The drug “Molly” has been around for years. Maybe not in the same pure form, though. These days, Molly is usually mixed with other substances, and that’s what ramps up the risk.

Who or what is Molly?

Molly (short for molecular) is a psycho-stimulant. It’s a powder or capsule form of MDMA, the same chemical that’s in Ecstasy. Molly increases activity in three of the brain’s neurotransmitters—serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine—triggering heightened emotional, sexual, and trusting feelings, and sensory distortions.

When Molly gets miserable

After that surge of feel-good chemicals, the brain can run into problems. For users, this can mean confusion, depression, sleep difficulties, drug cravings, and anxiety. These other side effects are not so cute on the dance floor:

• Involuntary teeth clenching
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Increased heart rate
• Chills or sweating

Molly mixes with the wrong sort

It’s rare to find pure Molly these days. It tends to be mixed with other substances, including methamphetamine, caffeine, heroin, ketamine (the anesthetic), or cocaine. Combining these can increase the risk of side effects, and could lead to other problems, such as overdose.

For more on Molly

Find your type

Creativity is hot in psychology research, and researchers are finding creative ways to explore it. They’ve shown that openness to experience is the key personality trait associated with creativity. But what does this mean?

There are many ways to be open to experience, wrote Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, a cognitive psychologist who focuses on intelligence, creativity, and personality, in Scientific American. Maybe you’re intellectually curious, or have a wicked imagination. Perhaps you immerse yourself in complex problem solving. Or maybe you’re more interested in emotional experience.

Four types of openness

Openness to experience can be broken down into four types, which manifest creatively in different ways, according to Dr. Kaufman’s study in the Journal of Creative Behavior (2013). The research involved 146 high-achieving British students aged 16—18.

FIND YOUR CREATIVE TYPE

You score highly on IQ tests
Traditional measures of intelligence (i.e., IQ tests), including scores for verbal reasoning and working memory, reflect explicit cognitive ability. They don’t seem to represent particular personality types. Explicit cognitive ability is more relevant to creative achievement in the sciences than the arts.

You’re driven to engage in ideas, rational thought, and the search for truth
You goal-directed types tend to be industrious, assertive, and persevering. Those traits represent your intellectual engagement. Intellectual engagement is more relevant to creative achievement in the sciences than the arts. It seems a better predictor than explicit cognitive ability of scientific creative achievement.

Your decisions are based on emotions, gut feelings, and empathy 
You might be more volatile, compassionate, enthusiastic, assertive, and impulsive than the average dude. That’s affective engagement in action. Affective engagement is more relevant to creative achievement in the arts than the sciences. Actually, it might even be detrimental to scientific creativity. (Don’t let that make you drop physics. This is a generalization, and people are complicated.)

You’re into aesthetics, fantasy, art, and culture
Are you searching for beauty? Are you more compassionate, enthusiastic, assertive, and impulsive than most of us? Maybe also less industrious and orderly? That’s what aesthetic engagement looks like. This is more relevant to creative achievement in the arts than the sciences.

Plenty of learning (and becoming better people, and all that) occurs outside the school building. Now we’re getting a sense of how effectively it can happen inside a theater. We’re better off seeing a play performed live than reading it or watching the movie version, new research suggests. Live theater seems to make us more tolerant and empathic, too.

In the first randomized study of the effects of live theater on students, high schoolers were assigned by lottery to see stage productions of Hamlet or A Christmas Carol, or no live theater, by researchers at the University of Arkansas. Here’s what they found:

Knowledge and vocabulary

Students who saw a play performed live demonstrated considerably better knowledge of its plot and vocabulary than students who had read the same play or seen it performed on screen. “Plays are meant to be seen performed live,” wrote Dr. Jay Greene, professor of education reform, who led the study, in Education Next. “The story can be conveyed in a movie, but it doesn’t engage the viewer in the same way.”

