Spring Break
Group takes aim at backpack weights
Samie Hartley
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News
Kristen Middleton, a senior majoring in animation and illustration, said she wasn't surprised that her backpack weighed 15.5 pounds.
"As an art major, I have to carry a lot of books for reference, so it adds up," Middleton said. "Sometimes I have to carry my stuff in a separate bag because it is too heavy."
Alicia Gamoke, a senior majoring in nursing, said she was surprised that her backpack only weighed 12 pounds on what she called a "light day."
"I know my backpack is heavy - it's been this way since high school," Gamoke said. "On a heavier day, my backpack must weigh 20 pounds."
Gamoke said she tries to pack her backpack as lightly as possible because she doesn't want to have back problems down the road.
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, more than 40 million students in the United States carry backpacks at school, and the average student's backpack weighs about 1/4 of his or her body weight.
Backpack Awareness Day was a part of the Student Occupational Therapy Association's celebration of Occupation Therapy Month.
Occupational therapy is "the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important to them despite impairment, activity limitations, or participation restrictions," said Hoffman, the organization's vice chair.
INFO BOX
San Jose State University's Student Occupational Therapy Association is hosting an interactive stereognosis test today. This test will check students' abilities to locate items without the use of sight such as finding keys in a purse without digging around for them. The test station will be set up by the Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
** Event information from Raegan Hoffman, Student Occupational Therapy Association vice chair.
"As an art major, I have to carry a lot of books for reference, so it adds up," Middleton said. "Sometimes I have to carry my stuff in a separate bag because it is too heavy."
Alicia Gamoke, a senior majoring in nursing, said she was surprised that her backpack only weighed 12 pounds on what she called a "light day."
"I know my backpack is heavy - it's been this way since high school," Gamoke said. "On a heavier day, my backpack must weigh 20 pounds."
Gamoke said she tries to pack her backpack as lightly as possible because she doesn't want to have back problems down the road.
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, more than 40 million students in the United States carry backpacks at school, and the average student's backpack weighs about 1/4 of his or her body weight.
Backpack Awareness Day was a part of the Student Occupational Therapy Association's celebration of Occupation Therapy Month.
Occupational therapy is "the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important to them despite impairment, activity limitations, or participation restrictions," said Hoffman, the organization's vice chair.
INFO BOX
San Jose State University's Student Occupational Therapy Association is hosting an interactive stereognosis test today. This test will check students' abilities to locate items without the use of sight such as finding keys in a purse without digging around for them. The test station will be set up by the Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
** Event information from Raegan Hoffman, Student Occupational Therapy Association vice chair.
Be the first to comment on this story