April, 2002

John Iannone, ed.,
Graduate Assistant

Inside this Issue

Fun in the Sun
"Relax, Relate & Release"
Beat Summer Boredom
Need to Sublease?

Click to Jump to an Article

Sun Safety at a Glance:

Check the daily UV index. 0 means low exposure to UV, 10 means extreme exposure. Take greater protection measures on higher days.

Clothing helps, but it doesn’t block UV completely. Choose clothes with a tight weave and darker colors which cover the most skin. Use clothing in addition to sunscreen, not instead.

Choose sunglasses and sunscreen which blocks UVA (aging rays) and UVB (burning rays).

Check inside for lots of resources where you can find out more about sun safety, facts, and protection!

Sun Safety Resources

Don’t take our word for it. Sun safety is too important not to know the facts. Check out these sites for an education in the essentials so you can stay healty!

American Sun Protection Association
www.americansun.org

National Coalition for Skin Cancer Prevention
www.sunsafety.org

American Academy of Dermatology
www.aad.org

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

The Weather Channel (UV Index)
www.weather.com

Fun in the Sun...

Mmmm, do I smell bacon? NO! That’s your skin!!! Gross!

With summer fast approaching, many of us will be running out to worship Florida’s beautiful sunshine. We’ll stay out until we feel like a baked potato, and then wonder why instead of a tan we got peely flaky things all over us… the equivalent of dandruff over our entire body… for the next week.

This month, we’re going to dispel a few myths and review a few sun tips so you get that beautiful tan you want, instead of melanoma (which is not beautiful, and sometimes deadly).

Myth: getting a burn means you got a good tan underneath. No. Getting a burn means you killed the skin that was getting the tan—it will fall off and leave you without a tan.

Myth: wearing a shirt will protect you from the sun.
Nuh uh. Most shirts provide an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 7 or less. That’s nothing against Florida’s rays. Use clothing to augment your sunscreen, not instead of it.

Myth: you can’t burn on a cloudy day.
Wrong. Clouds block visible light, but they do virtually NOTHING to ultraviolet rays! You can burn just as easily sitting in the middle of a thunderstorm as you can on a bright day (though we wouldn’t recommend testing this one—Central Florida is also the world’s lightning capitol!)

Myth: you can’t burn in the water.
Yeah you can. Just like clouds, UV passes right through water. But in the water, you won’t feel the heat and tightness that would otherwise let you know it’s time to go to the tiki bar and get some shade. So you can easily burn worse in the water!

Myth: wearing a hat will protect your face.
Sort of… but not really. Rays bounce, dude. Hats just keep the sun out of your eyes.

So, how can you stay safe in the sun and get that wonderful tan? First of all, you need to realize that getting a tan takes patience, and it always increases your skin cancer risk. You can’t get a good tan in one day. People who try are the ones who always burn. It’s much more effective to do many short sessions in the sun than one long one. Here are some safety tips:

Choose the right Sunscreen. Higher SPF factors protect better, but it’s always dangerous to spend long periods of time in the sun.

Be conscious of your time in the sun, and wear the appropriate protection. If you’re only going out for ten minutes, a lower SPF (around 15) is fine. If you’re spending a day at the beach, go for the 45 or the 60, and reapply frequently. Even those high SPF sunscreens are not adequate for this type of exposure, so get to shade as much as you can! You’ll still get darker!

Stay hydrated. The sun exhausts your body’s resources quickly. The first resource to go is water., so bring a bottle or two with you.

Don’t want to break out? Many oil-free sunscreens are available for just a couple dollars more than their breakout-inducing counterparts. It’s a small price to pay…

Reality Check. Face it, the sun is bad for you. Only you can make the decision to tan—just make sure you make an informed decision, and that the benefit is worth the risk to you.
While tanning will never be completely safe, knowing the facts and following tips from this article will help make it safer. Limit your time in the sun. If you are spending the whole day out, make sure you spend a majority of time in the shade. While hats and shirts can’t do a good job against UV, they do help, and they will keep you cooler. Keep plenty of water on hand to prevent heat exhaustion.

If you get a burn, nothing works better than aloe lotion, and staying in the shade until it completely heals! Have a great summer, and do it right!

Remember the Television show “A Different World?”

During finals time, you can take the advice of the character Whitley Gilbert, who says all you need to do is “Relax, Relate, and Release!”