Tolerance for others

Students who attended live theater later demonstrated greater tolerance for human diversity and difference. Here’s how students responded to statements relating to tolerance:

“Plays critical of America should not be allowed to be performed in our community.”

• Students who saw a live play: 9 percent said yes.
• Students who did not see a live play: 21 percent said yes.

“People who disagree with my point of view bother me.”

• Students who saw a live play: 22 percent said yes.
• Students who did not see a live play: 30 percent said yes.

Understanding others

Students who saw live theater seemed to have an improved ability to read the emotions of others. They scored higher than non-theater-going students on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, which is thought to measure the ability to infer other people’s thoughts and feelings by looking at their eyes.

In a previous study, the researchers found that students who participated in a field trip to an art museum demonstrated increased knowledge, tolerance, historical empathy, and critical thinking than students who didn’t.

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Nail-biting? Check. Unavoidable? Check. Public speaking is likely in your future, whether you’ll be making a classroom presentation to your peers, giving a speech in an auditorium, or introducing a public event. Developing presentation skills enhances your academic, personal, and career opportunities
(and also protects your nails).

That’s why public speaking is the most commonly required communication course in the general education curriculum, according to a 2008 study of 500 community colleges. Most universities and colleges offer public speaking courses, clubs, and events.

Our experts

Three communication experts can help you overcome common public speaking flaws.

• Dr. Matt McGarrity, senior lecturer for the Department of Communications at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington
• Dr. Steven D. Cohen, assistant professor at the Klein Family School of Communications Design at the University of Baltimore, Maryland
• Sylvia Merschel, co-director at the UCLA Summer Institute in Communication Skills for International Students, California

Error # 1: Physical barriers between you and the audience

What’s the problem?
“Do not hide behind the lectern [podium]. This creates a barrier between you and the audience.”
—Lenny Laskowski, Painless presentations: The proven, stress-free way to successful public speaking (John Wiley & Sons, 2012)

Why it matters
Can imply that the speaker is uncomfortable and insecure.

Solutions

• Arrive ahead of time, and if possible, rearrange the layout of the space to better suit your presentation (move podiums or tables off to the side). Make sure your PowerPoint slides are working smoothly, and practice standing comfortably in front of your soon-to-be audience. —Dr. McGarrity
• “Place your notes [on a podium], but then step to the side for an open space between you and your audience.” —Dr. Cohen.
• “I was given a wireless clicker to go through slides on a presentation. That allows me to be able to go in front of the screen and speak out in the open towards my audience with ease.” —Roberto R., Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.

Error #2: Frequent filler words

What’s the problem?
“Using filler words: like, um, so, etc.”
— Kayla D., University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Why it matters
While filler words are not usually an issue in everyday conversation, during a presentation they can suggest a lack of confidence or preparation.

Solutions

• Use a three-step formula: Pause, Think, and Answer. — Dr. Cohen
• Pause when you’re asked a question.
• Think what you want to share.
• Answer only when ready.
• Don’t be afraid of brief silence.
  “Pauses are okay! I practice pauses with the students over and over and over.” —  Ms. Merschel

• Understand your use of filler words during a practice presentation:
  • Audio or video-record yourself and listen for filler words and tics like throat-clearing.
  • Have someone count how many filler words you say.
  • Have someone ring a bell, whistle, or make a noise every time you say a filler word — if your nerves can stand it.
  • Put $0.10 in a jar every time you say a filler word.

• Don’t obsess over this. “There have been filler words since the dawn of language in every language. If they were so abhorrent they would be gone, but they’re not.” — Dr. McGarrity

Error #3: Reading a speech

What’s the problem?
Memorizing and reciting an entire speech or presentation.

Why it matters
Comes off too rehearsed and disconnects the speaker from the audience. It can even increase your discomfort.

