University students got milk Monday. They got it all over their upper lips.
But sloppy beveraging couldn’t be blamed for the dairy mustaches; they were part of the national Milk Mustache Campus Tour. The tour stopped at Coffman Union’s Fireplace Lounge to peddle the benefits of drinking milk and to search for a new model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated.
One winner is chosen from every campus stop. At the University, one of the more than 250 participating students will be featured in an advertisement in The Minnesota Daily and on the milk Web site, www.whymilk.com.
One student from the 50-campus tour will be featured in an advertisement in a future issue of Sports Illustrated. The local winner will be chosen within a month while the Sports Illustrated advertisement will run at the end of this year.
With the possibility of fame around the corner, one University student entered the contest for other reasons.
“I was walking through and I saw people were getting free T-shirts and I also wanted a free T-shirt,” said Mohamed Teleb, an Institute of Technology senior. “I drink milk about twice a day. I like the taste, and it is good for you. It’s kind of like a two-for-one kind of thing.”
The tour, sponsored by the Coffman Union Program Council, also raises awareness among college students about the health benefits of drinking milk.
According to the 1997 “Rethink Your Drink” survey, milk is the number-one beverage college students stop drinking when they arrive on campus.
“Drinking milk is important for building your bone density because you only have until age 35 to do that, so now is a really crucial time,” said Anne Zumwalde, a member of the milk mustache campaign. “A lot of students think that because they are done growing they do not need to drink milk anymore, but they do.”
College athletes are an exception, as 90 percent report drinking milk on a daily basis.
“College athletes are averaging 700 milligrams of calcium a day, whereas the nonathletes are getting about 200 milligrams each day,” Zumwalde said.
More than 70 percent of nonathletes do not drink milk on a daily basis on college campuses. Eighty percent of college-age women and more than 50 percent of college-age men do not get enough calcium daily, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Three eight-ounce glasses a day is sufficient to get your daily needs of calcium, which is 1,000 milligrams. Dairy products are ideal. Milk is an easy way to go because you can get it at any convenience store,” said Andrea Rudser, a registered dietitian and athletic trainer at the University.
As for the famous milk mustache: “We use whole milk and ice cream because it sticks better,” said Cary Yang, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts and Coffman Union employee.