Tbone07

Can someone explain this?

Tbone

s snack

Simple swim test for CC'ers required to graduate. Can be done anytime over the 4 years.

Not required for engineers, as they're smart enough to build themselves boats if NYC floods.

Skraylor

or simply take beginners swimming p.e. class......or be on the swim team...

pearfire

What's the purpose of the swim test? I mean the initial one when this policy was launched.

Skraylor

probably the same reason cornell and MIT have one....why that is i dont know but its not really all that unusual

pearfire

This reminds me of someting unpleasant. In France, all the guys have to wear speedos to their swim classes. I refused to particapate of course, ^^

karot

Lots of speculation is around the origins. Some people will tell you that a very wealthy guy had his kid die by drowning so to prevent it from happening, he gave endowments to schools as long as they mandated that the students pass a swim test.

More practical reason would be during WW2, when the US made all students graduating from college be able to swim.

I'ts really no big deal. Just a lap around the pool, using any stroke you'd like (you can just dog paddle too) without stopping. No time limit. Or, like skyralor said, you can take a swim lesson that the school will pay for.

nogardder

What's wrong with wearing a speedo?

karot

Nobody else wants to see it.

Columbia2002

Unless you swim/dive competitively and need to worry about drag, guys don't have and business wearing what's slightly less revealing than thong underwear.

pearfire

"What's wrong with wearing a speedo?"
Just don't wear one, please.

race64

is it even in penn?

Denzera

no, Columbia's swim test is not in penn - neither the school nor indeed the state.

stacyx09

when I went on the Columbia tour, the guide explained it as "Since Columbia is located on an island, one of the presidents long ago decided that Columbia grads should know how to swim in case something goes wrong and they need to get off the island. Engineering students don't, though, because they petitioned that they'd be able to build a catapult or a boat or something to get themselves off the island."

undisclosed

Just take a swimming class. I'm not the best swimmer there is (doggy paddles for the win, baby!) so I decided to take the class this semester instead. It's pretty fun (I took the introduction class even though i know the basics because i didn't want to worry about...well, learning). It's great cardio, makes you tight in all the right places and you don't have to worry about the swimming test. Yay you.