Solutions

• Use note cards. Keep only essential words that will jog your memory. —Ms. Merschel
• Practice, practice, practice! “When we practice, we free ourselves from the restraints of written text.” —Dr. Cohen
• Edit. “If you have to read something, really edit it for the ear…make it easier to listen to and easier for you to read from.” —Dr. McGarrity
• Act natural. (As unfamiliar as that might be.) “Study famous speeches for a sense of how to speak naturally and effectively.” — Amy Baldwin, MA, director of director of University College at the University of Central Arkansas, Little Rock

Error #4: Frequent physical gestures

What’s the problem?
Hair-flicking, chin rubbing, wild hand motions—you get the idea.

“While presenting in front of my peers, I get very nervous…I’m not sure what to do with my hands. I usually rock back and forth on my heels…”
—Carolina G., Florida State University, Tallahassee

Why it matters
Your audience may focus more on your gestures than your message.

Solutions

• Practice in front of a mirror, video, or trusted friend. —Ms. Merschel
• Emulate someone you like and respect. —Dr. McGarrity
• “Go easy on yourself. If we plan our gestures it looks very contrived…”—Dr. Cohen

Error #5: Not making eye contact with your audience

What’s the problem?
Avoiding eye contact or staring blankly into the vast abyss of the audience.

Why it matters
“In most cultures, the act of looking someone directly in the eyes is a symbol of sincerity. Failure to meet another person’s gaze when speaking implies disinterest, lack of confidence, insincerity, or chicanery. The same psychological associations are found in public speaking.”
—Toastmasters International (Gestures: Your body speaks, 2011)

Solutions

• Try not to fixate on one person when making eye contact. —Alaine W, Moorpark College, California.
• Divide your audience into visual groups. “Generally, I want to have my basic anchors [or sections I’ve mentally partitioned]. So I’ve got an anchor to my left, an anchor or group of people…to my right, and a group of people in front of me,” says Dr. McGarrity.
• Ease into eye contact. Try Dr. Cohen’s technique: look above people’s eyes instead of directly at their eyes. Then when you’re ready, ease into eye contact. Or try the “figure 8” method: your gaze traces an 8 on its side, like the infinity symbol.
• “Many people think that eye contact means staring at people, but you can look away and feel comfortable about it.” —Ms. Merschel

Error #6: Too much information

What’s the problem?
Too much information on your PowerPoint slides.

Why it matters
While people are looking at your slides or other visual media, they tune-out what you’re saying. They can’t read and listen.

Solutions

• Use the five-by-five rule: no more than approximately five words per bullet point and five bullet points per slide. —Dr. Cohen
• Use only one message per slide.
• Only present what is directly pertinent to your speech. —Ms. Merschel.
• Leave time for questions and answers at the end of your presentation.

Error #7: Just wing it

What’s the problem?
“Public speaking is a leadership art. The goal of the speaker is not just to share important ideas but to demonstrate that he or she is a leader. When we ‘wing’ a presentation we are not giving ourselves the ability to lead, because we are compromising the impact that we could have on our audience members.”
—Dr. Cohen

Why it matters
Unless you’re a superb public speaker, you’ll lose credibility and waste the opportunity to make your point.

Solutions

• Plan ahead.
• Practice. Practice some more. “I would recommend having someone record your speech so you can personally see your body language and movements” —Dr. Michelle Burcin, director of undergraduate programs at Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Use outlines “to engage in naturally occurring conversational discourse.” —Dr. McGarrity
• Time your presentation beforehand, and add or remove material as needed.

How to bust out of your angst

Nervousness takes many forms: nail biting, nausea, and temporary amnesia, to name a few

Your pre-presentation checklist

• Fake it.
  Pretend to be confident even when you’re not.
• Avoid surprises.
  Plan ahead and visit the presentation area.
• Have a backup plan
  for technical difficulties, time limitations, etc.
• Eat a light meal before you present.
• Avoid caffeine, dairy, and carbonated beverages. Dairy products can create mucus (leading to throat-clearing), caffeine can give you the jitters, and carbonated beverages can cause indigestion.
• Breathe. Deeply.
• Drink. Keep a bottle of water nearby.
• Think positive. Strive for presenting clearly rather than perfectly.

