With commencement rapidly approaching, seniors who have yet to pass their swim test requirement are donning their bathing suits and heading to the pool in order to graduate on time.
As the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill becomes the most recent school to do away with the requirement, Dartmouth is one of the few remaining institutions in the United States that requires students to pass a swimming test in order to receive an undergraduate degree. Other institutions that have a similar requirement in place include Columbia University, Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Notre Dame University and the service academies.
According to Roger Demment, associate director of Athletics for Physical Education and Recreational Sports, the requirement that students complete a 50-yard swim test originated in the first half of the 20th century as part of the war effort to increase men's level of physical fitness.
"In my mind it's an important life skill to have," Demment said in support of the test.
The drowning of a Tuck Business Bridge Program student while attempting to swim across the Connecticut River this past summer was the most recent water-related tragedy to strike the Dartmouth community. However, this incident is not directly correlated to Dartmouth's continued swim test requirement, according to Demment.
Although there is no known current movement to abolish the requirement at Dartmouth, the test has recently come under review at other schools. This year's graduating class at UNC-CH will be the final group of students forced to complete the test.
Demment noted that the Athletic Department conducts an annual review of all its programs, including the swim test, but there are no plans in place at the moment to make any changes to the requirement.
"The swim test goes hand in hand with where we're located and who we are," Demment said.
Approximately 75 to 80 percent of students complete the test prior to their Dartmouth Outing Club freshman trip, according to Demment.
Some members of the Class of 2006 who participated in a DOC Freshman Trip did not complete this requirement, however, as the start of one section coincided with the one year anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy and students attended a memorial service in place of taking the test.
Students who are unable to swim for 50 yards must enroll in a beginning swim class. In addition, students who cannot complete the test for medical reasons are eligible to receive a medical waiver.
Demment noted that in his nearly 10 years overseeing the program, he has never seen a situation where a student was unable to find some sort of accommodation in order to properly fulfill the graduation requirement.
Daniel Rich '06 still needs to take the test prior to his graduation next month and said he supports the requirement. Yet, he also pointed out the wide variation in ability of students who have not yet passed the test.
"I have two other friends who also haven't fulfilled the requirement yet. One nearly drowned as a youngster and now has a fear of water, and the other has actually already taken a scuba diving P.E. course as well as a lifeguarding P.E. course, but neither of these count toward his swimming requirement," Rich said.
