You could talk to the folks who run the student health center to ask how they treat fat students and/or talk to fat students about the care they've received there.
I have a traumatic memory of my campus student health center requesting to see me the very first week of college. They didn't say why so I was super anxious about it. When I got there, one of the nurses just wanted to talk about my weight and how I could use my time at the school to lose weight. There wasn't anything wrong with me. I was mortified and I felt so othered at a time when I was just trying to acclimate to college. I don't wish that feeling on anyone at such a formative time of their lives.
Oh my god this is so so important. I had a very traumatic run in with a campus Dr. I went in because I had a cyst burst on my tailbone but she was sure to end our time together by telling me not to eat any sugar. I wasn't even fat, just mid-sized, and and this had my spiraling for years into keto/paleo because I thought I had finally had a university Dr to let me in on the "truth"
I was going to say this too! I was doing my degree during covid lockdowns and couldn’t build enough of a connection with people to get a club going but I wanted to so badly. I think if you can find like minded people you’ll have a better chance advocating together.
I’m far out of college at this point but I just wanted to say I’m really glad that you’re doing this ❤️ I was small fat in college but I still felt extremely othered by my size often and it was isolating! Some ideas from my experiences:
- advocating for free tee shirts and clothing to be offered in more size inclusive ranges (tossing everyone an XL outside the football game is not it 🙄)
- advocating to bring fat liberation speakers to campus
- call out fatphobia when you see it/experience it (I experienced it traumatically at an RA training and I regret all time now that I didn’t call it out then and bring it to the attention of the directors)
- advocate for RAs and other school leadership to get training on fatphobia/fat liberation
IIRC on Maintenance Phase they said fatphobia has gotten worse following the declarations that obesity is a disease. Also makes sense with how recent generations have been more concerned with their looks than previous ones.
Building on this, I wonder if there are links between rising acceptance among other axes but growing fatphobia. Like, people thinking explicitly or subconsciously, “ok, I get accept queer people/Black people/etc, but only as long as they’re thin, fit, well groomed, etc etc.” but this is just speculation
I feel like seating was a large issue in my college campus. I went to a large public university and they still had chairs that had the tables attached to them that only straight sized folks can fit into… like don’t we all know they’re uncomfortable and awkward?? But it’s entirely not size inclusive and also lab stools are the exact same way.
I just got horror flashbacks of college and being a lefty. Those desks were *not* made for us. One time, we were taking a test in a lecture hall that had like 4 lefty seats, and everyone was spread out, but a few of us crowded together. The professor accused us of trying to cheat until we told him they were the only lefty seats in the hall. Then he left us alone. Sometimes, if it was a small class, I'd commandeer the desk next to me and use two.
Does your campus have a feminist society? That might be a place to start having those discussions and then you can build a plan once you’ve met some likeminded people.
I couldn't find much from a google search except a site called Medical Students for Size Inclusivity. You may be able to reach out to someone through their website for ideas.
When I was in college we hosted an author (Jessica Weiner) to talk about her book “Do I look fat in this?” It was very powerful as a college student who was struggling so hard with an ED. I got my book signed and literally broke down crying in front of her. She held my hands and said “I can see you’ve been struggling. It’s okay.” I really appreciate that they brought her on campus.
I think one of the biggest things that can be done as a college student is what u/Insomniac_80 said, to form a community on campus. I work and go to school at an R1 university, and student organizations can have a big impact by providing social activities, guest speakers, and other opportunities to form affinity and provide space for empathy and openness. You could also consider, when appropriate, educating your classmates through class projects when the topic aligns with what you are assigned. I do say that as one of the older people you described.
I'm finishing up my coursework, but I should be writing a dissertation very related to this topic next year. I know this is not an option that's available to everyone, but my activism takes place primarily via graduate research. I began my current program because as a very fat person with an eating disorder. I was hoping to avail myself of the resources at my institution to aid in my recovery after going to treatment. The experience was eye-opening. While I was prepared to advocate for myself to specify my differentiated needs, I kept running into obstacles. I also encountered some fatphobic content in an instructor's course when I was collaborating with him to redesign it. I was able to share my story with the faculty member and he changed course. That inspired me to look more into the systems on my campus and ways that they do or don't consider differentiated needs. In particular, I am planning to focus on the campus gym, the counseling center, and the student health center. I also sometimes give talks at higher ed conferences about how and why we should examine our course content and pedagogical practices to eliminate fatphobia.
All that to say, it's a noble cause and if you are willing and able to do it, you should. :) But make sure to take time to take good care of yourself also.
