LastTuesday I had to cut an intellectualdiscussion short. I left not to pursue important research, not to further my mission of learning in anyway. I left because I was late for gym class. It makes me question what purpose the P.E. requirement serves at the College.
The discussion took place outside Thornton Hall. Several students gathered outside on a beautiful day to continue a debate on the issues raised in our philosophy x-hour.
It was an interesting assortment of students who never would have talked to each other except for the class. We represented remarkably different parts of the campus. On a Friday night we probably would be found in five completely different locations.
I would have loved to continue the discussion; the views of other students were helping me to clarify and refine my own views. However, I had to leave to go play racquetball.
The fact that I am still taking P.E. during my Junior spring should indicate part of my view toward the requirement. One would be right to assume that I haven't made it a priority in my life.
But while I left a great discussion and a learning experience, didn't I learn something by going to P.E.? Yep, I learned that I can be defeated by a right handed person who was forced to play with his left hand due to injury.
That's right, I cut an intellectual debate short to be defeated at racquetball by someone playing with his bum hand. But I would be conceited if I only considered my gym experience. What are the other students learning?
A few have learned about the malleable nature of attendance records written in pencil. A gym teacher who doesn't know anyone's name is not going to realize that what used be an "A" for absent is now a check for present.
My competitor learned that severe wrist damage and a large bandage is worth very little if it is not accompanied by a note from Dick's House.
So why the heck do we have this requirement? Student athletes are exempted, so basically we are making sure that non-athletes do something athletic.
Is the College concerned about my health? If so, it will have to try a lot harder to make me healthy. The P.E. requirement doesn't stop me from smoking a pack a day, eating a steady diet of Buffalo chickens and enjoying Flat Bed Special Number One every time I get a chance. And I haven't even mentioned what I do to myself on weekends.
It would be unfair to completely devalue the knowledge gained through athletics. I myself learned an enormous amount in my seven years of little league baseball. Student athletes continue to gain from such experiences. But ever since I didn't make the final cut for my high school's baseball team, I have taken my life in a different direction.
However at Dartmouth, I am not allowed the freedom to choose such a course. My decision to spend time discussing philosophy is invalidated by the powers that be. If I don't find irreplaceable value in exercise, then I am forced to exercise against my will.
Fifty bucks is 50 bucks, so I will continue to attend racquetball. Maybe next week some 10- year-olds will wander by after a tour of the Hood. Then I could pass up another intriguing discussion to learn yet another new thing: what it's like to be defeated by a small child.
