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Physician Assistant student organizes 'body positive' event

Southern Smash scheduled for Monday, March 23rd at Marietta College

by Liz Nedved

Marietta, Ohio (02/28/2020) — Having personal experience with disordered eating, Amanda Dawson PA'20 (Harrisville, West Virginia) wanted to do something on campus that promoted body positivity.

As part of her capstone project, Dawson has organized a Southern Smash on Monday, March 23rd. The event, which is being sponsored by the Dr. J. Michael Harding Center for Health and Wellness, will take place on The Christy Mall (rain location: Dyson Baudo Recreation Center) from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and features a variety of activities.

"Weight loss and diet advertisements are everywhere, and having personally struggled with disordered eating, I know coping with that is hard," Dawson said. "In the Southern Smash organization, I found a kind and encouraging community that I wanted to share with others through this interactive and unique event."

Some of those events, all of which promote self-image and body positivity, include "Let it Go Balloons," in which participants fill out a card with any insecurity or worry they want to let go of, fold the card over, and tie it to a balloon, "Dare to Love Yourself Cards" for participants to write an inspirational or encouraging message to display in their room or home to remind themselves of their worth, and "The Graveyard," where individuals and small groups can write messages on scales and let out their frustrations surrounding body image by smashing them with baseball bats and sledgehammers on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Following the activities, a panel discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. in The Gathering Place with members including 2019 Miss West Virginia Melissa Smith, Addie Fullen (an anorexia nervosa survivor and body positivity advocate), Marietta College counselor Alicia Abramski and dietitian Julianne Matusek.

"My goals are to raise awareness surrounding eating disorders and promote body positivity," Dawson said. "In this media-rich world that conveys to individuals they are not enough due to their size or muscularity, I want to empower people to smash their insecurities, literally, and be a little more kind to themselves."

The Southern Smash organization was founded in November of 2012 by McCall Dempsey to battle poor body image and negative self-talk. Through empowering scale-smashing events and SmashTALK panels, Southern Smash aims to educate the public about eating disorders and empower individuals to embrace self-love.

For more information or questions, please contact Amanda Dawson at aed003@marietta.edu.

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers more than 50 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation's best by Forbes.com. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major. Marietta College has also been named a Great College to Work For two consecutive years (2018 and 2019).

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