A Roadmap to Healthy Living
It's that time of the semester – Exams!! So many people dread this period of time, because typically so much of a course’s grade is based on what happens during this short period of time. Some may even wonder why having exams is important. Some thoughts on this may be helpful.
In short, exam periods provide an opportunity to pull together what you have learned throughout the…
How often did you hear the phrase "Clear your plate" or "Be part of the clean plate club?" Did you hear it last week at Thanksgiving? Or, was the message one of saving some room for seconds, or for desert? While these messages are typically all about food, the focus this week is on the last week of classes for the semester. For this time of year, "clearing your plate" is vitally important in…
It's the week of Thanksgiving. This special holiday in this country is a great opportunity to stop and reflect. For many, it’s a time for gathering the family. Plus, there is the large meal, with turkey and various food dishes and often quite large quantities. There are numerous traditions, whether it is driving long distances, talking late into the night, playing touch football, taking a…
We don't often hear encouragement to quit something. Tobacco use is one of those behaviors where quitting actually is better for everyone. The U.S. Surgeon General reports that cigarette smoking is a contributor to the death of 480,000 Americans each year. While lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and asthma have long been known to be linked to smoking, new diseases and conditions for which cigarettes…
This week marks several things for us. First, it’s the week after Election Day. Second, Veterans Day is included in this week (November 11). Third, and more relevant to the year, 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. Each of these may seem to have a distant relationship to your time at Mason, yet it’s helpful to take a look at them and see how they might…
It's the tenth week of the Fall Semester, with Halloween also on this week's schedule. How do these two things fit together? Simply, the question is about your social life and campus activities – what role are these playing in your life? Whether you are a full-time student or part-time, traditional age or older, or whatever your background, to what extent are you taking advantage of all that…
This is Alcohol Awareness Week. It’s a time when many college campuses offer a variety of events and discussions to bring heightened awareness to alcohol. Mason is no exception, and a variety of events are offered this week. It’s an opportunity to take advantage of some of these, but also to do some additional reflection about alcohol and its role in your life and that of others around…
When you think of a COMPASS, what comes to mind? It’s probably that device that helps you determine your direction, or helps point the way. That’s a helpful picture, yet for us with COMPASS: A Roadmap to Healthy Living, the compass is something inside of you.
Dr. Anderson combines scholarly research with applications at the local, state and national level. As Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Health [www.caph.gmu.edu], he directs numerous research and community service projects. His research emphasizes college students, school and community leaders, youth, program planners, and policy makers.
Dr. Anderson co-authors national surveys on drug/alcohol prevention efforts, at the college, community college and secondary school level. He is co-director of the Understanding Teen Drinking Cultures in America project, a research initiative involving quantitative and qualitative strategies [see http://teenalcoholcultures.gmu.edu]. He co-authors the College Alcohol Survey, the nation's longitudinal survey of four-year college efforts addressing alcohol, drug, tobacco and violence (1979 - 2014). He co-directed the Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies project which includes a family of resources (Sourcebook, Task Force Planner, and Action Planner) [see www.promprac.gmu.edu]. His award-winning project Healthy Expectations, with COMPASS: A Roadmap to Healthy Living, emphasizes life health planning and healthy transitions to college; this has resulted in a resource guide [COMPASS Roadmap: Destination Health] helpful for organizations seeking to replicate the initiative [see www.compass.gmu.edu]. He recently publlished Best of CHOICES: Alcohol Education 1998-2008 with the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Prior to arriving at Mason in 1987, he served as a student affairs administrator at Ohio University, Radford University, and The Ohio State University.