The Big Weigh In, a panel discussion on weight and society, will take place at Ivy Tech Community College on March 10. The event will be at 2 p.m. in Vectren Auditorium, Room 147, on the main campus. The event is sponsored by the Department of Psychology and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The panel will feature Ivy Tech students, staff, professors, and alumni of all different shapes and sizes; and who have been of different sizes throughout their lives. Refreshments will be provided.
“The discussion is an important one,” said Erica Nikko Johnson, program chair for the Department of Psychology. “We will be talking about the impact weight can have in society. Johnson said she lost weight after having had a baby, and noticed that some people who had been friendly with her, suddenly were not, and some who had never paid any attention to her suddenly did.
“In a conversation with my daughter I said I wondered if others experience this, and she suggested we have a discussion about it,” Johnson said. “So, we planned this event to have this conversation.”
She pointed out that in her psychology classes she likes to discuss topics that are not easy to talk about and get discussions started. “I want to give a voice to people who don’t have a voice,” she said.
The event is free and open to the public.