USAC urges students to protect skin from UV rays

By Shomari Terrelonge-Stone

Daily Staff Reporter

Thousand of students will swim, surf, snorkel and bathe in the hot sun next week during spring break, but not everyone is protecting their skin from the sun's rays.

LSA senior Carey Bzdok said she plans to sunbathe but will not wear sunscreen because she "won't get as good as a tan," she said.

As a result of Bzdok's sentiments and others like her who refuse to use sunscreen, more than 40 members of University Students Against Cancer gathered on the Diag yesterday to pass out packets of sunscreen and brochures to promote skin cancer awareness.

"The annual event, 'Don't Get Burned At Break,' is held each year for two days before spring break vacation," said USAC coordinator Jen Lessens, an LSA senior. "We hope this at least reminds people that they need to bring sunscreen while on spring break."

USAC reports that the sun's ultraviolet rays are responsible for more than 90 percent of all skin cancers and prolonged exposure to the sun greatly increases the risk.

The National Cancer Institute reports the risk is greatest in people who have fair skin that freckles easily.

LSA senior Lara Englebardt said she refuses to get a tan because "it's not worth it to me to be in the sun and burn my skin to look good because of the consequences."

Englebardt added that not only does she not want to tan in the sun but she will not go to a tanning salon either. "Tanning salons are like cancer booths," she said.

NCI and USAC report that artificial sources such as sun lamps and tanning booths can cause skin cancer.

But Peri Nelson, manager of Super Tans, located at 1220 S. University Ave., disagrees. Nelson said tanning salons protect people from the sun's UV rays by building up the melanin in the skin.

"We build you up so your skin is used to it," she said. Nelson also recommends sunscreen to people who burn in certain places such as "their face, which could be a sensitive area," she said.

But Super Tans only sells tanning oils and not sunscreen.

The Ann Arbor Super Tans store sold sunscreen in the past "but it wasn't a big seller," Nelson said, adding that other Super Tans stores in Michigan sell sunscreen.

USAC reports that people should wear sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 15 when outdoors and avoid peak exposure hours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Lessens said she plans to go on a cruise for spring break and added that she plans to wear sunscreen.

"I'm very aware of cancer and it's effects and I do what I can to make sure I am safe," she said.