Lincoln University
Lincoln University, a historically black college in Pennsylvania, has been ramping up the enforcement of one of its more novel graduation requirements. This year, the University has been telling kids with a BMI of 30+, which qualifies as obese, that they have to take a “Fitness for Life” class. If they don’t, they won’t graduate.
There is a pretty solid argument for the school on this one: obesity can have some pretty serious health problems down the road, including diabetes, heart problems, and general social inconveniences, amongst others. Many students don’t come into college understanding too much about how to take care of themselves aside from what they’ve learned at home. As physical education programs are amongst the first to be cut by public school systems trying to make budget, it’s reasonable for the university to assume this may be the last chance to give students a little life-saving knowledge before they jet out into the world. Notably, this class was in the 2006 student handbook, so the graduating class should at least have had a chance to prepare or talk with their advisors about the extra coursework.
The students say otherwise.
- I didn’t come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education which, as a three time honor student, is something I have been doing quite well, despite the fact that I have a slightly high Body Mass Index.
This is from Tiana Lawson, a senior who will be graduating in May 2010. She makes a good point, and brings up the possibility of Lincoln’s discriminatory policy by noting that the class is only required for students who fall into the “obese” category.
So, what do you think? Obviously, schools can require – within reason – just about anything in order for a student to graduate. But, aren’t most with access to a snack machine and a couch at-risk for obesity? Can a case be made for weight discrimination when public health is on the line?
Posted by Tyler on December 8, 2009 at 10:00 am.
It’s fascinating to me that a university is attempting to tackle a problem like obesity in such a way. Obesity is a pretty real problem in the black community (http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=6456), so I guess this is the way that Lincoln’s working to be apart of the solution.
If they go through with implementing this program, I’d be interested to see how successful it is. Because ultimately, I think the drive to lose weight and get healthy does come from personal, intrinsic motivation…
I don’t understand how the university can try to stop students from graduating if they have weight “issues”. I mean, weight and school should be two separate things, in my opinion.