Capitol Hill Blue Forums Science and Technology Health, Medicine & the healing Sciences College's too-fat-to-graduate rule under fire

Overweight won't graduate

IMO... Body size has nothing to do with whether or not someone has learned course content. We're talking apples and oranges (or apples and cheeseburgers maybe). Where does it end? Do students who smoke not graduate? Students who consume alcohol? Smoke pot? Get speeding tickets?

Plus...students pay to get an education in the field of their choice. The fact that it's a purchase should allow the buyer to retain a reasonable amount of control.

Any thoughts?

ALthough I agree wholeheartedly with the first statement above, I have concerns about the second. I remember two students coming into my office years ago. One was a basketball player and doing fine in the class I was teaching. His friend, however, was not, and the basetball player was there to argue his friend's case. The player's primary argument was that while he, as a basketball player, was on scholarship, his friend was paying for the class. I should, therefore, not be allowed "to fail him"?

Oh, where does it end. Should schools take the students' money and hand them diplomas? There are pluses. Such a plan would be a real time-saver. And think of the cost benefits of not having to pay teachers.

You say "reasonable," and I grant my example, IMHO, does not fall under that description. Could you give me a specific illustrating "a reasonable amount of control"?

And a brief thought on
Smoking? I don't see a problem. But alcohol, pot and speeding tickets? It seems to me that all three, under some circumstances, could in and of themselves create a problem.

Guess I'll amend my first statement. About the degree of fat being a stupid requirement for graduation, I agree with you wholeheartedly. But that's probably 'cause I was a slightly overweight college student who got good grades.

Reading the above for typos, etc., I realized I might have sounded far too sarcastic. I didn't mean to "dump on" your idea/position, but I do see problems in all sorts of directions.

In reading the article, I found that:

A.) The requirement is to take a class by graduation if one's body mass is in excess of 30. Nowhere does it state that students with a BMI of 30 won't graduate.

B.) The requirement was passed and put into effect in 2006 and applied to those who enrolled in 2006 or later.

C.) The author of the student newspaper article is a senior, presumably has known about the requirement for four years.


As it turns out, Lincoln University has bowed to the politically correct and dropped the class requirement. Too bad.

Now, if a student had a drinking problem, do you think requiring him or her to take a course on alcoholism would be wrong?

When I was in college, Physical Education was required by the California State University system to satisfy a general education requirement in order to graduate. I graduated from college in May 1993.

...there's nothing wrong with requiring students to be less "well-rounded" (literally!) and more physically fit.

I totally agree with you. Furthermore, it's none of the school's/government's business. This is a first step in the "Nanny State" telling us what to eat, how much, and eventually, when. And, I wouldn't be too surprised that if some day some corp/government entity provides you with a prepackaged food allotment that you just pop into the microwave or solar oven.

I see it as similar to buying a gym membership. If you use it effectively, you get positive results. If your intention is not self-improvement from the get-go...then spending the money makes no sense at all.

Some people will get their money's worth and some won't. But I expect no one at the health club will hold anything over anyone's head if they don't come in after the first two weeks.

The point of college is to get a focused education in a field of your choice. That's what you're paying for. (Or at least that's how I've understood it all these years.) IMO, all that should be expected of a student in order to graduate is that s/he submit the required materials (on time and well done) and pass the required exams. Not attendance in class, not participation in extracurricular activities and not a certain body shape or BMI.

The course can certainly be recommended or encouraged, but I don't agree with making it a requirement.

One other thought I have on this is...I doubt obesity stems from a lack of knowledge that over-eating or eating the wrong foods causes it...or from a dearth of water aerobics or not enough tai bo in one's day. My guess is, in a good number of cases, there are deep-seated insecurities that a 3-hour-a-week class that deals in superficialities won't reverse. And the humiliation it might cause might even exacerbate the root problem.

BTW, Martha...you didn't sound sarcastic at all. And that was an interesting take on why a student should pass. Somewhat creative, albeit unreasonable on the student's part.

It is not clear from the article whether this is a public or private school, although there is one line that implies a public support component. If the latter is true, the no student "pays for" their education, so that argument is gone.

Even if purely private, the students to which it applies knew going in about the policy. So where is the right to gripe now coming from?

Without knowing the course content, it seems premature to speculate about whether it is helpful or shaming.

Having said all that, I would much prefer such paternalistic policies to be strong recommendations rather than graduation requirements. And if it is a public institution, I think it entirely out of place.

It is (...or was) a requirement in the CSU system. No one complained. Then again, the requirement wasn't related to Body Mass Index, it was related to taking the class - two of them actually.

It's not going to kill anyone to take two PE classes in college. It might, however, literally kill someone to get their BMI under 30. That takes more effort depending on the severity of the obesity. A BMI over 30 classifies the person as morbidly obese.

I say if the requirement is only to take the PE classes and no conection to BMI, then fine, I think the BMI component is a bit none of your business.

Good points, Rick. "Physical Education" should be that.

From the last link: