Imagine a student sitting hunched over, furiously typing on their laptop in a dimly lit bedroom littered with coffee cups, food wrappers, loose assignment sheets and textbooks scattered on the bed.
This train wreck of a scene has unfortunately belonged to your average college student at some point in their life.
Sometimes the stresses of college life can negatively affect one’s health, which is why physical education should be a general education requirement at colleges.
For many students, it is that time of the semester when school, work and personal life are colliding together more than cars on the 101 freeway on a rainy day.
A simple method students rarely use to handle stress is to take a break and exercise. According to the American Psychological Association, this break can be as little as 20 minutes.
While some students have the privilege of owning a gym membership, there is no need for an expensive monthly subscription.
Students simply need to enroll in one physical education class. The Pierce class catalog lists includes classes that teach the basics of yoga, karate, volleyball and golf skills – to name a few.
With a wide variety of classes that endorse physical activity, a majority of students are not aware of how enrolling in these classes can reduce stress.
This proposed physical education requirement could even benefit students new to the world of college academia. Especially in one’s first semesters at Pierce, the pressure of classes, essays, Canvas discussion boards, group projects and finding a parking spot in Parking Lot Seven can lead students to face the side effects of stress.
If students were mandated to take at least one physical education class, they have the opportunity to meet and bond with a group of colorful people.
General education classes have a funny way of putting unlikely friends together. This is because they have a mix of students that are not isolated by the major they chose.
Now, imagine getting this odd mix of people to do something as elementary as playing in a sport together. This is something almost reminiscent of a pickup basketball game at a park.
If physical education classes were a general education requirement, they would only benefit college students. These classes would be cheaper than an outside gym membership, can help reduce stress, promote physical fitness and allow students to interact with their peers in a different classroom environment.
Making these courses mandatory will open students up to a healthier lifestyle that can help them in all aspects of their life.
