The Towerlight, February 27, 2012

Fighting fat talk, poor body image Same-sex marriage bill goes to O'Malley ALISSA KATZ Senior Editor LAUREN SLAVIN Editor-in-Chief Kelly Jones was always bigger than everyone else, but said it didn’t bother her until high school. That’s when she starting skipping breakfast, stopped eating meat, bread, fats and dairy, and would often forgo eating entirely only to binge eat sweets later. And though she was skinnier than she had ever been, Jones said she had also never been as miserable. About a year ago, the Towson University junior decided enough was enough and that she would start work¬ ing on creating a healthy body image for herself, not for somebody else. "I decided to overhaul myself completely. I started working out, I started biking everywhere ... if there were elevator or stairs, I’d take the stairs," Jones said. “I realized there are people out there who like you if you’re skinny. There are people out there who like you if you aren’t. You have to love yourself. It sounds so cliche, but it’s the truest statement I’ve ever heard.” Poor body image is a major issue for lots of people on campus, according to Jaime Fenton, Towson’s coordina¬ tor of eating disorder services. Eighty percent of women have body issues, so it’s one not unique to those who are overweight. However, they may struggle in particular because they may have experienced discrimination or bullying. See SIZE, page 18 LAUREN SLAVIN Editor-in-Chief With Gov. Martin O’Malley’s sig¬ nature, the Civil Marriage Protection Act will make Maryland the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill passed in the Maryland Senate 25-22 Thursday after hours of debate and the ultimate rejection of six amendments to the legislation. A week earlier, a version of the bill passed in the House of Delegates 72-67. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans¬ gender friends of junior computer sci¬ ence major Jon Smoley were ecstatic about the advance in equality. "Everybody who’s of the LGBT persuasion is very, very happy. I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t be,” Smoley said. “We grew up with it, so it’s not really as odd as people who did not. It’s not strange to us at all.” The positive reaction of many Towson students to the new law could be because of the generation to which they belong. See LGBT, page 11 OneCard ...use it