Research Sources: Places to Exercise on Campus

When I was given this assignment I was lost as to what topic I wanted to do. I had nothing in mind but after a couple of days of thinking about it I came up with my idea. Earlier in the week I had been thinking about all of the areas on campus where it is good to exercise and I decided to research it and use this topic for my second project. I think exercise is a very important aspect of a college student’s life because it helps us relief stress and stay healthy but many don’t realize that exercise can be done outside the gym and in many different ways. I am aware that the most obvious place to exercise on campus is the Student Recreation Center, but I really wanted to evaluate and analyze this place along with three other (not so obvious) places that are commonly used to exercise. In order to evaluate this topic I will walk around campus and locate where most people are exercising and probably even use an interview or survey.  

The first place I am going to evaluate is “A” mountain. This is a popular place for students and others who live near the mountain to take a nice hike and enjoy a great view. In order to evaluate the hike up to “A” mountain I will hike it myself and use the newspaper article “Take a Hike” by Kate Rew from the Sunday Times. This two page article mentions that walking is one of the most popular forms of exercise because it is considered to have low intensity and show quick increase in muscle toning, strength, and stamina.   This article interests me because it shows statistics and because I can relate it to my life. It states that walking also reduces stress, improve our self-image, and reduce depression which are aspects that many college students need help with.

Another place I am going to evaluate is the intramural fields by Hassayampa and the Student Recreation Center.  I have noticed that in the evenings many people go out there to play sports and run around the field. In order to evaluate these fields I am going to reference to the observations I make and to the book Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals 5^th Edition by Christine A. Rosenbloom. This 499 page book talks about all the important aspects of being an athlete and exercising to your full potential. Even though I haven’t read the entire book I have read sections and it seems like it gives a good understanding about sports and how this type of exercise can help your health.

The last place I am sure I am going to write about in this project is the Student Recreation Center which is the most popular place to exercise on campus. This is the place I mostly go to which will allow me to use personal experience in my evaluation. Along with my experiences I will also reference to the newspaper article, “Reflecting on gym culture while huffing and puffing: Focusing on the exercise, not the mirrors, proves to be a challenge” by Karina Roman from the Ottawa Citizen. This two page article goes into detail about the culture at a gym and it was interesting to me because it brings up the point that people mostly go to the gym because of vanity and not for their health.

I am still not sure about my fourth place that I am going to evaluate but am still looking for ideas. 

Evaluating Beastly

Today I watched the movie Beastly. It is the modern retelling of the fairytale The Beauty and the Beast that aired in March of 2011. It is directed by Daniel Barnz and features Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy Taylor (from High School Musical) and Alex Pettyfer as Kyle Kingsbury (from I Am Number Four).

[Theatrical release poster]

In the story, Kyle is a rich, conceited, good looking high school boy who makes fun of his class mates and thinks he is the best. He makes fun of a “gothic” girl who was actually a witch in disguise. Since he is so mean and arrogant she puts a spell on him and makes him bald, tattooed, and scarred. She then tells him that he must make someone fall in love with him within a year or he would look like that forever. His father hides him in an apartment in the suburbs outside of New York City with his maid and a blind tutor. He is alienated from everyone for a few months and his father begins to neglect him. He later decides to leave his apartment and go out saves Lindy, a girl from his former school, from drug dealers who were after her dad. She moves in with him for protection and wouldn’t talk to him at the beginning. As time starter passing by, Kyle asks the witch for more time and she refuses but tells him he will make his tutor’s vision come back and would bring his maid’s kids to the US if he got Lindy to fall in love with him. He goes back home and reveals himself to Lindy and as they bond he begins to fall in love with her. Lindy’s father is put in the hospital for overdose and Kyle takes her to the train station and lets her go see her dad. Before she leaves he gives her a letter telling her how he feels about her. In the end, Lindy comes back, tells him she loves him and leaves again. He then changes back into his old self and when Lindy comes back she doesn’t believe it is him. She calls Kyle’s phone and when she hears it ring she believes him and they kiss. At the very end of the movie the tutor can see again, the maid gets three visas in the mail for her kids, and Kyle and Lindy live “happily ever after.” This movie is very cliché; it has an obvious moral to it that people shouldn’t “judge a book by its cover” and that we shouldn’t be so superficial. Even though this movie is very predictable and has many bad reviews I did enjoyed watching it. I think both of the main characters are good and likable actors who fit their characters and did well in establishing the plot of the story.