The University is joining the nationwide celebration of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week from Feb. 25-28.
The Department of Health Promotion and Wellness is working alongside the Counseling Center as well as the Women’s Resource Center to organize events on campus that promote body image and raise awareness for eating disorders in honor of UA’s Body Appreciation Week, which is traditionally know as National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
The “Fashion Rocks and So Does my Body” fashion show will be held Feb. 28 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Ferguson Center Ballroom as part of this celebratory week. The free event is open to all UA students and usually attracts about 40 models each year, said Sheena Gregg, the assistant director of nutrition education and health services in the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness.
“In the past, we have had student models of different shapes, sizes and genders to be a part of the show,” Gregg said. “We want to promote positive body image and the fact that everyone is beautiful.”
Gregg said the event strays from the normal media image of the “thin-deal” by trying to focus on the healthy ideal.
“I think people need to learn to accept themselves and be healthy instead of worrying about what other people think on the outside,” Lacy Duke, a senior majoring in social work, said. She is contributing to Body Appreciation Week through the School of Social Work.
“It’s all about having confidence in your body. I am confident. If I can show that, maybe other people will see it too and might appreciate their body,” Duke said.
Duke initially started working with the School of Social Work to build her resume, but over time it grew into a learning experience, and she grew close to the message Body Appreciation Week carries.
Cindy Devoe, a junior majoring in nutrition, plans on attending the fashion show.
“My sister has been battling eating disorders her entire life, so I am really involved in any kind of body appreciation events on campus,” Devoe said. “I normally like to attend all of them to support it because it’s been in my family. I have seen it up close.”
Devoe said a lot of people don’t realize how many people, both men and women, have been affected by eating disorders and thinks the University needs more events like this for students fighting the illness.
Andrea Dobynes, a senior majoring in communications, has attended the fashion show throughout each year of college and plans on participating again this year.
“I think it’s a wonderful way for people of all shapes, sizes and modeling backgrounds to express themselves,” Dobynes said. “Seeing people strut down the runway with a smile on their face does something to me.”
The University’s Body Appreciation Week will also feature a “Be Comfortable in Your ‘Genes’” blue jean donation drive, which was organized by the University’s School of Social Work undergraduate program.
All donations will go to Temporary Emergency Services Inc., Turning Point and Tuscaloosa One Place during Body Appreciation Week. Bins will be located at Little Hall, Tutwiler, Ridgecrest, Riverside and Burke.
Students can visit the “UA Body Appreciation Week” Facebook page for information on all of next week’s events.
Leading in today’s Crimson White:
Local artist uses pet portraits to benefit animal rescue groups
