University of Wisconsin La Crosse - La Crosse Yearbook (La Crosse, WI)

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10 - Alfonso Tobar - Greg Behrendt Bumper tennis won,t do Recently, I went to a track meet. As I sat there, watching a few women run around the track sixteen times ifor a total of two milesl, I began to wonder why someone would want to push her body to that length just to win a race. What was the point? Americans are becoming fitness fanatics and fitness is the fad of the eighties. We want to look good and feel good. We exercise to be beautiful iafter we're done sweating of coursel. We keep fit by running, biking, lifting weights, aerobic dancing, jumping rope, and so on. Aerobic dance seems to have really taken off. America, in june of 1984, had 22.7 million aerobic dancers. I would say that the majority of them were dressed in designer leotards, tights, and leg warmers, all color coordinated. When did gym classes become amateur fashion shows? It seems to me that many women are more concerned about looking good while exercising than attaining the benefits of the exercxse. That brings me to the benefits of Aerobic dance. Besides toning muscles, aerobics are a fantastic way to shape up your Cardiovascular system. A untrained college student's cariovascular system is similar to that of middle-aged runner. And you thought there weren't any advantages t growing old. Now to move on to another extremely popular form of exercise: runningll Not yogging, running. No one jogs anymore Could this be an indication of how fast- paced our American lifestyle is? Why running? It requires practically no equipment and can be done jus about anywhere. Running also develops our cardiovascular endurancet But the best thing about running is that it can decrease the factors leading to heart attacks. l

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lthe Change in the drinking age hasn't ehanged the students drinkingy habits, IlAI know somev one is drinking and is not oli legal age, I will lwaru them. That's all I ran do? says Plashkoi Dave Smutney, a sophomore RA. in Wentl, said the biggest change he sees in the drinking age at 19 is the effect on friendships Many of the students who are 19 or older want to go to i bars downtown, but have liriends 18 who can't legally drink downtown. Those who ean't legal - ly drink l'eel lelit out and left behind. Other students in the residence halls agree to the fact that t'hanging the legal drinking age to 19 has had little effect on the IlW-l, Campus: Bob Marhefke ll9l - It's alTeCted dorm life in that we don't meet as many people as we would ii We eould have floor parties Then anyone tan he invited no matter the age. Carolyn Dellurri t21. Hall Council Presi- , denU - It's affected the planning of aetivities for residents since no alcohol can be involved in the aetivities. There has been a change in this year's freshman, Many just don't drink they . Plan other aetivities, like playing Trivial Pursuit all night. TIME Wetlands. the campus pub located in Cartwright Center, also laces problems with the new law. Dri Robert Mullally, direetor of stu- dent activities, explained that they have no VehoiCe but to enforce the law. The Student Centers Committee and Student Government develops the rules and regulations for the Wet- lands and so far they have two options to ehoose fromi One option is to develop a desig- nated area for drinking alcohol and a designated area for dtinkinyr non-aleoholic beverages. An- other possibility is that The Wetlands will not permit anyone under age in the bar after a speeilied time. The decision will be made this Spring. Putting the legal drinking age at 19 seems to have little affect on the student's social lives at I7W- 1., but the law is new to the university. The years to come will show the affect of the 19 drinking age. There may be more strict enforce- ment by the police and the UW-L housing rules and regulations may he changed. The measure which now proposes raisingY the legal drinking age from 19 to 21 brings even more turmoil to campuses. Campuses will be divided into a majority that can't drink legally and a minority that tan drink legally Koehler says that Change to 21 would make for quieter drinking. Students will be less likely to drink openly for fear of being caught Mullally says the quieter drinking may mean a decrease in the attendance at the athletic events. Many students do a little Celebrating before sporting events anyway, but with the drinking age at 21, stu- dents may decide to prolong their pre-Celebra- tion and not go to the sporting events at all for fear ol being caught drinking under age. The 21 drinking age will affect the existence or The Wetlands, Mullaly says it Would be finan- Cially impossible for The Wetlands to survive because the student population of. those over 21 could not be enough to support it. Many students reject the legal drinking age of 21 and feel it would cause problems for cam- T7USCS: Connie Beck tZO, R.A. in White Halli - ,2 Greg liehrehdt An RA. would have to watch the residents more and be more Strict about alcohol in the dorms There may be more dealing with the eity police. Scott Megow tl9i - It would be hard on the downtown bars. Many Students go downtown just to danee and at 21 you can't even get into the bars. There would probably be more house V parties If 21 becomes the legal drinking age at UW-L there may be a No Alcohol policy throughout the residence halls. R.A.,s would then have to enforce the law A majority of the students living in the residence halls would not be able to drink By the time a student is 21 they are usually living off campus. This could mean that Changing the drinking age to 21 would Cause more students to move off campus before they are 21 so they could drink without any hassles. The 21 drinking age would affect the bars of downtown La Crosse Since College students are their main support. A smaller number of stu- dents would be able to legally go downtown to drink: This may mean a financial Change for the bar owner. Bar owners will have to target their establishments toward the older Crowd who could drink while those who can't legally drink would stay at home to drink. The 19 drinking age has been effective in reduc- ing the consumption of alcohol in high schools which was its main intention. The law did not create any major problems on the UW-Ii catty pus, but 21 as the legal drinking age would be restricting an adult's personal freedom. Drink- ing will always be a problem; it is a matter ot responsibility 2 mil Talabac

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- Bob Hammerstrom for fitness in the l80ls But are Americans exercising for the right reasons? Probably not. Exercis- ing won't work if it is just to look good for that gorgeous guy in your history class or so that girl studying in the library will notice your bulging biceps. People should be exercising to improve their circulation, among other reasons. Like everything, though, Americans seem to take looking healthy to the extreme. In order to look really healthy, we visit tanning salons, spending an average of $7 per visit. What about the dangers of aging, skin cancer, and burning? No such chances with tanning salons. Tanning beds donlt contain the burning or aging rays that the sun does. But what does a dermatologist say about tanning beds? According to Dr, Dean Martalock, a dermatologist at Skemp-Grandview Clinic in La Crosse, there is no such thing as a safe tan. All ultra-violet rays are potentially damaging. Tanning salons are actually a trade off with the sun. It is less damaging if it is done slowly - as in a salon - than if you suddenly spend three hours in the sun. He also says that all the ultra- violet rays add up, contributing to permanent aging. If fitness is just a fad then, like other fads, it will pass. In the mean time, however, at least the efforts of Americans are having positive effects on their bodies. Only in America can you find an industry making more than $900 million on getting people in shape through the use of video cassettes, apparel, and books. And where else but American can you buy a jump rope for $29.95 Uike the rope your dad cut from your mom's clothesline when you were a kidl. No longer is the motivation to be healthy enough. Now you also need to buy overpriced equipment that is so specialized that you need a pair of shoes for every activity you do. Bumper tennis just won't do anymore. - Kristin Brouwer - Bob Hammerstrom 11