Parker Dims Prospects for PT Reduction

Nathaniel A. Parker, Director of Physical Training, dispelled hopes last night that working freshmen might be relieved of physical training requirements.

Parker said that "physical training is and should be considered a part of requirements, and, like courses, should be fulfilled."

He spoke in reaction to the Student Council's newly published report on freshman physical training, which recommended that "the Physical Training minimal requirements for freshmen who have part-time jobs of nine or more hours per week be reduced."

Disrupted Afternoons

The report stated that the average freshman spends more than an hour three times a week in acquiring a "p.t." credit, often disrupting an entire afternoon, and "full afternoons are usually filled with more worthwhile activities."

"We realize that the freshman year is one of difficult adjustment to a new and varied environment for the great majority of students," the report maintained, and recognized that budgeting time is a problem.

The Council members issuing the report, John S. Tuschman '58 and Lewis Olliver '51, pointed out that students in ROTC, Band, and on the rifle team are allowed reductions in physical training credits at the present time. This should establish suitable precedent for a reduction for working students, the committee suggested.

Parker stated that the Department of Athletics had considered such proposals before, but had refused them for similar reasons. He asserted that exceptions had been made for students with "extreme difficulties," after consultation with the Freshman Dean,