By Kristen Oliveri
Before the ball drops at midnight on December 31, people all around the world make resolutions with hopes of bettering themselves for the New Year. Some remain traditional, resolving to eat healthier or clean up around the house more, while others may resolve to do something spontaneous or outrageous. The students at Northeastern University also vow to make this an eventful New Year.
Resolutions range from quitting nasty habits like smoking or nail biting to giving up drinking, losing weight, getting out of debt and increasing organizational skills in everyday life.
“[My resolution is] to get eight hours of sleep every night,” said Lucia Sloane, a senior physical therapy major. “I intend to keep it [by] getting to bed on time [and] trying not to waste my time all night.”
According to a General Nutrition Center poll in 2001, 88 percent of Americans make a resolution when that ball drops.
Of that 88 percent, in 2001, 55 percent of Americans promised to eat healthier, 50 percent vowed to exercise more and 38 percent stated that their resolution was to lose weight.
For those students that think along the same lines as others and want to be more health conscious, Northeastern provides various fitness options.
Students have access to the Marino Center and Cabot facilities including a swimming pool and the new Squashbusters facility on Columbus Avenue. There are a plethora of options varying from facilities, recreational and intramural sports, type of workout and even fitness classes.
If students are serious about fulfilling their resolution to keep in shape, they could look into many of the intramural sport teams that the Marino Center offers such as basketball, flag football, indoor soccer, softball, tennis and wiffleball.
The Marino Center also offers a variety of aerobic classes students can take to enrich their cardio activity. Classes such as power cycling, step aerobics, muscle conditioning and cardioboxing can get anyone motivated to keep in shape.
The fee for enrolling in the aerobics program at Northeastern is $45 per semester and allows students to sign up for one class a day. Full-time students along with part-time students, faculty and alumni can register and take advantage of the fitness classes. Registration is open all semester.
“My new year’s resolution is to cut back on drinking soda and try to eat as healthy as possible,” said Chris Faucher, a freshman psychology major.
Students don’t necessarily have to go to the outskirts of the city in order to keep a healthy diet and be more conscious of what their meals consist of. With Northeastern’s urban location, just being mindful of the content of certain items can make even going to restaurants on Huntington Avenue “healthy.”
Eateries, Au Bon Pain and The Wrap, located in the Marino Center, have healthy dining options for the student on the run.
Au Bon Pain has a wide range of pre-made salads and low fat wraps while The Wrap offers a variety of healthy options that take only minutes to be prepared.
Au Bon Pain also provides a computer database with nutritional information right at the tips of consumers’ fingers. The computer can be seen immediately on entering the establishment and reveals the make-up and nutritional breakdown of the food served.
For those with a meal plan, even Northeastern’s very own dining facilities can be kind to the hips if approached in the right mindset.
Stetson West provides the students with the alternative to eat from their stir-fry grill. You can choose different vegetables and sources of protein from beef to scallops to construct your own stir-fry creation.
Not all students are solely focused on getting fit in the new year. Some students want to give their mind, not their body, a better work out this year.
“I want to read more for fun. I think I lose sight of that when I’m so caught up in my classes,” said Thomas Chen, a sophomore journalism major.
Students wishing to explore their reading possibilities can look no further than our very own Snell Library.
One can search the shelves for the most recent Stephen King novel or a famous biography of Princess Diana.
Snell Library contains novels, biographies and magazines, and it also has an entire area on the third floor that is dedicated to literature. For students who are short on time, they may wish to check out the magazine section. Magazines such as “Time” can be informative and quick to catch up on weekly reading.
Keeping those new year’s Resolutions is the next uphill battle for some.
“I always give up on [resolutions] so I decided just not to do it,” said Bethany Lessare, a freshman pharmacy major.
Now, with the help of the Internet, sticking to those goals may not be as unimaginable as it may have seemed in previous years.
Resolution Reminders (www.hiaspire.com/newyear), which has gained attention from USA Today and other publications, serves as a resource for those wishing to keep that resolution, even after the winter months pass.
This site offers monthly reminder services for free, providing motivation, support and a little friendly nagging. In these monthly e-mails, various links to other resources that may be beneficial according to each individual resolution are listed and certain messages included in the e-mails can be tailored to an individual.
Although every resolution made by a Northeastern student may not be fulfilled in the confines of our own campus, many can be. If students are willing to take advantage of the top facilities and programs offered by the university, they may find that 2004 was one year they followed through with their resolutions.
Top 10 Resolutions 10. Become a better person 9. Eat better 8. Be more patient 7. Exercise more 6. Become more organized 5. Find a better job 4. Save more money 3. Stick to a budget 2. Stop smoking 1. Lose weight Information obtainsed from jimworld.com
-Staff writer Kaitlin Thaney contributed to this report
