Body Acceptance Week smashes scales and stigma

Members of the Eating Recovery Center, Northwestern’s Health Promotion and Wellness and NU Counseling and Psychological Services greeted students outside the steps of Allison Hall, presenting resources around body acceptance on Thursday.

The event concluded Body Acceptance Week, held by HPaW and CAPS to promote positive self-image and mental health resources on campus. It also gave students a chance to vent their feelings in a more direct way: by smashing a scale with a baseball bat.

“Maybe this is something I’ve been wanting to do forever,” Communication sophomore Georgia Mann said over the sounds of metal clangs. “It’s obviously an abstract idea, but breaking stuff is always really fun, and it’s nice to know I wasn’t the first one doing this … we were collectively breaking it together.”

Previously, HPaw and CAPS held Body Acceptance Week and National Eating Disorders Awareness Week concurrently at the end of February. 

This year, the two weeks are being held separately in accordance with national guidelines, according to Sam Conway, assistant director of mental health promotion for HPaW.

The organizers also implemented changes in strategy. Conway said student engagement in programming continues to be an issue. While Conway says there are a variety of reasons behind low engagement numbers — including a sustained decrease post-COVID-19 — one aspect she noted is NU’s “busy-ness culture.”