Here’s two scenarios: An 18 year old volleyball player who weighs 100 pounds at 5’3″, runs 5 miles a day, and eats fruit for lunch everyday. A 28 year old is 5’10″ and weighs a meesly 80 lbs. Her bones stick out, she is losing her hair, and her knees rub when she walks. She can barely live on the single cracker she eats at dinner time. We would all agree that the second scenerio is definitely a person with Anorexia. What about the first? Both of these are cases of people with the disorder, Anorexia Nervosa.

People who suffer from Anorexia have a distorted image of themselves. PC:disease-picture.com

Anorexia Nervosa is a life-threatening eating disorder that affects more than 24 million Americans. Out of those 24 million, 11% of girls in high school have been diagnosed with an eating disorder. Mrs. Coyle, AP Psychology Teacher taught a lesson on the disorder, “It’s a psychological disorder, these people with Anorexia don’t want to have it, it’s in the brain.” Anorexia has three obvious signs: distorted body image, refusal to maintain a set body weight, and a fear of weight gain. People with anorexia often obsess aout calories, diet when they are already thin, pretend to eat, or shift food around to make it appear eaten. Once people with anorexia progress in the disorder, they may show dramatic weight loss, deny that they are too thin, and frequently weigh themselves. Senior Elisa Meyers feels bad, “It’s sad to see people with Anorexia because they constantly stress over their weight and in reality, they are ruining their body.” People with anorexia may also exercise frequently, thinking that it will keep them healthy despite the fact that they are not fueling their body for the exercise. Besides these signs, another often obvious one is refusal to eat. Not all anorexia sufferers refuse to eat, some will eat small amounts of food to avoid judgement from others. This leads to another disorder, Bulimia.

Bulimia Nervosa is a disorder very different from Anorexia Nervosa. People with the disorder will often binge, eating thousands of calories at one time. Shortly after eating so many calories, they feel guilty about it, and throw it all up…purging. This binge-purge cycle repeats itself sometimes daily for people with Bulimia. Though people mostly associate Bulimia with barfing, people with the disorder will use anything to eliminate the consumed calories. Some look to diuretics or laxatives to “fix” or “undo” their thousand-calorie binge.

People’s bulimic cycle often begins with a strict diet. Strict dieters who are already obsessed with calories, often feel intense cravings and will look to binging to ease the craving. From there, Bulimia takes over. Even though people with Bulimia are convinced that they are losing weight, in reality, they aren’t. Calorie consumption begins the moment you put food in your mouth, and throwing it up may only eliminate 50% or less of the calories eaten. People with Bulimia actually tend to gain weight over time, defeating the purpose of the cycle. A friend of mine, who has since moved to another state for psychological treatment, and asked to remain anonymous suffered from the disorder. “I would eat the most fattening food, my weakness was chocolate cakes, and after gorging myself for an hour, I would throw it up. I felt better after throwing up because I figured I got to taste the food, without it ruining my weight. I started to see that my logic was wrong when I actually gained weight. Even then, I couldn’t stop, I was addicted to binging and purging.”

Bulimia is a dangerous disorder, it can decay teeth and kill organs of the body. PC:Healtyliving.info

People with Bulimia often are obsessed with calories and food, similar to Anorexia, and also will be secretive with their eating habits. Bulimic sufferers will go to eat when everyone else has gone to bed, or hide stashes of junk food in their rooms for easy access. Bulimia has long term affects caused by the repeated vomitting. The enamel on teeth begins to rot from stomach acid and teeth with appear yellow and ragged. Bulimics often will have wide weight fluctuations, gaining ten pounds here and there, and quickly losing it. (They almost always gain it back.) Unlike Anorexic sufferers, people with Bulimia often look healthy, and at a normal weight. Bulimia is much easier to hide, but is still noticeable for those who know what to look for.

Have you suffered from either of these eating disorders, or have a friend you suspect of such? There is help for those who suffer, but don’t want to continue the cycle. The first step for someone who suspects a friend of having an eating disorder would be telling a trusted individual with authority. This could be the friends mother, a school employee, or a teacher. As long as someone who is trustworthy knows, it will be easier to confront the person, or get them discrete help. Help can be found for those who are searching for it themselves. The first step for you would be calling the National Eating Disorders Association’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-931-2237 or visit its website. Another option would be talking to your doctor about local facilities to help you.

