Splicetoday

Pop Culture
Mar 14, 2008, 10:24AM

Healthy Body or Fat Wallet?

In Idaho $4 gets you a pack of cigarettes or a Naked Juice, and the choice isn't always easy. From the ISU Bengal.

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The day will come when you graduate from college and carry away with you a degree in your respective field. If you have lived on campus for those four years you can also enjoy the added baggage of heart disease, type II diabetes, and high-test scores in the cholesterol department.

What am I talking about? None other than the overpriced delights students are required to ingest so they can live another day. I have quit smoking lately. At first it seemed like a great idea for saving money and improving my health, but that transition is more costly than I previously thought. A healthy lifestyle demands a mattress full of cash, which helps explain why America is so overweight and unhealthy. A bottle of soda costs roughly a $1.25, and a bottle of Naked Juice, a healthier option, costs a penny less than $4.

As a walking moneyless college student cliché, I decided to purchase a loaf of bread from the Outtakes store in the Rendezvous Complex the other day. I wanted a simple sandwich and since I didn't have any actual cash decided to buy it from Chartwells. It is first important to note that the bread is a standard loaf of wheat bread. Before I reveal the price students are expected to pay, I must also note that this wasn't an auction for charity or a bidding war over a celebrity's half eaten piece of toast with the image of Christ on it. It was just an ordinary loaf of bread that you can find at your local grocery store. The price, $4! The loaf of bread being sold to poor college students costs $4!

This may not sound like a lot of money for bread depending on where you come from or the financial lifestyle you are used to, but to me it is ridiculous. The sting in this bread buying experience is the result of where the money came from, my pocket. I am not under the umbrella of an athletic scholarship, academic or honors scholarship, or trust fund. Furthermore, when a student, like myself, makes the decision to live on campus they are required to buy a meal plan from Chartwells. The meal plan I picked was supposed to provide me with $1,250 worth of food. It was the cheapest plan and cost $1,250 real dollars. I pay cash for the meal plan and Chartwells determines the exchange rate of my dollar because they set the prices.

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When I was smoking cigarettes I didn't get the full taste of the food in the Turner and the Rendezvous complexes. I do have fond memories, though, of undercooked pork in Turner making me feel like I chomped down a bowl full of laxatives that induced a restless night in the fetal position. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, and fries washed down with cheap soda are the lineup of the three square meals of the daily student diet.

There are very few healthy eating options for students, and a bowl of lettuce for every meal gets old fast. I may be way off in my opinion this week, but it does seem a bit ridiculous that a pack of cigarettes is cheaper than loaf of bread or a bottle of fruit juice.

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