These make your presentation stronger

• High-quality photos, rather than pixelated low-res images
• Consistent design
• Simple graphs and graphics
• Sans-serif font
• Structure: Beginning, middle, end
• Limited animation
• Minimal slide content

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Midterms month: time to evaluate our national or local leaders, get into bitter online arguments, and even vote. But as much as we complain when our leaders fall short of our expectations, we all know that leadership is a profoundly important resource in both civic and professional life. And even if we’re not headed for politics, we’re all headed for the job market.

In the context of your future career, you might be wondering:

• What exactly is professional leadership?
• What will leadership skills mean for my career?
• Which personal characteristics are the most important for leadership?
• What if I don’t have a “leader’s” personality or skill set?
• How can I gain leadership experience as a student?
• How can I present those skills to future employers?

For stories of two students who developed their leadership skills in different ways, read further.

“Roles and responsibilities I had never had before”
Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps

William Edwards, 19
University of Central Arkansas in Conway
Degree: Health sciences/physical therapy

Program
The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) provides men and women with an opportunity to prepare for service in the Army. “We make leaders from day one,” says Major Todd Gray, associate professor of military science at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Students who enroll in the ROTC “learn not just how to lead in the Army, but also at any company as soon as they graduate.”

More information.

What & why
William, a native of Texas, had turned down several soccer scholarships. He wanted a new way to challenge himself. “In the ROTC, I was instantly put into new roles and responsibilities. I had to organize my team and make sure they had all their equipment, showed up on time, and did their jobs. I was responsible for leading them from day one. In this program you learn to do things differently and take criticism.”

After
“I have surprised myself in my abilities to do things that I didn’t know I could do, like being a good time manager and commanding respect from my cadets.”

New goals
“I am committed to finding more opportunities to push me harder than I would push myself, whether that means taking on larger responsibilities each year, or something as simple as being the first to go at a task.”

Advice
“ROTC is a great thing to do and you can try it out without committing to it. Trying new things can’t hurt you.”

“Ideas are easy, practice is hard”
Disability advocacy academy

Lydia Brown, 21
Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Degree: Arabic major, psychology minor

Program
The Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI) Summer Leadership Academy brings together students on the autism spectrum for training in disability advocacy.

More information.

What & why
“We should be celebrating the diversity of students with disabilities, rather than trying to ‘cure’ them” (a concept known as neurodiversity), says Lydia. She was concerned too about the barriers to higher education facing students with disabilities. She helped create the No Wrong Door project, a listing of resources for students with disabilities; organized letter-writing campaigns, boycotts, and protests; and drafted legislation. When her school announced a panel on autism, she successfully advocated for the inclusion of an autistic person.

After
“I developed a much clearer idea of what leadership looks like. It is very easy to organize people around an idea, but very hard to put it into practice.”

New goals
“I founded the non-profit organization Washington Metro Disabled Students Collective to fill the gaps that still exist for students with disabilities.”

Advice
“Find leadership programs that line up with your values and passion.”

Which qualities do you most admire in our national leaders?

“I admire people who do not strive for fame but work hard fighting for human rights and equality.”
Dana G.*, fourth-year student at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
*Name changed for privacy

“I admire anyone who knows the value they bring to the table. Everyone has different sets of skills and talents. Also I respect those who know when to let others shine and step back.”
Jorge Z., third-year student at Edgewood College, Madison, Wisconsin

“I admire any person who not only looks out for our country financially but also socially. America is one of the newest countries that holds any power in the world. I pride myself on our ability to accept differences and be pro-social change.”
Elaine R., fourth-year student at Towson University, Maryland

“Anyone who is self-sacrificing. Who puts themselves last. Who does not have an agenda.”
Laura E., University of West Georgia in Carrollton

Which US politicians do students most admire—and most despise?

