In an attempt to make students more aware of issues surrounding eating disorders, a campus group will kick off Eating Disorders Awareness Week on Sunday.

Respecting and Understanding Body Image will start the week with a new edition of stall stories.

Nutritionist and group adviser Ronda Bokram said the stories are posters hung in bathroom stalls throughout campus.

“They are our way of tackling issues about eating and body image,” Bokram said. “They are an easy way for people to get the information.”

She said from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday there will be representatives at IM Sports-East distributing information about eating disorders and purple ribbons, the symbol for Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

And between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday at Mason-Abbot Hall, the group will join the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition to hold a luncheon. Bokram said group members surveyed students earlier in the year on what their favorite foods in the cafeteria were.

Bokram said the group will be taking away all signs with the nutrition information about the foods being served.

“This will be a way for people to eat for fun,” she said. “No one will have to worry about what they are eating.”

Last year for Eating Disorder Awareness Week, the group passed out more than 10,000 Twix bars. The candy had a message attached asking whether a person was afraid to eat it and how much people think about what they are eating.

This year, the group will pass out more than 12,000 of the treats Wednesday around campus and in residence hall cafeterias.

“If nothing else, it makes people think,” Bokram said.

Also on Wednesday, the group will hold an open-mic night and a candlelight vigil similar to the Take Back the Night rally. The group has asked people to anonymously submit stories about their experiences with eating disorders.

Bokram said the stories will be displayed on posters around the room and people will be free to stand up and share their stories in front of the group.

“A lot of people with these problems feel isolated and alone and don’t know where to go,” Bokram said. “This is a safe place where people should feel comfortable with other people around them going through the same things.”

Jaime Hope, Olin Health Center advocate on the nutrition team, said the group is anti-diet for the most part, and it promotes acceptance of the body.

“If you eat in moderation, you should be able to eat pretty much whatever you want,” the human biology seniorsaid. “People need to love themselves for who they are.

“Not everyone can be a size two, and not everyone should want to be.”

For more information on any of the events, e-mail rubi@msu.edu.