REMEMBER THE NBA?

Every time I walk into the REC center at Cal State Long Beach and see people shooting hoops on the basketball courts I can’t help but think back to the end of last year’s basketball season. There were some highs and some lows. My beloved Lakers crumbled in the Western Conference semifinals and, in the process a few of them made fools of themselves….*cough* Andrew and Lamar. After my tears dried though, I witnessed something that, at the time was much sweeter than another Lakers championship. This was the fall of the ever cocky, overly hyped and self-proclaimed King, Lebron James. Ah Yes, it was wonderful to see him fail when it came down to crunch time. His blank stare as the seconds ticked down at the end of game 6. He was probably thinking back to that little stunt he pulled with the other big 2 at the beginning of the season in Miami where they flaunted themselves in front of cameras and crowds to predict 8 championships in 8 years. Nope Nope. It was a team that everyone doubted that took it home last year. No player on the Mav’s had ever won an NBA title, and sure enough, led by that big James Bond villain of a look-a-like in Dirk they took down the Miami Heat. So now that we have no NBA season this year we can still use last year’s season as a point of reference. One that shows that hard work pays off and that you can’t believe all the hype. Finally, I have a quote that I’d like to see Lebron apply in his routine from Theodore Roosevelt, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick, you will go far.”

Spencer Pirdy KIN 332IS

Big & Beautiful

I agree with you, I also took this class because it was a required capstone and wasn't sure if I would fully "check in" to class. Luckily, Professor Kauer has made this calss very interesting and I've found all the reading articles relevant to current topics in soceity. This last topic on "Fat Talk" has left me absolutely baffaled at the actual fear people (mainly woman) have on gaining weight. I keep remembering the statistic of something like 85% of women would rather be hit by a truck than gain weight. I thought that was a complete BS fact so I asked a friend in another class if she thought it were true. Her only comment was, "Well, how big is the truck?" Which solidified my questions. It truely saddens me to know that there are so many beautiful and wonderful people out there that should be happy being the person they are, not how they want other people to see them. Understandably, one must be willing to keep themselves in healthy conditions and eating habits but to go to the extent of eating disorders, diet pills, and crash diets is simply dangerous. I hope that some day this concept of the "perfect body" will fade away through history and people will just be comfortable in their own skin.

Steven Fallon
KIN 338I Sec. 01

Let's Stop "Fat Talk"

Honestly, my purpose for taking this class was just to take care of the last capstone I needed, so I was not really excited about it, but now I am very glad I chose it. This class covers from the history in sports to the problems athletes face emotionally and physically. The topics we covered in class are really intense and made me realize what athletes; (especially women) go through on a daily basis. Out of all the topics we covered in class, there was one that really opened my eyes and stood out to me. This topic was eating disorders. Even though I knew they existed, I never thought it was to that extreme. Children are becoming more aware of their body as young as 9 years old and are unhappy of their weight. They feel that physical education classes harm them more than actually help them. Instead of feeling healthier, they feel ashamed and soon learn to hate themselves even more. All of this ties down to the fact that the media and society have created this perfect image, in which in reality does not exist. This class made me realize that we should all stop with this “fat talk” and learn to love ourselves the way we are.

Alicia Mercado

Kin338I Section 1