Most admired:

• Hillary Clinton [D] Former Secretary of State
• George W. Bush [R] Former President
• Elizabeth Warren [D] Senator
• Barack Obama [D] President
• Ron Paul [R] Former Representative
• Bill Clinton [D] Former President
• Ronald Reagan [R] Former President

Most despised:

• Hillary Clinton [D] Former Secretary of State
• George W. Bush [R] Former President
• Barack Obama [D] President
• John Boehner [R] Speaker, House of Representatives
• Mitt Romney [R] Former Presidential nominee
• Sarah Palin [R] Former Vice Presidential nominee
• Paul Ryan [R] Representative

Source: Student Health 101 survey. 750 students responded to this question.

Students’ top leaders: dead or alive

1. “My mother”
2. Martin Luther King Jr.
3. Barack Obama
4. Jesus Christ
5. Abraham Lincoln
6. F.D. Roosevelt
7. Mahatma Gandhi
8. Nelson Mandela
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Bill Clinton
11. “My father”

Source: Student Health 101 survey. 780 students responded to this question.

Which personal qualities do students rank highest for leadership?

1. Confidence
2. Communication
3. Honesty
4. Ability
5. Organization
6. Respect
7. Decisions
8. Good listener
9. Trustworthy
10. Empathy
11. Patience
12. Motivation
13. Caring
14. Reliable
15. Open-minded

Student Health 101 survey, June 2014

A few years ago, they were rarely seen in the wild. Now you can find them next to the Blow Pops in gas stations. They’re E-cigarettes, and they got popular fast. Researchers are scrambling to determine the health impact of these gizmos, which emit vapor laced with chemicals—including nicotine—when users inhale.

Can E-cigarettes help you kick butts?

The pencil-sized machines are marketed as a convenient alternative to lighting up—and as a tool to help folks quit tobacco. With the Great American Smokeout on November 20, if you’re a smoker, you might be eager to join the 88 percent of college students who have not smoked in the last month. Can E-cigarettes really help you kick the butts?

Mixed findings

Few studies have addressed the question, and findings are mixed. But we do know that nicotine—which E-cigarettes deliver in varying doses—is bad. The drug can contribute to heart disease, cause complications during pregnancy, and act as a “tumor promoter,” the World Health Organization wrote in July.

Nicotine also has the potential to harm brain development among young people. That includes—please cancel your trip to Denial—college students.

Still, E-cigarettes are far less abrasive to your lungs than plumes of cigarette smoke, so they may be significantly less harmful. But we’re not sure.

In any event, “vapers” must be wary of nicotine overdose, which can result in bad things like vomiting, confusion, and seizures, according tothe US National Library of Medicine. (Users should keep E-cigs away from young children, who–being teeny-tiny–can overdose more easily.)

Bottom line

Bottom line, as we await more research: We should consider E-cigs a cousin of a pack of cigarettes. Stick to those Blow Pops.

Ready to feel empowered? Next month could kick-off an era of Millennial political dominance. People born between 1980 and 2000 make up the largest generation in American history, and now that most of us can vote, we could prove pivotal to this year’s midterm elections.

Midterms are often unfairly written off as inconsequential placeholders that dot the years between presidential contests. But there’s a bunch at stake this year.

Get this

We Millennials number 80 million in the US—and only slightly more Americans (82.5 million) voted in the 2010 midterms.

Shaking up Congress

As you read this, 468 members of the US Congress are running for re-election, each hoping that young voters will boost them like they boosted now-President Obama in 2008.

Republicans think they can take control of the Senate by capitalizing on Obama’s low popularity. Democrats are hopeful that an improving economy—and a Supreme Court decision that threatens employee access to some forms of birth control—will convince voters to put them back in charge of the House of Representatives.

College costs & environment

Thirty-eight states and territories will elect governors—who play a pivotal role in environmental protections and college affordability.

