1915 physical fitness standards: Do you measure up?
February 2nd, 2013 at 10:36 pm (Exercise, Health, History)
While scanning old newspapers for the library, I came across this Monrovia Daily News article from August 23, 1915. The University of California announced its standards for its incoming freshmen in terms of their physical fitness and abilities. But it’s more than being fit — the word “moral” appears throughout the article, and it is emphasized as if obvious that being physically fit leads to moral fiber as well. Wow!
At any rate, I was amused to discover that the *only* items on the list that I would be able to perform are two of the swimming ones: to swim 50 yards (note there is no time limit specified) and to dive from a height of five feet. The others are well beyond my physical ability.
On the other hand, if they had been imposed as requirements at some point, maybe I would have worked to achieve them!
So, do you measure up? Can you imagine if this were required of freshmen today?
