It has always been my belief that everybody should find a sport they enjoy at a young age and continue with that sport for as long as possible. Being involved in a sport has taught me so many things, and it has provided discipline that extends throughout all trades of life. The physical aspect of being an athlete is important too, but it was never the main reason why I participated in athletics.

Nowadays, we are seeing both the obesity rate and the mortality rate from preventable deaths rise. It is obvious that we need to do something about this, and one place we need to start is on college campuses. The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences has a distribution requirement system that requires students to explore all fields of study, but the system is missing some sort of physical education requirement. Many schools I visited when applying to college required students to enroll in at least one semester of either a sport or an exercise course.

Northwestern is constantly stressing togetherness, and one benefit of an athletic credit would be that it would bring the student body closer. Sports force people to work together and act as a team, so this type of camaraderie would certainly facilitate this. If it were a freshman requirement, it would even help new students make friends and meet new people on campus right away.

Getting students active is one step toward raising our awareness of how we treat our bodies, and requiring a physical component would be a step in the right direction. It often happens that people who are overweight later in life developed negative habits when they were younger. Requiring a sport or exercise course would stress the fact that it is important to develop a positive attitude toward being active early in your life and that going out and getting exercise is not as terrifying as people think.

Furthermore, the distribution requirements are something the University — which encourages a liberal arts education amidst a research institution — is proud of. Including physical activity as part of the requirements would make NU’s approach even more well-rounded. An example of this is at Cornell University, where incoming freshmen are required to take and pass a swimming test before they are allowed to graduate, and if they cannot pass it, they have to enroll in a beginner’s swim class in place of the test. Not only does this stress the importance of exercise, it is also something Cornell is known for, something unique that expresses how much Cornell cares about creating a well-rounded student.

The requirement would not have to be tedious or tiresome. Courses can be created that fit all ranges of interest: Tennis, running, basketball, squash, football and Frisbee are just a few of the many options the University would have in designing a physical component to add to their requirements. By creating a wide range of options, it could be a fun start to a Northwestern freshman’s time here, and along with freshman seminars, it would be part of their requisite education that would send them along the right path for the rest of their time here.

If NU did create this requirement, I would be thrilled. The impact that sports have on your everyday life is something hard to replace with anything else, an impact that would make a huge difference in the personal and academic careers of NU students.

Trevor Stoimenoff is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].