President Obama has challenged campuses across the country to lead a healthier lifestyle.
IU Southeast decided to participate in the President’s Active Lifestyle Challenge.
Students, faculty and staff are participating in the six-week program that started Sept. 14 and will end Oct. 25.
“We have over 250 students, faculty, and staff doing it, which our goal was 200 and we are way over that,” Cari Edwards, Campus Life office assistant, said.
Those participants make up 25 separate groups, all competing to walk the most. The group that walks the most will win the challenge.
“We’ll probably go with [which group] has the most hours,” Edwards said.
Seuth Chaleunphonh, dean of Student Life, said he recognized the connection between this year’s Common Experience theme and the lifestyle challenge. The theme is Health and Humanity in the New Millennium.
“[Chaleunphonh] thought it would be a good idea,” Edwards said. “So, we went ahead and ordered certificates and pedometers and we advertised it, and, unbelievably, we had a huge response.”
Even before the Common Experience theme and the lifestyle challenge, Chaleunphonh has challenged his staff to be active.
Even if it is only for 30 minutes a day, Chaleunphonh said he encourages them to go walk and do some form of exercise.
“It helps with your job, it helps you physically, and he thinks it’s just a good idea,” Edwards said.
The only requirements of the lifestyle challenge are that students get into groups and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and for five days a week.
“So many steps are activity, so the pedometers measure how many steps you are taking,” she said.
Each person gets a log, records their time and activity and then turns it in to the team captain.
At the end of six weeks, Campus Life totals the hours to see which team has the most.
Kate Hentrup, Residence Life office assistant, is the team captain of the Chunky Monkeys, one of the groups on campus. She was selected because of her dedication to physical activity.
As a team captain, it is her responsibility to motivate her group.
“I work out and I’m always on top of it,” Hentrup said. “But really, I think that on every team, the team captain doesn’t have to do much because it’s a team effort. I motivate themand send them e-mails.”
There are a couple aspects of being a team leader that Hentrup said she enjoys the most.
“I like it because I get to motivate people and share my views on being active,” she said.
Even before taking on the lifestyle challenge, Hentrup exercised regularly, a factor in her decision to join.
“I knew the requirements,” she said. “You have to work out 30 minutes a day and I do well over that.”
The Chunky Monkeys have 12 team members, and a plan to stay on top of the challenge.
“We are going to get together and walk whenever we have time,” Hentrup said.
So far, she said she has not had any troubles getting her teammates motivated and says they have all met the 30 minutes per day quota, if not more.
Other than walking, Hentrup said she would also like to see her team do other activities to get fit.
“I’m actually going to try to get people to do some weekend runs with me and I’m always trying to get people to join my gym,” she said.
Hentrup anticipates this challenge will create habits that will continue throughout everyone’s lives.
“I think this kind of thing is to get you on a regular schedule, so that even when this thing is over with, you stay fit for life,” she said.
Some students did not know about the lifestyle challenge.
Andy Haub, elementary education junior, was one of the students who didn’t know about the challenge.
“Didn’t know we had one,” Haub said. “I haven’t done it in years.”
Haub participated 11 years ago with his church in a physical challenge that is similar to this one.
“We did running around a track and in parks, long jump and pull-ups,” Haub said.
By DESIREE SMITH and
KATHERINE PITTELKO
Staff Writers
demismit@ius.edu
kpittelk@ius.edu