Muscles and the Man

Harvard men, with or without degrees, will be of little use in our armed forces if they have flat feet, concave chests, or atrophied muscles occasioned by too many hours in Widener. The deplorable physical condition in which many of our supposedly hale and hearty youths find themselves after four years of college will hardly lead to stirring victories in the hills of the Bataan Peninsula or in the sultry jungles of Malaya. It was once hoped that all students would avail themselves of the excellent athletic facilities at Harvard. However, such has usually not been the case, and once Freshmen have passed on to the privileged and indifferent status of upperclassmen, they have assumed the right of letting their bodies quietly disintegrate. Now the Hygiene Department finds that the average undergraduate, no matter how well armed he is mentally, is in no condition to stand the rigors of modern warfare. The healthy efficiency of the German army has been greatly implemented by the use of mass calisthenics, and while we may not want so regimented a program, some form of conditioning exercises appear essential.

The University is at present considering extending compulsory athletics beyond Freshman year, as a defense measure on a plane with any curricular adjustments. It is important that the student accept it as such, for medical authorities recognize that the psychological dislocation caused by compulsion could more than counterbalance all beneficial effects. If he goes to exercise with rebellion in his soul, nothing will have been gained by the program, and the work ahead will be harder than ever.