2008 Woodie Awards
Fat guy in a little desk
Brian Heinemann
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Opinion
The only thing worse than walking nervously into a class on the first day of the semester is walking into a room as an overweight person and seeing nothing but desks that seem built for the anorexic.
This is a problem I have personally suffered from at all three colleges I have attended. Purdue University, Moraine Valley Community College and Kirkwood Community College have all presented me with a difficult issue - finding a desk that I can fit in comfortably.
Although I am not the biggest of individuals, at 6'4" and 275 pounds I am definitely not at the ideal body mass index number. Kirkwood holds up to the standards set by my previous colleges, providing maybe one table with a chair to sit at per four or five classrooms. While I'm not big enough that I am unable to fit in a desk, it is still an incredibly uncomfortable and obnoxious feeling have a desk pushing against my body for an hour at a time.
Of course, I could solve this issue by simply losing weight and not living off a strict diet of meat and fast food. My concern here though is for those who cannot simply control their weight - pregnant women. Individuals such as myself do not have anywhere near as strong of a point as a pregnant woman, as it is a simple fact of life that their abdomen will inevitably grow larger over the course of nine months.
Pregnant women go through enough pain and overall discomfort while carrying a child, so it hardly seems fair to put them in a position, at least over the final months of pregnancy, where they are forced to sit uncomfortably in a desk that is jabbing into their abdomen for an entire class.
Some colleges, such as Iowa State, do provide different options for students who are overweight or pregnant, namely long tables with movable swivel chairs. Most, including but nowhere near limited to Kirkwood, do not.
While I have no problem acknowledging that I am bringing about my own discomfort, it would be nice to see some kind of option presented to the pregnant women who are dedicated enough to continue pursuing their education.
This is a problem I have personally suffered from at all three colleges I have attended. Purdue University, Moraine Valley Community College and Kirkwood Community College have all presented me with a difficult issue - finding a desk that I can fit in comfortably.
Although I am not the biggest of individuals, at 6'4" and 275 pounds I am definitely not at the ideal body mass index number. Kirkwood holds up to the standards set by my previous colleges, providing maybe one table with a chair to sit at per four or five classrooms. While I'm not big enough that I am unable to fit in a desk, it is still an incredibly uncomfortable and obnoxious feeling have a desk pushing against my body for an hour at a time.
Of course, I could solve this issue by simply losing weight and not living off a strict diet of meat and fast food. My concern here though is for those who cannot simply control their weight - pregnant women. Individuals such as myself do not have anywhere near as strong of a point as a pregnant woman, as it is a simple fact of life that their abdomen will inevitably grow larger over the course of nine months.
Pregnant women go through enough pain and overall discomfort while carrying a child, so it hardly seems fair to put them in a position, at least over the final months of pregnancy, where they are forced to sit uncomfortably in a desk that is jabbing into their abdomen for an entire class.
Some colleges, such as Iowa State, do provide different options for students who are overweight or pregnant, namely long tables with movable swivel chairs. Most, including but nowhere near limited to Kirkwood, do not.
While I have no problem acknowledging that I am bringing about my own discomfort, it would be nice to see some kind of option presented to the pregnant women who are dedicated enough to continue pursuing their education.
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