Kelly Tinsley, sophomore, disagrees, “I don’t consider it be a man’s sport, but I do consider girls to be scared of it because of the fact that more men play it. ”

Women were first elected in congress in 1917. Women won the right to vote in 1920. Women were elected to the Senate in 1932. Women were first nominated for the presidency in 1964. Women have had a history week since 1981 and a month since 1987. When will women win equality in sports?

Many sports are available for women to play, including soccer and softball. The Women Sports Foundation makes it easier for governments to see how much females want to be involved in athletics. Even though many colleges and high schools have powderpuff games, it isn’t a competing sport for women.

During spirit week, many schools hold powderpuff games, usually against the classes. The game’s rules resemble those of flag football. In fact, the main difference between powderpuff and football is the degree of contact.

Is the world not ready for a solid girls’ powderpuff league? Many females are not satisfied with just playing a few games a year against their fellow classes.

Kelly says that she “looks forward to powderpuff more than any other activity all year. I love cheerleading and all, but if it was an option to have a season for powderpuff I would pick powderpuff over cheer leading any day. “

Many students think it would be great if there was a girl’s league for football. “I think that would be pretty cool,” expresses Conner Usry, sophomore, “if [girls] want it that bad they would get it.”

Kelly said that plenty of people participated in powderpuff last year and she expects more this year. Those girls that play powderpuff would like the chance to play for a whole season.

If the turnout for girls wanting to play powderpuff keeps increasing, then maybe district will consider making it a season. It could be synchronized with the boys’ football, similar to the boys and girls basketball teams. Powderpuff teams could play against the same schools the football team plays against, such as Midland Valley girls.

Powderpuff would be another way to cheer on the Lady Jackets, in addition to volleyball, basketball, tennis, and soccer. Females that support femininity would greatly appreciate the powedrpuff league. Lady Jackets deserve to be completely equal, considering how hard they work.

Photo credit: http://373virtualpta.wordpress.com

Billy Joe and Mary Sue Advice
I am having some trouble with my teachers and their respect for me. What do I need to do?
-Not Respected
Well, Not Respected, the only way to really gain the trust of an adult, and especially a teacher, is to respect them. Try saying yes ma’m, no ma’m, and being quiet and attentive in class. The more you respect your teachers, the more likely they are to respect you back. It may take a while to earn it, but eventually you will see a change.

One of my teachers talks while we are taking quizzes and tests and I don’t want to be rude but she really needs to shut up!
-Talky Teacher
The best advice we can give you is to politely raise your hand next time she talks during your quiz or test and ask her to stop. After one attempt, encourage other students to raise their hands and ask her to stop talking as well. If she doesn’t stop then, take the problem up with administration; they are really the only people who have control over the teachers.

Why can’t we wear what we want, I understand we need a dress code, but it’s to the point where we can’t express ourselves.
-Dress Code Crisis
Well, the dress code is in place for many reasons. And if you really understand that we need one, then you’ll realize that the dress code keeps people from being ridiculous. There are a few ignorant people who would be given and inch and take a mile when it comes to dress code. If they’re given a small window and are allowed to wear short shorts, then somebody will where booty shorts that let their “butt cheeks” hang out. Because of these ignorant people, all of us are restricted to a certain dress. The option of expressing yourself is not available for discussion because some people could claim that showing their cleavage to everyone is “expressing themselves.” The idea of free expression is so broad and general, that it is easier on administration to give us all general dress restrictions to eliminate the problems all together. Eventually, the style will evolve and the dress code will become more of a joke than a code. So don’t worry, the dress code will change; give it time. Check out some of the dress code articles on TYJNA.COM for more information on this topic.

