Seniors scrambling to fulfill their physical education requirement by graduation can rest assure -- they are not alone.
Approximately 25 percent of Dartmouth students do not complete the required three terms of P.E. and the 50 yard swim test by their seventh residential term at Dartmouth.
A lack of time seems to be the largest contributor to some students' inability to complete the requirement.
"It just seems like other things are more important ... like work," said Teresa Knoedler '00, who skiied competitively at Dartmouth, but has yet to fulfill her requirement.
Shamit Bhartia '01, who hopes to finally complete P.E. this winter, also said he did not have enough time to finish his requirement. Bhartia complained that the time limit hindered his ability to complete the requirement and he added that more than one term of physical education is useless.
"I was an athlete coming in here," Elizabeth Huffman '00 said. "But I never bothered to fill out the [P.E. registration] card ... it was just pure laziness to tell you the honest truth."
However, some upperclassmen who have neglected to complete their requirement said they simply do not have an interest in the physical education program.
By the end of a term, people are exhausted and never feel like starting a P.E. class the next term, Maureen Buletti '00 said.
Buletti, who said she has started a "personal protest" and doesn't plan on completing the requirement, feels that "if you pay anything [in fines], you should get credit."
Even though most students are given the opportunity to pass the swim test during the first day of the Dartmouth Outing Club trips, many seniors still need to swim the 50 yards to graduate.
"I've been putting [the swim test] off 'til spring," said Alex Buzik '00, "My dad's an alum and he failed the swim test, so he's coming out and we're going to make it into a big thing."
There are only two consequences to late completion of the requirement.
Students are charged $50 per term until the requisite is fulfilled -- although that figure might change when the College responds later this term to the recommendations of the Fees and Fines Committee.
The final consequence is that if seniors put the requirement off long enough, they are not allowed to graduate.
Knoedler -- who also chairs the Student Assembly's administration and faculty relations committee -- agreed there should be a P.E. requirement, but doesn't understand the need for a time limit.
"I just see this as a part of the larger fines problem at the College," she said.
Roger Demment, associate director of athletics, defended the need for a time limit and argued that it is necessary to keep a "uniform progression" through the P.E. program.
The athletic department does not have enough resources, instructors, or space to accommodate students if they all wait and try to fulfill their requirement at the same time, he said.
Therefore, the department encourages students to finish the requirement early on in their Dartmouth careers and the $50 fine adds an extra incentive.
The athletic department estimates that educating one student in a term of P.E. costs the department $92. Charging a fine of $100 seemed excessive, so the department decided upon $50, Demment said.
The current fine system and the numbers of students who fail to complete the requirement on time were examined last year by the athletic department, Demment said.
Years ago, Demment said, the fine was closer to $250 dollars a term.
Still, many students see the fine as unreasonable.
"I have funded a new wing of the gym," Buletti said.
While many students have paid large fines, no one has yet failed to graduate during Demment's time at Dartmouth based solely on an incomplete P.E. requirement.
"We've found that if a student is deficient in P.E., they're usually deficient in other areas as well," he said.
