2008 Woodie Awards
Yes, we are aware
Awareness events lose potency with over-exposed issues
Rebecca Bauman
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Opinion
We need to face the dirt. Being aware of nastiness helps us to anticipate and meet important problems head on.
But sometimes we get distracted.
For example, when we shower, we tend to overlook the bottoms of our feet in favor of our torsos and arms and other obvious and easy-to-reach parts. Our feet are often in dire need of attention, but they're harder to get to, they're hidden.
That's why I believe PSU should sponsor: "Dirty Feet Awareness Week."
And while I don't think that "Dirty Feet Awareness Week" is ultimately more important than something like "Alcohol Awareness Week" or "Breast Cancer Awareness Month," I bet students know less about the kinds of staph and fungal infections, the septicemia that can occur from cuts on unwashed feet. I imagine we are largely unaware of these issues.
But alcohol abuse? There isn't a decent elementary school in the United States that doesn't have some sort of alcohol and drug abuse prevention program, no middle school or high school worth its salt that doesn't hammer home alcohol abuse awareness in its health classes. Even home-schoolers can't avoid the blitz; there are campaigns and speakers and news items and columns and angry, angry moms.
Most of us were made aware of the dangers of alcohol when we were in our single digits. And who, now, doesn't know that alcohol is a drug that, when abused, can cause life-altering consequences? And who thinks that the young men and women who get sloshed every weekend and drive under the influence do so because they're unaware of this? Because they never had anyone tell them that there were healthier, less dangerous ways to have fun, that they shouldn't get behind the wheel while tipsy, smashed or stone-cold wasted?
In a March 2008 Harvard Crimson piece headlined: "Awareness Awareness Week," student columnist Alexanda Petri wrote: "Anyone can raise awareness. Simply by buying a T-shirt, you can feel like a knowledgeable and enlightened member of the community without having to accomplish anything too concrete. But being aware of something and actually doing anything about it are two very different things."
But sometimes we get distracted.
For example, when we shower, we tend to overlook the bottoms of our feet in favor of our torsos and arms and other obvious and easy-to-reach parts. Our feet are often in dire need of attention, but they're harder to get to, they're hidden.
That's why I believe PSU should sponsor: "Dirty Feet Awareness Week."
And while I don't think that "Dirty Feet Awareness Week" is ultimately more important than something like "Alcohol Awareness Week" or "Breast Cancer Awareness Month," I bet students know less about the kinds of staph and fungal infections, the septicemia that can occur from cuts on unwashed feet. I imagine we are largely unaware of these issues.
But alcohol abuse? There isn't a decent elementary school in the United States that doesn't have some sort of alcohol and drug abuse prevention program, no middle school or high school worth its salt that doesn't hammer home alcohol abuse awareness in its health classes. Even home-schoolers can't avoid the blitz; there are campaigns and speakers and news items and columns and angry, angry moms.
Most of us were made aware of the dangers of alcohol when we were in our single digits. And who, now, doesn't know that alcohol is a drug that, when abused, can cause life-altering consequences? And who thinks that the young men and women who get sloshed every weekend and drive under the influence do so because they're unaware of this? Because they never had anyone tell them that there were healthier, less dangerous ways to have fun, that they shouldn't get behind the wheel while tipsy, smashed or stone-cold wasted?
In a March 2008 Harvard Crimson piece headlined: "Awareness Awareness Week," student columnist Alexanda Petri wrote: "Anyone can raise awareness. Simply by buying a T-shirt, you can feel like a knowledgeable and enlightened member of the community without having to accomplish anything too concrete. But being aware of something and actually doing anything about it are two very different things."
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