Class Discussion: Is it OK to Require University Students to Weigh In Before They Get Out? November 20, 2009
Today’s topic for class discussion is whether or not it is reasonable for a university to require students to pass a physical fitness course in order to graduate.
The inspiration for this unusual class discussion was the shock I felt when I read in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education that Lincoln University in Pennsylvania has a requirement that all students take a test measuring their body mass index (BMI) in order to determine whether they are obese or not. Apparently, 30 is the magic number: if your BMI is over 30, you must take a class called “Fitness for Life” that involves Pilates, walking and games. If your BMI is under 30, you are off the hook and can graduate without taking the one-credit course.
Lincoln University’s Concerns for Their Student Body’s Minds and Bodies
Lincoln University claims that obesity is an epidemic and they want to play an active role in helping students be healthy. The administration felt so strongly about this that in 2006, they incorporated the physical fitness requirement into their core curriculum.
It’s making news today because a number of Lincoln University seniors got an email recently, informing them of their negligence regarding completing the requirement and many of them are unhappy and complaining.
“Too Fat to Graduate”
One student expressed her opinion about the fitness requirement, claiming that she pays to get an education from Lincoln University and has in fact excelled in doing so, as a “three time honor student.” She sees no reason why her weight or BMI should prevent her from receiving a degree that she has worked hard for and, clearly, earned.
Lincoln University’s Own Class Discussion on the Topic: Mixed Reviews
Some students and faculty at Lincoln University feel that encouraging and educating students on health and fitness is acceptable and positive. However, making physical fitness a requirement in order to graduate is perhaps excessive and not appropriate to incorporate into the curriculum.
Discuss Amongst Yourselves
What do you think about this controversial topic? It brings me back to the time when laws went into effect prohibiting smoking indoors. Initially, I could not believe it, and it seemed harsh and invasive (even as a non-smoker). Now, I feel grateful and relieved that I do not have to breathe in other people’s cigarette smoke, and I am shocked to think that it was ever any other way.
Is the fitness requirement at Lincoln University too harsh and invasive or is it another way for a university to mold and influence young minds and bodies to their fullest potential? Physical fitness is a part of education in elementary and high school; why is it so offensive to expect it at the university level?What do online students think of the requirement? Is it another advantage of distance learning or a loss that comes with not being part of the campus experience?
Please use the comments section to weigh in with your opinion on the Lincoln U phys-ed class discussion!
I think i have just about heard everything now. There is always a rationale for inhibiting our freedoms, i.e. smoking-others have to breathe the air, buti this is ridiculous. My class mates weight has nothing to do with the quality of education i am recieving. If this behavior is tolerated, what will be imposed on us next?
This is blatant discrimination. Aside from that, though, how can you require people to conform to a certain size when there is no reliable way of attaining that size? Almost all studies show that diets and exercise do not promote long-term weight loss. Anyone who doesn’t believe me should go to the “Health” section of the New York Times and start researching there. Requiring people to lose weight when there is no scientific, evidence-based way to make that happen is like asking people to cure themselves of a disease. Weight Watchers and other diet plans pin “Results Not Typical” on all of their testimonials - they are required to, because they cannot reliably provide these results.
I’m sure there will be self-righteous people who insist that fat people are just lazy and all you need to do is “eat less, move more” to lose weight, but this is inane and proven wrong. Countless studies have shown that this simply doesn’t work for most people. Universities are supposed to promote the scientific and rational view. Making a non-evidence based physical requirement for students is anti-rational and anti-science.
Do none of you realize that students CHOOSE to attend a University, and pay thousands of dollars for that PRIVILEGE? If they don’t like the standards to which a school holds their students, DON’T GO TO THE SCHOOL!
A nonreligious student would not fit in well at a school that requires students to attend church services, and yet you would not be crying discrimination on the internet then.
I’m all for acceptance and equality, but not at the expense of intelligence and comprehension. Understand the issue before you get worked up, people.
Not sure if you saw this, but earlier this month, Lincoln decided to make the course voluntary (the negative publicity got to them). The course will still be available, but will be encouraged rather than required: http://www.collegescholarships.org/blog/2009/12/08/lincoln-university-drops-obesity-requirement-fitness-for-life/
Thanks, C., we did see this news around the Internet. Just goes to show how powerful public opinion can be. You don’t say what you think of Lincoln’s back-pedaling, though. What’s your opinion on the story? Is it an important one in higher education? Thanks for reading OnlineDegreeFinder, and for writing in! The Editor