On Abs of Steel and Supple Minds

In the role of Harvard Law student Elle Woods, the insightful Reese Witherspoon once said, “Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you happy! And happy people just don’t kill their husbands.” If Harvard seeks a simple solution to not only obviate on-campus homicides but also to promote student well-being, it need look no further. The answer is something that makes even the least nostalgic of us hearken back to the good ‘ole days of junior high: PE. Harvard should create a physical education department, and institute a mandatory physical education graduation requirement.

This would not be an avant-garde move, but an attempt to keep up with the times. Universities as varied as Stanford, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Wellesley already have PE departments. Nor would a PE department and a requirement be redundant: Harvard’s current Department of Athletics offers only a limited number of recreational classes. Currently, students are not required to participate in any activity—but research shows that they should be.

Right now, Americans aren’t getting enough exercise. According to Fed Stats, a government statistical web site, 66.3 percent of American adults over 20 are overweight or obese. Just as Harvard, recognizing the AIDS epidemic, encourages students to practice safe sex, it should also recognize an obesity epidemic, and fight the “Freshman 15”—which may well be where the epidemic starts.

Physical activity leads to both physical and mental health, and, as a college bent on producing successful world citizens, Harvard can’t afford to ignore the body-mind connection. An August 2006 study in the journal “Stress & Health” found, in college students, a significant negative relationship between physical activity and perceived hassles/anxiety. As Wellesley College PE department chair Bridget Belgiovine said, “You’ve got to have an active body in order to continue to keep your mind rejuvenated.” Harvard students, whose day-to-day environment is intensely competitive, could all use a little stress relief.

Harvard should be commended for encouraging physical activity by offering recreational classes at the MAC and for organizing club and IM sports. But in the words of Annie R. Levenson ’09, “Sometimes when I have a lot of work, it’s hard to rationalize going running to myself. It feels like procrastination, even though I know that it ultimately helps me.” That a student should have such a concern illustrates a college-wide lack of perspective. In a balanced life, academics are not more important than personal health. By institutionalizing physical activity, Harvard can send its students a clear message: exercise matters.

College-funded PE classes would offer all students high-quality exercise opportunities. Currently, students who seek to participate in classes more exotic or more athletically intensive than those offered in the MAC are forced to use often expensive outside venues. Students who are not inspired by current offerings and who cannot afford outside classes may opt out of exercise entirely. In contrast, a PE department could organize a diverse range of classes with well-trained instructors and high quality facilities—and make finding, enrolling in, and attending classes hassle-free.

Students should be required to take two half-courses of PE in their freshman or sophomore years, much like they are required to take Expos. Varsity athletes could earn one half-course of credit for each year of participation in their sport, and club sport athletes could earn up to but not more than one half-course of credit. Class offerings could include anything from “Rock Body Boot camp,” a class offered at Stanford University, to “Scuba Rescue Diving,” one of the University of California at Santa Cruz’s offerings, to “African Dance,” a Wellesley class.

This new department need not be a mammoth undertaking. The internal bureaucratic structure would include a department chair, a department chair’s assistant, a PE registrar, full time teacher-coaches, and part-time “guest” instructors. Although Harvard does not publicize faculty salaries, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported in 2002 that the average salary for a TA at a private university was $64,149. Assume a faculty of 50 (slightly less than three times as many as are hired to teach Wellesley’s 2,300 undergraduates) paid at this rate and faculty salary costs would total $3,207,450. Startup costs would add to this figure, but the administrative costs of running a successful PE department would also probably be roughly three times as much as the annual $15,000 it takes to run Wellesley’s department. So, rounding up to account for inevitable unforseen expenses, a PE department could likely function on an annual budget of $3,300,000—a fairly steep pricetag, but well within the University’s capabilities.

Admittedly, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ budget is currently in the red and it’s not looking to add new expenses. However, with the recent release of the general education report and its affirmation of “liberal education that aims to develop self and citizen,” it is the perfect time to recognize the importance of a holistic education and to allocate funds accordingly. A PE department could also look into independent funding sources, such as the “Friends Of…” alumni organizations that help fund varsity athletics.

If Harvard wants its graduates to be active thinkers, citizens and leaders, it must first teach students the value of being active. It’s time for Harvard to listen to Reese Witherspoon, endorse exercise, and offer PE.

Justine R. Lescroart ’09 is a Romance languages and literature concentrator in Quincy House.