Students smashed their scales to fight against negative body image.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., students were invited to a scale smashing event hosted by Mandie Tracy, a senior social work major and Taylor Cole, a sophomore social work major, two ambassadors of McCall Dempsey, founder of Southern Smash and Chief Smasher.

Dempsey created Southern Smash to raise awareness of body image issues because she had personally dealt with them in her past. Dempsey battled an eating disorder for 15 years before seeking help from the Carolina House in December 2010. Since then, Dempsey has made it her life goal to raise awareness of body image issues on college campuses around the country.

The goal of Southern Smash is to raise awareness of eating disorders as well as allow women to celebrate and embrace true beauty and self-love.

One way to embrace true beauty is through an event that Dempsey started in which one smashes a weight scale. On the 26th, people on campus were given the chance to write on paper what weighed them down and place it under a scale before smashing it. The smashed scale represented a “tombstone” for what they were letting go of.

Tracy hopes, “People are able to embrace themselves instead of worrying about the perfect weight or anything that really ties them down such as G.P.A. or any of that. We [Tracy and Cole] just wanted to give them the freedom to really just let go and smash the scale.”

Bryce Schell, a freshman mechanical engineer major, described it as “exhilarating” directly after smashing a scale. Courtney Hart, a freshman CSD major, said it was “powerful and exhilarating.”

One of the reasons that Tracy helped to host the event was because she had previously dealt with an eating disorder for nineteen years and really wanted to make people aware of the issue but also give them the chance to let go and not worry about what was weighing them down.  

Participants were given the chance to sign a no weight pledge, which says, “I will accept my weight as it is instead of worrying about the perfect number on the scale or other body issues”.

Cole hopes in the future people will be more aware of the problem of body image and eating disorders rather than keeping it a “hush, hush term.”

Dona Cox, a junior social work major, came not only for bonus points, but because her daughter suffered from an eating disorder.

“It is empowering for ones like us,” said Cox.  

Along with the no weight-pledge and the smashing of scales, those who visited the event were able to write down what was holding them back and tie the weight to a bundle of balloons. At the end of the event, the balloons were released as a symbolic letting go of what was holding everyone back.

The official eating disorder week was from Feb 23through March 1. For more information about Southern Smash, visit the website southernsmash.org or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/southernsmashings. Also, if you are dealing with body image issues or want to get help for someone you know dealing with body issues, you can visit the Southeastern Counseling Center.