Well, my boyfriend and I have dated for about a year and we have had some really good times. He and I love each other a lot but sometimes he gets angry with me and hurts my feelings. I don’t want it to be ok for him to do that, but I don’t want to break up with him. What should I do?
-Jaded Girlfriend
If he truly loves you, it sounds like he does, he’ll take the time to sit down with you and discuss what hurts your feelings. When you get the time to talk about it, tell him exactly what it is that he does to hurt you and tell him that it bothers you. He should respect your opinion and make a valid effort to change the things that hurt you. If he just gets mad that about what you’re telling him, then maybe it would be better if you just weren’t with him. If a guy doesn’t respect you enough to listen to your feelings and change himself to better your relationship, he isn’t worth it. There is a saying, “It’s better to leave the broken pieces of a relationship broken, than to hurt yourself trying to put it back together.” If you aren’t truly happy anymore, get out of the relationship now, before it’s too late. If you think he’s willing to change and the good far out-weighs the bad, then stay with him and work together to make the best of your love.

What should I do if I want to increase my SAT scores, but I can’t afford to go to special classes?
-Sucky Scores
If you can’t afford special classes, maybe you could buy the SAT practice books from local book stores. If you still don’t want to or can’t spend the money on those, try to find someone who has really high SAT scores and ask them to tutor you. The College Board offers online SAT practice tests that you can print and do yourself. If you don’t want to do it alone, take the tests with a group of students in your similar situation.

Here in North Augusta, most of the children have grown up in the tradition of trick or treating. Parents love to see the unique costumes, children love to get free candy, and teenagers love to scare friends and family. As the children get olderand enter their teenage years, some still go out candy snatching. For many people, it’s fun to dress up and it’s not so much the candy that draws then in, but the opportunity to dress up.

The outgoing and creative sophomore Carter Turner still takes the opportunity, “When you become a teenager it’s more about hanging out with friends rather than candy. I still get excited to dress up every year. The older you get, into the teenage years, you’re too old. But then again…I went last year,-laughs-.”

When is it time to give up the dressing up and trick or treating? Maybe there is an invisible age limit that some people cross. Should we high school students be trick or treating? Junior Trey Lambert is a little too mature for the t-o-t: “I think that high schoolers should not trick or treat. 12 should be the age when you stop trick or treating and start going to parties.”

Katye's future husband . . . not dressed up for Halloween.

Junior Greg Bush gives out candy, and dresses up, “I don’t trick or treat anymore. I do dress up as a dead clown every year. It scares my 24 year old brother more than the little kids.” Giving out candy to young trick or treaters is a great way to have fun, see everyone dressed up, scare a few little ones, and dress up yourself. Too boring for you?  Or, maybe you don’t want to spend anymore time at home that completely necessary.

This brings us back to the party aspect. In a town as small as ours, it’s not hard to find a party to attend on October 31. Once you’ve found the party to go to, the next step is to decide if you will dress up. The most common choice is to dress up and some people destroy the pure concept of dressing up. In the movie Mean Girls, Halloween is described as a night that you can dress like a “total [promiscuous]person” and nobody cares. Sophomore Katie Shreve closely agrees, “It’s a night for everyone to be whoever you want to be. And it’s one night that you can dress [inappropriately] and not be judged.”

If a teenage girl is going to dress up for a Halloween party, what is too far? Party city and other costume retailers advertise skimpy, scandalous outfits such as the Sexy Pirate, Sexy Convict, The Rocky Costume, and Sexy Cinderella. Teenage girls often take the chance to dress sexy and take it to an extreme. The night may be for some girls to dress provocatively, but some people don’t want to have to see cleavage and half-moon butt peeks all night.

Some sexy costumes.

Before going to the party, evaluate who will be at the party, what kind of costume is appropriate and how long you’ll have to stay in the outfit. Junior Molly Gibbs is a lady and wants to show it: “I think that it doesn’t matter how you dress on Halloween, if you respect yourself enough, then you shouldn’t be too revealing. It’s all for fun and not all girls who dress up, do it for the wrong reasons. Just be who you are and hope you don’t make a bad impression.”

So what have we learned? If you chose to go to a party, dress appropriately and don’t make it an excuse to show your butt. If you really must trick or treat…at least have a younger relative along side you, it’ll make you look like less of an idiot. If you want to hand out candy, make it more fun by dressing up and scaring people. Whatever you chose to do, make it a safe and scary Halloween.