“I could tell Bruce was one of those who really enjoyed his time at ‘K’,” said Heather Jach, a Major Gifts Officer at the college. “He is very concerned about his own community, and is willing to do something about it.”

Though he can no longer play himself, Johnson has stayed invested in the Ultimate team.

“I first met [Johnson] when he came to see us play at practice,” said Kyle Shelton, one of the team captains. “He just stood to the side and watched us play. And he got us our jerseys at wholesale, which was pretty cool.”

But most people don’t know how Ultimate at ‘K’ got started, or that the first Ultimate game west of Pennsylvania was played here, or that the Disc Golf course actually has 36 holes. For most ‘K’ students, Johnson’s legacy lives on silently.

“I guess passion is the legacy I left there,” he said.

It is a passion that is evident in everything he recounts. His story lets others relive that legacy. But few, besides those like Jach and Shelton, have had the privilege to hear it.

“Stories go so far,” Jach stressed. “People sharing their experiences help us relate to each another. Stories are such a great part of what happens, but we don’t use that to our advantage, because people want to hear them, including me.”