OE in 600 words

I really have no idea what I am going to write my paper about. But since I am forced to pick something to write about for this assignment, here goes.

We are getting fatter. Statistically as a nation, almost every state has had rising obesity rates over the last few decades. Here at BYU, we are given opportunities to try to reverse this process. For example, intramural sports is a great way for students to get together and exercise while having fun and enjoying each others company at the same time. But are we doing enough? For new students here at BYU, the weight gain that occurs even has a universal name: freshman fifteen. So again we have to ask ourselves the question: is BYU providing adequate opportunity for freshman to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Upon consideration, one realizes that by providing better opportunities for exercise and a healthier selection of food, BYU could be doing a much better job of giving freshman students a healthy environment to live in.

Let’s pretend that I want to go running. Being from Helaman Halls, one option could be to run around the dorm buildings in a big loop. However, this presents a problem. Because of all the snow, the walking places soon become densely packed ice-ways. One bad footfall and you can crash and burn, I know because I have done so on several occasions. It can be especially dangerous if you run at night. A better solution to this problem would be to go down to the track that is right next to Helaman Halls. However, this track is usually locked to the public, so one would have to hop the fence and trespass if he or she was looking to exercise. As one can see, it becomes difficult for a freshman student to find a place to exercise. My solution to this problem would be to simply open the gates to the track near Helaman Halls, so that students can have open access to come and go as they please to exercise.

Another problem here at BYU for freshman students is nutrition. A large part of this problem comes from two things: cafeteria food and vending machines. The problem with the cafeteria food is that in the serving lines, they often serve foods like greasy chicken, French fries, and other meats that no one knows from which animal it came. If you want fruits and vegetables, you usually have to go to a different place in the cafeteria, rather than making them conveniently accessible in the serving line. If they would serve the fruits and vegetables in the serving line, students would be more likely to choose them, and their meals would be healthier.

Another large problem for freshman students is the vending machines. Towards the end of last semester, I was usually eating at least one meal out of the vending machines everyday, because my schedule was such that I often didn’t have time to go to the cafeteria. I am fully convinced that this was one of the reasons that I gained weight the first semester, because the foods that were offered in the vending machines were often greasy and unhealthy. I propose that the vending machines in the student dorms, like the ones in the testing center, offer things like sandwiches for students to eat. This might not sound like a huge deal, but a turkey sandwich is much healthier than a half pound pepperoni meat hot pocket. Also, if the vending machines offered fruits such as apples and oranges, students would have a healthier variety of things to choose from. If BYU made these changes, students would have a better chance of having a healthy lifestyle and an overall happier freshman experience.