For many students at WSU, getting a healthy amount of exercise is often difficult. While there are multiple recreational facilities located on campus, such as the UREC and Chinook Student Center, many students still struggle to fit exercise into their significantly busy schedules. However, WSU offers a wide range of PE Activity courses that provide guaranteed times for students to exercise, while also earning college credit, which is an excellent option for students trying to fit physical activity into their schedules in the upcoming semester.

“With college you’re busy with school and you have a lot of homework and extra stuff to do so I think people just forget about being healthy,” said Marcus Gray, a junior public relations major who enrolled in Jogging. Gray said he enjoyed the class and looked forward to exercising each time he attended class.

WSU offers a dynamic selection of different PE courses for students to enroll in. On top of standard conditioning and weight training options, students can enroll in classes that teach self-defense, yoga, various types of dance, scuba diving, swimming, various sports and even fly fishing. All these courses involve some degree of physical activity and exercise, while also teaching students new skills and health habits.

Since these are all graded university classes, students are motivated to attend and participate in order to maintain a solid grade.

“Under our PE organization, it’s mainly … graded on just participation, so sign-in sheets,” said Sukhdeep Mahein, a junior conditioning instructor and Division I athlete trainer.

Mahein said the grading scale of each PE class is based on the instructor, yet he grades his conditioning class purely based on attendance and participation, while also providing opportunities for students to make up class absences.

Without the presence of written tests and assignments, students are instead able to dedicate their full attention and effort to simply attending class and exercising well.

He said enrolling in a PE class is a good gateway to a healthier lifestyle for those who struggle with consistently getting proper exercise and has noticed that some of the students enrolled in his class have also begun exercising on their own time as well.

PE courses also often feature a relaxed, supportive environment for students as well. Tanner German, a junior business management major, is currently enrolled in Conditioning Swimming.

“[It’s] a really friendly environment … we made friends with the other guys in the class,” German said.

A typical class session would consist of a warm-up, swimming different sets of lengths and using different strokes, as well as playing pool games such as sharks and minnows on some days, he said.

Mahein said his class environment is laid back, yet he still pushes his students to work hard, as physical improvement requires students to exercise with intensity, which helps them to loosen up and become more social.

“They’re shy in the beginning, but when we started running around and doing activities, they opened up,” Mahein said.

PE courses and the exercise they require also serve as scheduled stress-relief sessions. If students are actively following directions and working out for the entirety of a class session, there is often little time to worry and stress about other classes and deadlines, giving students a mental break from the constant pressures and stresses that can sometimes prove overwhelming.

While PE courses may be an afterthought for most college students, the classes offered by WSU are meant to benefit students by providing scheduled exercise in a supportive, friendly environment, taught by instructors who genuinely care about student progress and development.

Any physical fitness class works a student physically, it also provides a mental break and stress relief through healthy exercise, all while providing college credit. Despite the growing concern for student health and safety, these classes could allow students to practice healthy lifestyles in the upcoming semester.

Anthony Torchia is a history major from Colbert, Wash. He can be contacted at 335-1140 or at [email protected]. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of The Daily Evergreen, its editors or publishers.