With Augustana College requiring two physical education classes to be taken to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, many students are left with a desire for a larger variety of gym classes they can take.
Different courses are offered throughout the year, and they vary depending on the term. Winter term offers a skiing course as a possible class for credit, and for fall term, there is a scuba diving training option. There are seasonal classes for each term that may be geared towards students’ interests. However, many of the same classes are offered throughout the year. For example, there are quite a few dance classes and physical conditioning classes that are available.
Many students are happy that the PE credit is required, as it allows them to learn outside of the traditional classroom. Olivia Zienty, a sophomore, is one of these students. “It’s good that we are required to take two mandatory gym classes, because it makes us want to stay active in college besides us just studying all the time. It would be nice to take soccer or yoga for the PE credit,” says Zienty.
The variety of courses is convenient for students who may not want to undertake strenuous physical activity. For example, students can choose to take a course such as badminton or bowling for their PE credit. They also have the chance to get a credit from a sport they may have played in high school but aren’t playing in college. Not only are they learning and getting credit for it, they are able to partake in an activity that they may not have been able to otherwise while in college.
Club sports are also an option to serve as PE credit. Clubs such as cheerleading, basketball, tennis and many more all have the same credit as a normal gym class.
Some students, such as senior James Hartnett, feel that club sports are able to bring out variety in the PE requirement.
“I don’t think there should be an addition of gym classes, because there are plenty of club sports that students can join,” says Hartnett.
Besides club sports, varsity sports are also viable options to take as gym credits. Many of Augustana students are involved in various sports organizations on campus. These sports organizations can also count as the gym credit for students.
There are many other options to receive the required gym credit, but it all depends if the students are open to the different options.
Zienty has other interest based gym classes she would like to take for the gym credit other than what is currently offered. She thinks that more variety would be very useful.
“An addition to the physical education (offering) would be nice,” says Zienty. This is a sentiment shared by many students.
