Health Magazine Gains Readers
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By ALISON THOET
The number of pages read by University of Mary Washington students in Student Health 101, the online monthly health magazine for students, has increased by about 12,000 pages since the 2010-2011 school year.
According to the UMW Health Center, there has been a rise in students that look at and comment on the magazine over the past few years. Statistics show that the number of pages read in the online magazine from August 2011 to Feb. 2012 has more than doubled since the 2009-2010 school year.
Student Health 101 offers students new information on nutrition, relationships, fitness and recipes every month for free.
“It sounds like a great opportunity for students to access health information easily,” said Shannon Reres, freshman art history major.
According to Kelly Flynn, graduate assistant of wellness, the magazine has been running for about three years, offering an eco-friendly and highly accessible health guide to students and their parents.
“It really encompasses the six areas of wellness,” said Flynn, which includes physical, spiritual and emotional wellness.
Student Health 101 is a nationwide magazine that UMW pays for and customizes for its students every month, according to Flynn.
“I think it is a really positive thing but people just haven’t discovered it yet,” said Flynn.
Flynn creates custom ads for the magazine and advertises for campus wellness events. She also responds to student feedback, which ensures topics that students are interested in are featured in the magazine.
To increase interest, Flynn put up posters in Seacobeck Hall and students can now do a survey magazine each week that gives them a chance to win $1,000.
“I hadn’t heard of it before, but after looking at it, I think it has a lot of good information and resources for students,” said freshman Alice Redhead, an undecided major.
Redhead believes the Health Center should make the magazine more known to the student body.
“I think students would definitely read it if they knew about it,” said Redhead.
