One of my closest friends freshman year was extremely overweight. One night at dinner, she asked me to go up and get her dessert so that no one would know she was eating ice cream. She felt too self-conscious - not to eat the dessert, but to have her fellow peers judge her as they watched her pick up those "unnecessary calories," shamefully bringing them back to her table.To me, this interaction was devastating, but what is even more of an issue is the fact that this isn't a singular or unique case. Wednesday's "Deuces Manor" comic strip represents a serious problem on Notre Dame's campus. Body image is a real topic and a real issue. There are eating disorders at Notre Dame. Is this something to joke about? I don't think so. Should my dining hall tray or my presence in the fro-yo line be monitored? I hope not.It is not easy to be a woman at Notre Dame. At a school where most women are athletic and intelligent, there are definite pressures to look and be a certain way. Instead of poking fun at the overweight, perhaps we should seek to understand the pain that so many go through because of the pressures of body image. We are members of a top academic and religious institution that prides itself on forming its students towards goodness and truth. Shouldn't we be slightly above writing, publishing and laughing at such a comic strip? Not only is this a blatant insult to the intelligence of the Notre Dame student body, but it also represents a great lack of compassion and understanding.
Meghan LueckseniorCavanaugh HallSept. 13