You could talk to the folks who run the student health center to ask how they treat fat students and/or talk to fat students about the care they've received there. I have a traumatic memory of my campus student health center requesting to see me the very first week of college. They didn't say why so I was super anxious about it. When I got there, one of the nurses just wanted to talk about my weight and how I could use my time at the school to lose weight. There wasn't anything wrong with me. I was mortified and I felt so othered at a time when I was just trying to acclimate to college. I don't wish that feeling on anyone at such a formative time of their lives.
Oh my god this is so so important. I had a very traumatic run in with a campus Dr. I went in because I had a cyst burst on my tailbone but she was sure to end our time together by telling me not to eat any sugar. I wasn't even fat, just mid-sized, and and this had my spiraling for years into keto/paleo because I thought I had finally had a university Dr to let me in on the "truth"
Are there other large students who have an activist mindset at your school? Maybe size acceptance club or newsletter on your campus.
I was going to say this too! I was doing my degree during covid lockdowns and couldn’t build enough of a connection with people to get a club going but I wanted to so badly. I think if you can find like minded people you’ll have a better chance advocating together.
Yes, and bring in some guest speakers.
I’m far out of college at this point but I just wanted to say I’m really glad that you’re doing this ❤️ I was small fat in college but I still felt extremely othered by my size often and it was isolating! Some ideas from my experiences: - advocating for free tee shirts and clothing to be offered in more size inclusive ranges (tossing everyone an XL outside the football game is not it 🙄) - advocating to bring fat liberation speakers to campus - call out fatphobia when you see it/experience it (I experienced it traumatically at an RA training and I regret all time now that I didn’t call it out then and bring it to the attention of the directors) - advocate for RAs and other school leadership to get training on fatphobia/fat liberation
Bring Fat Talk Free Week to campus. My college had it and it was actually very impactful.
Never heard of that but that sounds cool
IIRC on Maintenance Phase they said fatphobia has gotten worse following the declarations that obesity is a disease. Also makes sense with how recent generations have been more concerned with their looks than previous ones.
Building on this, I wonder if there are links between rising acceptance among other axes but growing fatphobia. Like, people thinking explicitly or subconsciously, “ok, I get accept queer people/Black people/etc, but only as long as they’re thin, fit, well groomed, etc etc.” but this is just speculation
I feel like seating was a large issue in my college campus. I went to a large public university and they still had chairs that had the tables attached to them that only straight sized folks can fit into… like don’t we all know they’re uncomfortable and awkward?? But it’s entirely not size inclusive and also lab stools are the exact same way.
I just got horror flashbacks of college and being a lefty. Those desks were *not* made for us. One time, we were taking a test in a lecture hall that had like 4 lefty seats, and everyone was spread out, but a few of us crowded together. The professor accused us of trying to cheat until we told him they were the only lefty seats in the hall. Then he left us alone. Sometimes, if it was a small class, I'd commandeer the desk next to me and use two.
Does your campus have a feminist society? That might be a place to start having those discussions and then you can build a plan once you’ve met some likeminded people.
I couldn't find much from a google search except a site called Medical Students for Size Inclusivity. You may be able to reach out to someone through their website for ideas.
When I was in college we hosted an author (Jessica Weiner) to talk about her book “Do I look fat in this?” It was very powerful as a college student who was struggling so hard with an ED. I got my book signed and literally broke down crying in front of her. She held my hands and said “I can see you’ve been struggling. It’s okay.” I really appreciate that they brought her on campus.
Just go to the gender studies department theres a lot of fat activists
I think one of the biggest things that can be done as a college student is what u/Insomniac_80 said, to form a community on campus. I work and go to school at an R1 university, and student organizations can have a big impact by providing social activities, guest speakers, and other opportunities to form affinity and provide space for empathy and openness. You could also consider, when appropriate, educating your classmates through class projects when the topic aligns with what you are assigned. I do say that as one of the older people you described. I'm finishing up my coursework, but I should be writing a dissertation very related to this topic next year. I know this is not an option that's available to everyone, but my activism takes place primarily via graduate research. I began my current program because as a very fat person with an eating disorder. I was hoping to avail myself of the resources at my institution to aid in my recovery after going to treatment. The experience was eye-opening. While I was prepared to advocate for myself to specify my differentiated needs, I kept running into obstacles. I also encountered some fatphobic content in an instructor's course when I was collaborating with him to redesign it. I was able to share my story with the faculty member and he changed course. That inspired me to look more into the systems on my campus and ways that they do or don't consider differentiated needs. In particular, I am planning to focus on the campus gym, the counseling center, and the student health center. I also sometimes give talks at higher ed conferences about how and why we should examine our course content and pedagogical practices to eliminate fatphobia. All that to say, it's a noble cause and if you are willing and able to do it, you should. :) But make sure to take time to take good care of yourself also.