COMPULSORY ATHLETICS FOR FRESHMEN

The program for compulsory physical training for Freshmen which has just been announced by the Faculty and now awaits final action by the Board of Governors, cannot fail to meet the approval of those who are interested in securing a higher physical standard among college men. That there is an urgent need for a different system of such training, in which undergraduates must participate, has been conclusively shown by the records of military service examinations throughout the United States.

A number of years of experimentation with the "laissez faire" system of athletics has proved that only a few men benefit from active participation. It seems impossible to change the habits of men except by some form of compulsion. Those who go out for athletics during their Freshman year will generally continue the practice throughout their undergraduate lives, but those who do not are rarely if ever induced to do so by any measure short of compulsion. Hence, if some form of exercise is enforced upon Freshmen it is probable that they will continue the habit thus formed during the rest of the time they are in college.

Some objection will be raised on this compulsory feature of the plan, but a far-sighted man will find sufficient justification in the physical gains to be secured. When a man enters college it is by no means certain that he has reached the mature state of judgment at which he will unerringly choose the things best for his present and future welfare. The College recognizes this by directing his life to a considerable degree during the Freshman year. If this is required for his ultimate good in regard to studies and mode of life, it is even more necessary in regard to physical training. This is, after all, the basis upon which future success in life must be founded.

The plan which the Faculty has announced very wisely endeavors to obtain the desired result by a minimum of compulsion and a maximum of willing co-operation. The use of sports as a medium of exercise lends much attractiveness to what otherwise might prove an irksome task. The three hours of physical training required each week will not be a mere burden to Freshmen, but will amply repay them both mentally and physically. This fact the Freshmen should recognize, to the exclusion of the idea that it is "compulsory." In short, when finally approved by the Board of Governors, the introduction of compulsory physical training will represent a great step forward in the service which the University renders to its undergraduates.