Bookbags may be packs of trouble
By Colleen Phelan
■ The State News
Michigan State U
Though your course load might be
heavy tins semester, there's no reason
to cany it all on one shoulder.
Although vogue on college campus
es, carrying a shoulder bag or back
pack by one strap can aggravate back
problems, said Dr Philip Greenmail of
Rehabilitation Services at the
Michigan State U. Clinical Center
The “one-sided loading phe
nomenon" has not been the sole cause
of any problems he has treated, but
Greenmail said he suspects that car
rying a heavy load on one shoulder con
tributes to some student cases of upper
and lower back pain
“Good, balanced posture is the ideal,
and anything disrupting that can be
symptom-producing," he said.
Pain related to one-sided loading
usually occurs in junctional areas such
as between the upper back and neck or
the lower back and hip, he said W hen
a patient complains of pain m these
areas, Greenman routinely advises
them to stop carrying one-sided loads
Dr Lorraine Smith, Lansing chim
practer, said she has seen patients with
severe back pain caused primarily by
a heavy shoulder bag or briefcase
“Daily over a long period of time, it
could be chronic,” she said
Consistent lopsided carrying can
pull cervical bones out of alignment.
Smith said This could cause
headaches, muscle strain, numbness
in the arm and possibly a permanent
angle m the used shoulder
Greenman and Smith agree the
best wav to avoid problems from back
packs is using both straps “Students
should use it bilaterally as it was
designed to be, Greenman said
“They put four wheels on a car \ou
mm .. .
don't take two oil'to drive it "
If students carry a shoulder bag or
refuse to violate backpack fashion
standards, alternating shoulders
would In- helpful, the doctors said
Smith also suggested carrying as few
JOE CEPEPA DA 'EOnr-NSFR . As STATE j *3f.0BEAi ■
books as possible
Executives at backpack producers
JanSport Inc and Eastern Canvas
Products Inc said they have never
received any complaints about then
products causing back problems
Basketball player
follows in father's
high-scoring path
| By Douglas Ayers
| ■ The Purdue Exponent
Purdue U
Purdue l’ freshman Rich Mount has
some big shoes to fill, playing in the
shadow of his father, former Boilei
super scorer Rick Mount
Rich's basketball roots run bark to the
high school where both his father and
grandfather played His father earned
honors as the top scorer m Lebanon
High history with 2,595 points during
his career, and he placed third on the
Indiana all time scoring list
Rich followed in his father's path by
becoming the second lending scorer in
Lebanon history with 2,159, placing
ninth on the Hoosier all-time scoring
list
Kick went on to sit atop the all time
scoring list at Purdue in addition to
achieving All American status twice in
his college career
While the final page has Inton closed
m Kick s basketball career. Rich’s isjust
beginning
It’s great playing m my father's
shadow, and it doesn’t bother me at all,"
said the G foot d-inch guard "You can
compare us in some wavs hut not
always, since the style of play has just
changed so much It was great growing
up with that, but 1 say. llev. I in going
to play my own game, and 1 m not going
tu worry about w hat my dad did
Purdue Coach Gene Ready said, 1
think Rich has handled the situation
well, and I’ve tried to be conscious of
the fact that he’s not Kick Mount, and
we've never ever thought that or want
ed to think that People just have to
realize that he's going to be his own
man and not compare him because
that’s not fim
While Rich might play a style of has
See BASKETBALL. Page 20
Spirit Briefs
Indian mascot survives controversy ...
Chief Illiniwek will continue his half
time dance at U. of Illinois sporting
events, despite a month of debate
joined by students, alumni and two
U.S. senators. Sen. Paul Simon signed
a petition calling for the abolition of the
school’s mascot at a gathering of
Native Americans in Chicago. That
group and others protested the 63
year-old symbol, labeling it a discrim
inatory and inaccurate representation
of Native Americans. However, U1
Chancellor Morton Weir said the
Indian will remain, and ‘‘inappropriate
derivatives” of the symbol will be elim
inated, including the letter “I on the
chief’s face. ■ Ellen Larson, The Daily
Mini, U. of Illinois
■ ■■
Who was that masked man? ... Every
Wednesday night at Bowling Green
State U., six students don masks and
costumes and post spirit signs around
campus. The students comprise SIC
SIC, a secret society formed in 1947 by
the university’s president to promote
school spirit. Gregg DeCrane. SICSIC
adviser, said, “The purpose of the
masks and anonymity is to lend a sort
of mystique to the whole operation
Two students are selected at the end of
STEVE WARMOWSKI. THE DAILY UW U Of ILLINOIS
The U. of Illinois' 63-year-old symbol, Chief llliniwek, will remain despite a recent conflict.
their freshman year based on GPA and
campus involvement, and they carry
out their secret duties until the end of
senior year, when identities are
revealed One member, identified as
SICS1C No. 1, said. “It's incredibly dif
ficult to make excuses why you go out
at night. 1 usually use the excuse that
I'm seeing a girl ” ■ Jeremy S Weber,
The BG News, Bowling Green Stale U.
■ ■■
A student toast... U of Pennsylvania
students recently won a conflict involv
ing the tradition of “toasting" at foot
ball games. Since 1984. students have
thrown toasted bread onto the field
when the band plays the line, “Here’s
a toast to dear old Penn.” Last fall, how
ever, security guards frisked students
and confiscated toast. Assistant to the
President William Epstein said there
had been a miscomrnunication
between the administration and the
guards. “We intended to stop people
from throwing frozen bagels,” he said
Epstein said the administration sup
ports the students’ spirit. “The presi
dent is extremely fond of tradition. 1
think he would hate to see a tradition
disrupted." « Bret Parker, The Daily
Pennsylvanian, U. of Pennsylvania
■ ■■
Mascot chased with chain saw... Stanf ord
U sophomore Gil Blank is working to
establish tradition at a school which
students say has none. Their mascot,
the Indian, was dissolved in the ’60s
after students protested over its racist
overtones, and the mascot changed
yearly until the band decided to adopt
the 'Palo Alto’ from the university
shield, and the Stanford Tree was bom.
Blank plays the Tree at football games
in a uniform he constructed out of two
mattresses, green carpeting and felt
Although he says it's hard to ham it up
in a 100-pound suit, Blank plays with
the other mascots on the field. During
one game, the Beavers of OSU chased
him with a chain saw. ■ Matthew
Spatz, The Observer, U. of Notre Dame