New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his latest health campaign targeting the notorious freshman 15 weight gain among college students.
The new legislation will restrict operating hours of Insomnia Cookies — a popular source of late-night snacking among NYU students — and prevent other stores from selling snacks to college students from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
“The freshman 15 is a legitimate concern of this administration. We have many colleges in the area, and we need to make sure that they are aware of the health implications of their snacking habits,” Bloomberg said in a press conference on Monday. “We have an obligation to ban things that are not good for your health.”
The mayor has recently identified several health hazards: large sodas, salt, cigarettes, hospital food and loud earphones. But some argue that this initiative most directly targets college students.
“The mayor is simply looking out for the health and well-being of New Yorkers,” said Jo Frost, Bloomberg’s chief health adviser.
Coupled with the recent initiative is a social media and poster campaign, paid for by $10 mil lion of the mayor’s personal funds, to inform students of the dangers of their late-night snacking. Posters include before and after photos of college freshmen with quotes such as “Insomnia should not result in cookies” and
“You don’t need pizza to fuel your studying.” The posters will be placed in subway stations near college campuses.
Tisch sophomore Hannah Horvath said the posters were extremely offensive and has started a petition to block the legislation.
“Not all college students gain weight during college,” Horvath said. “There are ways to encourage healthy eating and exercise without such a restrictive ban and stigmatizing poster campaign.”
CAS freshman Edmundo Villaro was upset that he might no longer be able to order Insomnia Cookies for late-night study sessions with friends, something he viewed as a social activity rather than a health concern.
“Late-night snacking is not the biggest problem in New York City,” Villaro said. “Health is important, but I’m not sure why the mayor is spending so much time and money on this specific issue.”
Part of Bloomberg’s legislation will require NYU students caught with late-night goodies to give them away to homeless people, as a response to criticism over the mayor’s homeless shelter policies. The New York Police Department has hinted at plans to use the stop-and-frisk policy to enforce this ban.
The bill will be presented to the New York City Council on Monday and a vote will take place this week.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 1 print edition. Maeby Fünke is a cousin/film producer. Email her at [email protected].