Minimum wage & marijuana

In a handful of states, including Massachusetts, voters will choose whether to raise the minimum wage. Citizens in Florida and three other states will vote on proposals to loosen restrictions on marijuana, Ballotpedia reports.

Students pushing for change

In New York City, students have joined parents and teachers to protest the Common Core education standards. In North Carolina, students established the #DebtFreeUNC campaign for fairer student loan terms. They delivered more than 18,000 red squares—each representing a University of North Carolina graduate with loan debt—to the governor and to a leading candidate for the US Senate, The Nation reported.

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It’s four in the morning, and you’re triple-checking the verb tense of a Spanish assignment. You don’t hand in a draft of your history paper because it’s too rough, even though you need your professor’s feedback. You skip studying for a big econ test because unless you can review for three full hours on two straight nights, it’s not worth it.

If this sort of behavior sounds familiar, you might be a perfectionist.

Perfectionism can hurt us

Perfectionism can be much more significant in your life than some other personality quirks are. Research has found that perfectionist tendencies can solidify and grow, leading to behavior patterns that decrease productivity and increase the risk of developing serious conditions, including including obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders, and depression.

Perfectionism can also help us excel

But perfectionism is unlike many other health issues. While no good ever comes of tobacco use or driving drunk, perfectionism often boosts performance. LeBron James shot thousands of free throws before he mastered the skill. Pianists toil for years before they are skilled enough to play at Carnegie Hall. Monet set his canvas in the same spot day after day to capture every impression of leaf and sun.

Perfect red flags

But when perfectionism becomes maladaptive—that is, when it hurts more than it helps—it can harm students’ academic performance and personal relationships.“Generally, it’s a red flag when perfectionist efforts seem to be making things worse instead of better,” says Dr. Jesse Crosby, a researcher at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts (affiliated with Harvard Medical School), who studies perfectionism.

Joel B. of Binghamton University, New York, says he suffers from anxiety because of his perfectionist approach to grades: “As a result of the anxiety/depression, my grades suffered even more.”

Warning signs for maladaptive perfectionism include:

• Procrastination
• Avoiding tasks
• Anxiety associated with trying to make everything perfect
• All-or-nothing thinking: e.g., “I don’t have this time to do it perfectly right now, so I’ll put it off”

Are you a perfectionist?

How people become perfectionists

Perfectionism can represent an emotional struggle. “Perfectionists have an emotional conviction that in order to be acceptable as a person they need to be perfect,” says Dr. Tom Greenspon, a psychologist and author of Moving Past Perfect (Free Spirit Publishing, 2012).

The origins of that struggle might be genetic, research suggests. In a 2012 study, identical twins rated much more similarly than fraternal twins for perfectionism and anxiety. But perfectionist tendencies, like other behaviors, are also shaped by our environment. You don’t “catch” perfectionism. Instead, your psyche, your lifestyle, and your surroundings help determine whether you gravitate toward it.

For example, a competitive academic atmosphere might prompt students to set unrealistic standards for their work. Mary,* a university student in British Columbia, says, “I am very hard on myself in general. I always have to get As. I was my high school Valedictorian.” Another trigger for perfectionist behavior is vague syllabi and assignments, which give students room to expect more from themselves than professors do.

Strategies to keep perfectionism under control

There’s more to perfectionism than your environment. Students, parents, and professors can use certain strategies to avoid the harmful effects of procrastination, says Dr. Crosby.

1 Chunk your projects
Professors can break large projects—such as a 30 page research papers—into smaller pieces to be submitted periodically. Ask your professors to consider this approach. For example:

Week 1: the topic and research questions. Week 2: an initial list of sources. Week 3: an outline. Week 4: a draft. Week 5: the final paper.

2 “Crack the door” on tasks
Completing even a small part of a project creates momentum and helps erode fears that a given task is too complex or difficult.

Professors can “crack the door” by collaborating with students on the first homework question, or by setting aside class time to help students structure a research strategy. Alternatively, make the first steps a collaboration with classmates.

