MINARET UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1933
THE Vo l u m e
79
Number
9
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October
25,
2012
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ut.minaret@gmail.com
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theminaretonline.com
When Eating in Public, Some Students Feel ‘Food Shame’ By ZOE FOWLER
News Writer
A University of Tampa student walks into the cafeteria daily and feels anxiety when deciding what to eat. Before choosing a dish, she considers
what those around her would think of her choice. This issue, known as “food shame,” causes someone to select food they feel is more appropriate by their peers’ standards. “Sometimes I think about that,”
Food shame affects students as they consider dessert choices in the cafeteria.
said the junior, who wishes to remain anonymous. “I hear that voice in my head ‘don’t eat too much.” A separate anonymous sophomore has similar views on food shame. “I’m naturally skinny, but it’s like I feel people just kind of judge me . . . so it’s like you can’t win,” she said. Assistant professor of psychology Cynthia Gangi said the feelings of food shame are deep-rooted. “This fear stems from the fact that the large portion of food could perhaps be suggestive to others of a deeper character flaw,” she said. “Food and weightrelated stigma is one that has deep character implications. It relates to perceptions of laziness, self-control, selfesteem, respect, health values, motivation and so on. . . . So people might think they are ‘sending a message’ to others about their inner character Jocelyn Doina/The Minaret through their food choices.”
The reason why we may feel others are judging us based on our food choices or the portion of food we eat can best be explained using Charles Cooley’s theory “The Looking Glass.” This theory proposes that our selfimage relies on how we think other people view us. In other words, we define ourselves by how other people react to our behavior. “It may be an accurate depiction of what they’re thinking of us or it might be all in our head, but we then respond to that interpretation,” said Sarah Jirek, an assistant professor of sociology. “We feel feelings perhaps of shame, perhaps of guilt, with regard to food or feeling bad about ourselves, and then we respond accordingly.” Freshman communications major Jasmine Fajardo has gone through a similar situation of being in a public setting and feeling that everyone is judging her. “I’ve gotten amounts of food for dessert, but just to take it to my
See FOOD Page 4
Roommate Conflicts: A Frustrating Part of Dorm Life By PRANAV LOKIN
News Writer
When Sabrina Milroy came home from a night out, she was looking forward to relaxing in her double in Vaughn Center before sleeping the night off. But she said that when she opened her door she was interrogated about her night by her roommate. She was then awakened at 8 a.m. by the sound of grinding coffee. Milroy, now a sophomore, said, “Those little things led to bigger issues and I ended up moving out because of the problems.” According to the office Residence Life, “Approximately 200 students participated in open room change during the third week of classes.” Because this is an open room change period, it is no questions asked. The statement continued, “Approximately 50 students have moved after open room change by meeting with their Area Coordinators. Most of these moves are to be with new friends in other buildings. These numbers are lower than in previous years.” Most schools will randomly assign roommates to incoming freshmen if
In Other News...
requests for pairing aren’t received by a certain date. Universities provide resources to these students so that they can interact with their incoming class and potentially find a roommate. In past years, students spoke or met their roommates for the first time on movein day. With the rise of new technology, incoming freshman create new avenues to interact before coming to school. “I met [my roommate] through the Facebook group and we started talking a lot. We decided we wanted to room together our freshman year and so we made that happen, and from about April of 2011 until we actually moved to Tampa, we Skyped a lot and we were able to develop a friendship,” said Milroy. While incoming freshmen often worry about tackling long papers or not partying too hard, roommates can cause the biggest headaches. According to Reslife Student Conduct Coordinators Ciarra Joyner and Nora Jarmon, avoiding conflict with a roommate is integral to students’ happiness in their first months on campus. Freshman often have a series of surveys that they are required to
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Messy public living areas are one cause for roommate conflict.
complete by the university before they are assigned a roommate. “Students should discuss lifestyle preferences and study/social habits with potential roommates. Major lifestyle preferences including: smoking preference, neatness, bedtime, and study with or without background noise should be
Samantha Battersby/The Minaret
considered,” according to the Reslife statement. Surveys are also generated by independent roommate finder websites to help students further whittle down their choices. School administrated surveys are often general and limited
See ROOMMATE Page 3
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