"Relax, Relate &Release"

Gidget Lewis - Aries Area Coordinator

Are you tired, tense, anxious and stressed? Is the final half of the semester putting you under a lot of pressure and causing you to wonder if you will make it until the end? As we all know, final exams and the close of the semester is just around the corner. For many students, the pressure to end the year on a positive note and with passing grades is causing stress levels to run high. Therefore, the staff here at Knight’s Krossing wanted to give you a few suggestions on what you can do to relax. During high stress time, it is important that you develop little rituals that help you distress. Take a moment to step back from that twenty page research paper or take a break from the computer project you and your partner cannot seem to make work. Here are just a few fun and creative ideas to help you unwind and rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit.

Read something nice every night before falling asleep. This not only gives you time to learn new things, but it distracts you from your own thoughts long enough to relax and fall asleep. Make sure your reading material is something fun, light and relaxing.

Escape into your favorite picture. Let your mind wander into the setting whether it is a Monet or snapshot from a great vacation. Mary Poppins did it why can’t you?

Listen to your favorite songs, something that is positive and calming. Music can change your moods and soothe the soul. It can also lower your heart rate and blood pressure.

Write down your troubles on pieces of paper. Fold them into paper airplanes and send them flying! The farther the plane goes, the farther away your stress flies.

Give or get a HUG! The power of touch can be miraculous. Something about this harmless physical activity always makes the heart lighter.

Get your recommended daily dose of humor. Giggling is good for the soul. Watch your favorite comedy show or joke around with friends. Relating with others in a relaxed social environment can also release stress and ease the mind.

Relax your muscles by taking a hot shower or immersing yourself in a bubble bath. Something about hot water, bubbles and feeling clean just drains away the tension.

Bounce off the walls, literally and figuratively. Try throwing a foam Nerf ball around, it can be perfect for releasing anxiety and stress.

Exercise! Working off stress is always a great method of relaxation, depending on how you do it. The trick is to find something you enjoy.

Shake your booty! Close your eyes and the curtains, put on some music and let go. Let your body express the rhythm and melody any way it chooses. Dancing is a lot of fun and you can do it alone at home or out with friends.

These suggestions are just a few of the many things people have tried in order to get back into a better frame of mind. Anxiety, stress and tension are some of the top reasons why students do less than their best when it comes to testing. So, if you want to lessen the negative impact of these feelings on your performance during final exams, try one or two of the suggestions listed above. “Relax, relate and release”, it may help you will feel better and test better in the end.

Beat Summer Boredom...

Mareeko Finney - Aries Office Assistant

Hello fellow residents of Knight’s Krossing. The end of the semester is near and I know you can’t wait to get out there and start having summer fun, but don’t forget to be safe while you are. Relax and try to pry your mind away from the unhealthy amounts of fun you’ve had in each of your classes. I know that task will be almost impossible, but you’ll find a way to forget those all-nighters you pulled doing a ten page report at the last minute from scratch, with foot notes.

I know that you definitely won’t be able to make it through a week without being home sick for a Broadcast announcement. Or those American History Essay exams for all you History buffs out there. Though you’ll miss all of the excitement here, it will be here when you get back. So go have a fun filled summer and we’ll see you next Fall.

Here are some suggestions we received from residents for ways to beat summer boredom:

Go to summer school. (You gotta do it sometime!).

Work at a fast food restaurant.

Swim with the dolphins (at Discovery Cove).

Read a book.

Let your younger siblings tag-along wherever you go. (Ha!)

Go to Wal-Mart and play with the toys (until you get kicked out).

Go to a supermarket and page yourself (“Would Amanda Hugankiss please come to the customer service counter?”)

Try to solve a Rubicks Cube (If you do it, would you show us how?)

Try not to send your younger siblings to the emergency room. (“Won’t insurance cover it?” Uh… NO!)

Anything legal!

Need to Sublease?

You may be tempted to try and avoid the fees to transfer your lease, but just ask anyone who’s subleased before, and they’ll tell you hundreds of ways to get burned. Sometimes your tenant will cause damages that YOU get charged for… sometimes they just won’t pay the rent, leaving you to pay it for them or default on your lease, which will make it impossible for you to rent anywhere else. Subleasing is also against the lease you signed. If you have to sublease your room, do it the legal way and transfer your lease to the new person. Stop in the Phase III office and ask us how!