3 Be flexible and prioritize
Take a flexible approach to reading assignments and other tasks. If you’re burning the midnight oil to take meticulous notes on an optional reading assignment, your standards may be too high.To cope with a heavy workload, Dr. Crosby says, you must prioritize. For example, when I was in law school, professors assigned hundreds of pages of heavy reading a week. I quickly decided that I would skip reading dissenting opinions—writings by judges that have no legal impact—and focus on the other stuff. Just like ER staff must stop the bleeding before they treat the headache, students can distinguish between tasks that need heavy attention and those that simply aren’t so important.

4 Remember that improvement, not total mastery, is the goal
“If something is on the syllabus, you’re not expected to know everything about it before you take the course or even afterwards”, says Dr. Crosby.

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College life is all about freedom and independence. Your decisions—including when to work out and what to eat—are finally your own…right?

Maybe not.

Our “decisions” are influenced by environmental cues far beyond our own needs, control, and even consciousness, according to decades of research. “[C]hoices depend, in part, on the way in which problems are stated,” wrote Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their bestselling book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Penguin, 2009).

Default behaviors

This concept, which behavioral economists call “choice architecture,” helps explains why we tend to default to the easiest or most visible course of action. Choice architecture contributes to much of what we do, including what we eat, how much physical activity we get, and other behaviors.

“We often make decisions in the moment, therefore we are influenced by the options available at any given time,” says Dr. Ellen Magenheim, chair of the department of economics at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania. If you’ve ever made an impulsive candy purchase at the check-out line, that’s choice architecture working against you. Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to legislate the sizes of sodas at New York movie theaters was based in evidence that we gravitate to the middle size. For most of us, a smaller middle size will serve just as well.

Harness the power of choice architecture

“If you want someone to do something, you should make it as easy as possible,” says Dr. Magenheim. If you want yourself to do something, make it easier by tweaking your own environment.

Choice architecture influences behavior without mandating or banning particular options. “A nudge works best when it is in the background,” says Dr. David R. Just, professor of applied economics and management at Cornell University, New York. “Nudges should seem meaningless on the surface.”

Choice architecture on campus

Health officials are increasingly looking for environmental tweaks that can nudge us effortlessly towards healthier behaviors. On college campuses, that means interventions like these:

• Holding a flu shot clinic outside the campus dining hall minimizes the time and effort between thinking about the flu shot and getting it, says Dr. Magenheim. Result: More students get flu shots.
• Displaying fruit more prominently in the campus cafeteria signals to students “eat these” and “this is a destination,” says Dr. Just. Result: Display changes have driven a 100 percent increase in fruit consumption.

Get help or find out more

Settling into campus life comes with tons of things to do. Be sure to add “experiencing wilderness” to your list.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home, that wilderness is a necessity” — said the naturalist John Muir. Okay, so that was 113 years ago. But if wilderness was a necessity then, what is it now, with all the pressures of technology, social media, midterms, roommates, assignments, and internships?

This month is the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, which permanently protects millions of acres of wilderness — and your space to exercise, de-stress, bond with friends, and experience the gorgeousness of America (and yourself) in different ways.

Take a few minutes now to learn about nature getaways near you. Then when you really want a break, you’ll know where to find it. Admission at national parks is free on September 27 (National Public Lands Day) and November 11 (Veterans Day).

What’s your nature?

Find your local wilderness and events honoring 50 years of the Wilderness Act.

• Find local events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act
• Find volunteer events celebrating National Public Lands Day, September 27
• Find a wilderness
• Find a US National Park
• Find a US state park
• Find a free admission day
• Find out about the history of wilderness in the US 
• Find a Canadian National Park, National Historic Site, or National Marine Conservation Area

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“Look at what happens to you on a bicycle. You pedal. You make decisions. You experience the tang of the air and the surge of power as you bite into the road. You’re alive!”
—The late Richard Ballantine, from New York, founder of the assertive cycling movement

Cycling is quick, cheap, environmentally blameless, and great for the legs and heart. Local and state governments are encouraging us to ride our bikes to school or work. As this timeless student activity re-emerges in the modern world, the key is not aerodynamic bikes and snazzy gear, but the skills to safely navigate campus and public roads.

