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The 22nd Health Awareness Week on campus will be the biggest in the university's history, Jan. 27-31

Health Awareness Week is making a grand return to Cornell during the week of Jan. 27. The 22nd annual edition of campuswide health-related presentations and educational activities -- and fun -- will be the largest and most eventful in the university's history.

Featuring programs on fitness, exercise, diet, nutrition, wellness, sexual health, public health, occupational health and mental health, Health Awareness Week 2003, Jan. 27-31, is being presented by Cornell Fitness Centers and is open to the general public. All are encouraged to attend.

Among the week's 15 featured events will be a two-day Health Fair in Willard Straight Hall; a massive Activities Night, featuring lectures -- including one by international supermodel Magali Amadei and Claire Mysko of the American Anorexia/Bulimia Association -- discussion groups and fitness events across campus, capped by a "Dive-In Movie" in the Helen Newman Hall pool; the Distinguished Health Professional Lecture by noted University of Chicago psychiatrist Dr. Robert Hsiung; and a keynote address by Cornell alumnus and medical legend Dr. Henry Heimlich of the Heimlich Institute. Wrapping up the week will be a Performance Arts Showcase to raise money for the Ithaca Youth Bureau: Recreation Mainstreaming Services, followed by a free dance. Throughout the week there will be many other talks and presentations by leading health professionals (to be announced), and Cornell Fitness Centers trainers will have consultations at select sites.

This is the first year the program is under the control of Cornell Fitness Centers. Barry Le Vine '04, Cornell Fitness Centers outreach coordinator and director of Health Awareness Week, has worked since last May to redefine the program and make it more in line with students' needs. Organizations from different sectors of the campus and Ithaca community have been coordinated to offer a broad range of activities throughout the week, so as to provide the community with relevant information on health-related topics of interest and importance.

This new Health Awareness Week is not only the largest and most comprehensive health week in the Ivy League but also the largest to take place on any college campus in the United States, in terms of the number of events scheduled. The program has been entirely student-directed and implemented.

Below is a summary of the week's events. For further information and a more complete description of the week's activities and their sponsors, visit the Health Awareness Week Web site at http://healthweek.cornell.edu.

Health Awareness Week activities

Monday, Jan. 27:
  • 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Seventh Annual University Health Fair in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room, day one. The two-day fair will feature more than 40 booths that will have information on campus and community health and wellness services. There also will be many national organizations featured, in addition to various health-related businesses. Chair massages, screenings, product samples and door prizes also will be available, free of charge.

  • 8 p.m.: Fireside chat in the Willard Straight Hall International Lounge with Virginia Utermohlen-Lovelace, Cornell associate professor of nutritional sciences, on the subject of taste sensitivity and healthy eating.

    Tuesday, Jan. 28:

  • 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.: Blood drive in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room.

  • Noon: F.R. Newman Arboretum Cross-Country Ski Tour, led by Cornell Plantations staff. Meet at the Forest Home Drive entrance of the Plantations Arboretum. To register, contact Raylene Ludgate at 255-2407.

  • 7 p.m.-midnight: First Annual Activities Night at various campus locations. The evening will feature a lecture on body image by international supermodel Magali Amadei and Claire Mysko of the American Anorexia/Bulimia Association in the Uris Hall Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. There also will be lectures in other locations, a Fitness Jam in the Appel Commons Multipurpose Room, followed by a four-on-four basketball tournament and Open Fitness Center in Helen Newman Hall. The night will conclude with a Dive-In Movie in the Helen Newman Hall Pool. There will be a shuttle running continuously among the event sites.

    Wednesday, Jan. 29:

  • 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Seventh Annual University Health Fair in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room. Many new presenters will disseminate information and resources on health-related issues.

  • 7:30 p.m.: Distinguished Health Professionals Lecture by Dr. Robert Hsiung of the University of Chicago, in Room G10, Biotechnology Building. Hsiung (a.k.a. "Dr. Bob") is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Chicago. He develops innovative Web resources covering health-related issues and programs.

    Thursday, Jan. 30:

  • Noon: Mullestein Garden Walk, led by the landscape staff of Cornell Plantations. Meet in front of Warren Hall. To register, contact Kari Umphrey at 255-2401.

  • 5 p.m.: Lecture and question/answer in Rockefeller 122 with Sandra Steingraber, visiting assistant professor, Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in Cornell's Center for the Environment, on the subject of how trace amounts of chemical contaminants in air, food, and water create threats to human health.

  • 8 p.m.: Keynote address by Dr. Henry J. Heimlich, A.B. '41, M.D. '43, president of the Heimlich Institute, in Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall. During a 50-year career, Heimlich has had a remarkable record of service to humanity. Probably best known for the Heimlich maneuver, a technique that has saved the lives of thousands of choking and drowning victims each year, Heimlich has continued to achieve highly significant breakthroughs in the field of medicine.

    Friday, Jan. 31:

  • 8 p.m.: Fund-raiser for Ithaca Youth Bureau: Recreation Mainstreaming Services, in Bailey Hall on campus. The event will feature performances by Cornell's best performing troupes, a cappella groups and dance ensembles. Tickets will be available at the door.

  • 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m.: Free dance, in Trillium, Kennedy Hall.

    For more information on Health Awareness Week, contact Barry Le Vine at 253-0395 or barry.le.vine@cornell.edu.

    January 16, 2003

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