Curves are in again? Welcome to real world

Marianne Velonis

Like most real-life American women, I own a pair of hips that could knock someone out. These pillars of bone refuse to surrender, no matter how many miles I run or how many french fries I turn down.

But luckily for me, some fashion consultant decided that this year, the curve is the word. Well, this revelation is a huge relief to me; to think that I was committing a fashion faux pas because of something my DNA dictated kept me awake at night.

So listen up, shapely sisters!

According to the self-proclaimed trendsetters from those holier-than-thou clothing designers and women's magazines, curves are back. In the words of the esteemed Sir Mix-a-Lot, "To the beanpole dames in the magazines, you ain't it, Miss Thang."

According to the fashion gods, if you're a size 2, disappear off the planet for a while Ñ or at least until the new fall collections make their anticipated debut in Paris.

Size-10 girls, now is your time to steal the centerfold spotlight! Sign that modeling contract before your voluptuous curves are more yesterday than UNC in March Madness.

In the latest Victoria's Secret ad campaign, Gisele Bundchen is shown romping around in lingerie and insightfully sighs to the camera that "curves never really went away."

What curves? The only curve I'm seeing is the bell curve that places her as an outlier in terms of body proportion for the average female population. She may be bigger than Kate Moss, but her protruding ribs could still puncture someone!

When emaciated underwear models set the norm for the ideal "curvy" body, we should be outraged, not bumbling over to the Quinn to magically mold our bodies to conform to Calvin Klein's and Tom Ford's standards. Who really sets the ideals for style and beauty in our society?

It seems that the aristocratic, snobby designers who charge hundreds of dollars for a simple white shirt are liable. Why do we even listen to them, anyway?

We can't afford their clothes and they make us feel lousy about ourselves. We grovel at their feet to buy clothes with their logo plastered all over them and we suck in desperately to zip into their size eight, which is usually a few sizes below in any other affordable brand.

These designers that try relentlessly to make a revolutionary statement with their couture clothing lines are actually pathetic carbon copies of each other. It amuses me that suddenly the fashion police have so graciously alerted American women that curves are the latest trend.

So what do you do if you don't have an hourglass figure? Go grow curves? Drop them when thin is in again?

Whether you're a size 4 or a size 14, embrace your unique figure and disregard what the fashion know-it-alls bark at us everyday on television and in print.

Too many women are miserably struggling to fit the image that the self-righteous fashion editors at "Cosmopolitan" and "Vogue" dictate as "in" or "out." So Burger King, fire up the grills because this season's catwalk rejects are preparing for an invasion! P.S. They're starving.

Our Perspective ...

Lack of information from officials disturbing

As journalists, we have a duty to present information to our readers in a truthful, balanced and timely manner.

However, information gathering at Appalachian State University at times often reveals very few university officials are in the know, something we are extremely concerned about.

Our distress stems not from routinely being redirected from office to office when searching for a statistic or attempting to verify a fact, but from the growing trend university officials seem unwilling or unable to provide the needed information.

Most officials do not take the time to contact The Appalachian when a potential story arises.

It is not uncommon for journalists to dig for their stories, but this is often impossible when university officials knowingly neglect to disclose public information during an interview.

It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between an official who honestly does not know the facts and an official who does not want a reporter to know the facts. To illustrate our concern, we feel a pair of recent situations tell the story best.

One university official recently told a staff member it would be impossible to provide The Appalachian with the dollar amount the university had spent on heating costs during these winter months compared to last year's costs. We strongly question this statement.

The only impossibility we see is the fact the university does not keep a detailed and up-to-date record of the monies it spends.

However, North Carolina law requires state-supported institutions to submit fiscal information annually, meaning this official's comment could not possibly be true.

Our mid-February inquiry into an incident at Doughton Hall only intensified our alarm of this growing trend because the safety of students was in question.

After contacting several Residence Life and Community Action Program (CAP) officials, we found there was minimal knowledge among those directly responsible with ensuring students living in campus housing are safe that three men had entered Doughton in the early morning hours of Feb. 15.

In fact, the university only began looking into the matter after a staff reporter began questioning them about the security breach. Our commitment is to informing students of campus news.

This leaves us dependent on university officials for information. An informed student body is a vital aspect of any major university.

If officials are not informed on matters directly controlled by their department's function, the student body's right to information is severely restricted.