That’s a daunting prospect in our car-centric cities. Typically, cyclists are expected to hug the gutter, and cycling accidents are cited as evidence that cars and bikes cannot co-exist. Increasingly, though, cyclists are re-occupying the roads.

How? By claiming our space in the lanes and following traffic rules just as we would when driving cars. This is the central principle of assertive cycling, also known as effective or mindful cycling. And it turns out the middle of the lane is the most visible—and the safest—place for cyclists to be.

This approach is key to biking in traffic, experts say. “I loved cycling, but about eight years ago I was finding road traffic so miserable I was thinking of giving it up,” says Keri Caffrey, who has since co-founded CyclingSavvy, a cyclist training program based in Orlando, Florida.

Then she discovered assertive cycling. “One day I moved out into the lane and it felt really weird.  It took about a month for anyone to honk at me, but only a week for me to say I would never again ride in the gutter. If you love riding a bike, this is life changing. All your problems go away.” Her CyclingSavvy training program is now available in 17 states.

Assertive cycling: what it isn’t

Ignoring road rules
Many American cyclists don’t  respect the rules of the road. “Police officers don’t hold cyclists accountable,” says Kirby Beck. Dashing across red lights might seem an exciting route to the lecture hall, but it’s also a route to the emergency room.

Cycling in gutters and on sidewalks
“The worst possible place a bike can operate is on the edge of the traffic system, because it makes them invisible and irrelevant,” says Keri Caffrey. “The four leading crash types account for probably 95 percent of all bike crashes. All four are exacerbated or caused by riding on the edge of the road.” On sidewalks, pedestrians move unpredictably, and cyclists are unsafe at driveways and intersections.

Right hooks
The motorist passes the bike then turns right across the cyclist’s path.


Left cross
The motorist turns left across the path of the oncoming cyclist.


Drive out
The motorist pulls out of a driveway and into the path of the cyclist, who is likely screened by trees and other obstacles.


Sideswipe
The motorist tries to pass without giving the bike enough space.


Cyclists’ risk of having an accident declines as they gain experience. The risk to cyclists also declines as more people take to their bikes and drivers become better at sharing the road.

Use caution when cycling in bike lanes
Bike lanes make us feel safer, but their effectiveness is controversial. “Don’t trust your safety to paint—there’s no guarantee that the planner or engineer had any clue what he was doing,” says Kirby Beck. Typically, bike lanes are too narrow to allow vehicles (especially buses and large trucks) to pass safely. Bike lanes are associated with accidents at intersections, because cyclists are awkwardly positioned and difficult to spot. Stay vigilant.

Assertive cycling: what it is

Biking safely and confidently involves a skill set that enables you to position yourself in ways that motorists expect and respect, while keeping your distance from their mistakes. In addition, it gives you the confidence to overcome drivers’ occasional disapproval.

Follow the rules of the road
“The best way to be traffic-safe on a bike is to obey the rules of the road for drivers of vehicles,” says John Forester, a cycling transportation engineer in Lemon Grove, California, who pioneered this approach. “In-traffic skills are easily learned. The difficulty is the psychological strain of escaping from society’s taboo against cycling in traffic.”

Overcome your fear of the road
We’re scared of getting into the lane because bikes in traffic are exposed and slow, says Keri Caffrey: “But when you take away all the crashes caused by being invisible and irrelevant, there are tremendous advantages to being exposed and slow.” Road cyclists are visible. Drivers see them ahead and change lanes, avoiding the dilemma about whether there’s room to pass. Road cyclists have no blind spots. And at their slower speeds, cyclists can process more information than drivers can, allowing for greater control of their environment.