Uni students suggest changes to the fitness program

In a recent survey, Uni students expressed that they want to see some changes within the PE department, specifically, in the fitness program. While 71.1% of students agreed that the Uni PE program did bring positive benefits to their health, 75.4% of students believed that changes should be made to the Uni fitness program.

Fitness class is required every other day of physical education; in class, students mainly run around the track with exercises in between laps. For the past couple of years, there have been changes made to the program; an addition of a new sport and a new fitness app.

Students agreed fitness did help them even if it was tiring. One student wrote in the survey, “As a senior, I remember hating fitness every day of my life during sophomore year, but it’s trained my body to sustain itself and it ended up being worth it.”

The most popular response from students when asked about what changes should be made to the program, was the suggestion of no fitness testing for active athletes. Many student-athletes asked about the importance of the tests, saying, “Athletes should be able to complete the fitness test earlier and go to study hall or not have to do fitness testing at all.”

34% of those responses said the fitness program should pay more attention to aspects of “fitness” other than running.

Tracy Li, a subbie, says in an interview, “to include more versatility I think we should learn more exercises, maybe even begin starting weights earlier than junior year since running does become a little repetitive.”

Some requests were about the workouts and program, others were about physically modifying the track because of various problems. The track where students run is smaller than the average high school track; 15 laps equal a mile compared to 4 laps on standard high school tracks. Because the track is so repetitive, students suggested a larger track, possibly outdoors, that wouldn’t cause injuries.

While students wish for a new track, they understand the resources and planning it would take. Keshav Gandhi, a sophomore, says, “I think a new track would be a really good idea, but I understand why it’s still used since there are a lot of factors like lack of funding or other options.”