In a Soccer State of Mind

Danielle Lepar

After work yesterday, I decided to mix up my usual Tuesday routine- it doesn’t take a whole lot- and venture downtown Ann Arbor.  I didn’t check the World Cup schedule before I left, but I had my fingers crossed that a game would be on.  As I walked into a pub, I was happy to be greeted by a slew of brightly colored soccer jerseys and even a few flags. Most people were clad in red and yellow, but I spotted a few traces of green as well.  Spain was playing Portugal.  Considering the less than even ratio of fans in the room, it was probably a good thing Spain won. (Although post-game analysis revealed the sole goal-scorer was actually offsides. A huge upset for Portugal.)

After enjoying my post-game high, despite my lack of enduring investment in either team, I stumbled upon a USA Today article that talked about the effects of watching sports on mental health.  I thought that this clip spoke to the- often surprising- interconnectedness of health issues and other topics, which was  highlighted in a previous blog.  In public health, looking carefully at this interconnectedness often brings to light health risks.  While this is undoubtedly important,  I feel like health assets aren’t always given enough attention.

The article points out that those who watch sports, particularly fans who are committed to a specific team, experience a heightened sense of social support and camaraderie.  Whether you’re a well seasoned fan or like me- happy to cheer for a random team and slap hands with strangers- you reap the benefits of being connected to a greater social network.  As an added bonus, fans of a winning team experience a boost in their own self-esteem as well.  And while it’s true that we can’t always be winners, those who stick by their teams take pride in their loyalty and can empathize with other die hards. On a larger scale, events like the World Cup can bring countries together to deliver social justice, health promotion, and other positive messages and efforts to a large population. 

So if it’s futbol or football that gets you going, get out, catch a game, and make some new pals! (And, of course, kick the ball around a little yourself too.)

Pride Week at SPH

School of Public Health LGBTQ Group, their image is a more colorful version of the 1850s cholera Outbreak around the Broad Street water pump.

Valentina Stackl

Hello Readers!

Last week was Pride Week at SPH! Through different events and activities, the community celebrated our LGBTQ faculty, staff, students and their allies. The members of the LGBTQ group at SPH (Outbreak) were kind enough to kick off the week with a bake sale with rainbow colored cupcakes, brownies, and rainbow skittles. The first day (last Monday) also had a lunchtime lecture with Professor Jose Bauermesiter, who is not only incredibly resourceful, intelligent, and interesting, he is also extremely approachable. 

The lecture was titled “Romantic relationships and well-being among gay and lesbian youth: Implications for Public Health”. What I liked most about his lecture was that instead of focusing on the more commonly discussed sexual health practices among gay youth, such as AIDS and STDs, he focused on mental health, such as self confidence, depression and anxiety. Outbreak even provided lunch for the audience (which is always good for students). Jose shared incredibly interesting statistics throughout his presentation, for example that 25% of boys and 8-11% of girls have same sex attraction at some point in their lives, regardless of identifying themselves as heterosexual. Even opposite sex attraction is common among self identified homosexuals and lesbians. Also, relationship make a huge difference for the well being of LGBTQ youth, it reduces rates of suicide, loneliness, homophobia, and increases self esteem (especially for boys). It definitely made me want to learn more about the topic. 

Another event I attended during Pride Week was the screening of the movie “We are Dad”. It was the story about a homosexual couple (both nurses) who took it upon themselves to foster 5 children who were born HIV positive. They cannot adopt some these children because Florida does not allow it (they now live in Oregon). The documentary was touching, and Outbreak did a great job (yet again) connecting real life issues to our education at SPH. We had a great discussion following the screening regarding things that we could do as Public Health professionals to improve the lives of people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, race, religion, legal status and so on and so on. 

Outbreak is just one of the student groups at SPH that fosters great diversity and acceptance in our community. Way to go SPH!