Health week focuses on minorities
Published Nov. 27, 2007
Today, Women's Health Day, brings attention to female health as part of the first Minority Health Week.
The Minority Association of Pre-Health Students and the Legion of Black Collegians have teamed up to hold the first of what they said they hope will be a semi-annual event.
"One of the major problems in most minority communities is the lack of health care and info they receive about it," MAPS President Danielle Huff said. "By having different themes each day and sharing information about different areas of health care, we felt we could make a difference."
As part of Women's Health Day, MAPS and LBC will hold a Pilates session to highlight the importance of keeping in shape. There will also be a Women's Health Forum at 7:15 p.m. in Memorial Union North 243.
The forum will provide an avenue to discuss any topics related to female health that attending students choose to discuss. A physician will be present to answer any questions students might have.
On Wednesday, men will have their chance to share information about male health as a part of Men's Health Day.
"A lot of people don't eat healthy, especially college students," LBC President Josh Copeland said. "We want to host an event on campus that shows what types of food are healthy and how to find and eat balanced meals."
Huff said MAPS and LBC will provide a free meal consisting of smoothies, deli sandwiches, baked potato chips and other wholesome foods.
Copeland said they will show a diagram of the food pyramid and will discuss ways to eat healthfully on campus.
"If the weather permits, we'll also hold an outdoor flag football tournament," Huff said. "If not, we will have board games as well."
Men and women will come together Thursday to celebrate School Health Day. The "I Smoke, I Drank" forum will be held in the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. Students will have the opportunity to learn new techniques for stress release from a Wellness Center representative.
"A lot of students try to reduce stress through smoking and drinking," Huff said.
Friday, "All About Sex Day," is intended to share information concerning sexual health and to persuade students to practice safe sex. In recognition of National AIDS Awareness Day, MAPS and LBC will sponsor free anonymous HIV screenings.
On Monday, the groups held a blood drive in connection with the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross Web site discusses initiatives for recruiting more black blood donors, explaining that most black blood transfusion patients rely on black blood donors because they are less likely to receive immunity-weakening antibodies from those donors.
The blood drive encouraged students to contribute blood by providing snacks and T-shirts for those who agreed to donate.
Following the blood drive, MAPS and LBC held a Health Disparities forum in Monsanto Auditorium in Life Sciences Center, where they discussed the health disparities existing in the minority community and how those disparities affect minority college students. The floor was then opened to students.
MAPS and LBC plan to build on the events they are holding this semester and sponsor similar activities in the future.
