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BY TAMAR LERER

In print | October 9, 2008

Having a healthy relationship with food is particularly hard at Swarthmore, due to what I call the “social-savory complex.” Though my take on the military-industrial complex may not be that clever, my point remains: Food becomes, for many of us, the one acceptable form of socializing and the quick and easy reward for work completed.

Think about it. Are Sharples dates the only time you take out of working (or pretending to work) to see people some days? It is for many of us, which also explains why we spend hours in Sharples, mindlessly going up for second- and third-helpings at the all-you-can-eat buffet, sampling each one of the ice cream flavors.

Or think of all the other officially sanctioned study breaks — the milk and cookies hall meeting at 10 p.m., the Parrish Parlors Death by Chocolate Party, the SAMs who come by with buckets of candy. Add to that the fact that every group that has a meeting and wants to entice people to come offers pizza, and that the best part of seminar is the study break (and, um, present biased preferences…sorry, Professor), and we see the greatest problem that emerges:

All these breaks combine socializing with food; it becomes hard to imagine one without the other. Food becomes the way to take a break, food becomes the way to justify leaving your room, and food becomes the social lubricant we all need when alcohol isn’t around (and let’s not get into those empty calories). It becomes okay to relax only if you’re eating, as eating is necessary to survival. On top of that, all these breaks with unhealthy comfort foods tap into our high stress levels and we gorge.

The Catch-22 that results is awful. If we go to one of these study breaks and eat crappy food we promised ourselves we wouldn’t, we feel like we let ourselves down, but if we watch everyone around us eat and don’t do so ourselves, we feel isolated, maybe a bit like a loser. The problem with food then snowballs and becomes a problem with our friends and even with ourselves.

And because food becomes conflated with socializing, we start eating instead of socializing. We treat ourselves to a donut when we finish our paper, we have that bag of chips alone in our room when we get back from a problem session. Not only do we eat out of stress and boredom, but also eating becomes the easiest way to treat ourselves — it’s available, and it takes no time.

Don’t worry, though, there are solutions. I present: “Ways to Socialize at Swarthmore that do not Involve Food but are Almost as Accessible, Fast, or Cheap.” Part of the solution involves, however, giving in to the truth: you’re not as busy as you think you are or as you should be. Even if you had so much work that you should have no time for fun, I bet you waste tons of time on youtube or facebook or just starting endlessly into space. Part of escaping the social-savory complex is learning to recognize how efficient you are and actually will be, and capitalizing on that free time in a healthy way.

1) Tea. Yes, tea. Tea is the best way to socialize ever, and runs from zero calories (without milk and sugar) to 40 calories (with normal amounts of both…mine is about 100 calories, but I’m abnormal). Tea is the ultimate talk stimulator, the whole process takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, most forms have that kick of caffeine we’re looking for, the warmth is inherently comforting, and as many people can drink tea as you have mugs. Perfect.

2) Take a walk. While it’s still nice out, go outside. We go to a beautiful, beautiful school. There are still flowers in bloom. Grab a friend, have a chat, breathe the air, and enjoy. It can take anywhere from five minutes to as long as you want, and it’s totally free.

3) Watch a 22-minute TV show. Yes, you have time. Maybe not for 42 minutes, but for 22 you do. Personally, I vote for comedies such as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “30 Rock”. Laughing that hard will make you feel great. I hear it releases endorphins or something. Anyway, as many friends as fit around your laptop can watch and with awesome sites like hulu.com, it’s totally free!

4) Go to cuteoverload.com. Seriously, go. It is filled with the most happiness on the internet. Surfing times can range from 30 seconds of instant gratification to hours of cute-wrenching adorableness. And it’s free.

5) Take a creative study break. One of my friends bought a book of prompts and takes breaks to write poems. Another friend of mine loves collages. Whatever it is, letting your creative side out stems the crankiness while keeping your brain moving, and it gives you the satisfaction of producing something. As many friends can join as you want!

6) Do the crossword. Pick up the Times in the Science Center, in Parrish, or in Kohlberg and do the crossword. It’s absolutely free, and you’ll need up to five friends, depending on day of the week and how good you are (Monday should be a 10 minute quickie for you, Mr. English Major). If you can’t find the paper, go online to www.nytimes.com and get a free log-in from www.bugmenot.com so you don’t have to make an account.

7) Do something productive. Shower, shave, do the laundry, whatever. Take a little “me” time to do something you need to get done. Not only can you cross one more thing off of the looming To-Do list in your head, but getting stuff done makes you feel more positive about getting other stuff done. Yes, you can!

8) Go to the gym. We’ll discuss this more in depth next time, but don’t use my former main excuse for not going to the gym. Even going for just 20 minutes has positive health benefits and can actually make you feel less stressed and more on top of your shit. Grab a few friends and get down to Mullan! And you get to read People guilt-free while you’re on the elliptical.

Also, dear RAs, SAMs, club presidents, and people bringing in food for break: bring one healthy thing. As a friend of mine said once: Keep the dip, change the dippers. Just add carrot sticks to your shopping list and make one person feel a little better.

Tamar is a senior. You can reach her at tlerer1@swarthmore.edu.

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