College removes swim requirement after allegations of racism

[BeatMan]

why would a college have a swim requirement for graduation?


Williams College recently removed its swim test from the list of graduation requirements due to controversy over its alleged racism.



In a meeting on May 11, a faculty board voted 103-30 in favor of removing the requirement due to fears of racial disparities, The Williams Record



The college is located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.



Williams College Diversity Advisory Research Team conducted a study regarding the swim test between 2013-2019, which found that 81% of students that took the college’s "beginner swim course" were “domestic students of color” while only 3% were domestic White students.



Students that fail the initial swim test must take the course to satisfy the college's requirement.



https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=19748

 

[Rightguide]

why would a college have a swim requirement for graduation?


Williams College recently removed its swim test from the list of graduation requirements due to controversy over its alleged racism.



In a meeting on May 11, a faculty board voted 103-30 in favor of removing the requirement due to fears of racial disparities, The Williams Record



The college is located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.



Williams College Diversity Advisory Research Team conducted a study regarding the swim test between 2013-2019, which found that 81% of students that took the college’s "beginner swim course" were “domestic students of color” while only 3% were domestic White students.



Students that fail the initial swim test must take the course to satisfy the college's requirement.



https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=19748

Because it has been discovered to be racist in design and function.

 

[YDB95]

why would a college have a swim requirement for graduation?

On most campuses that have it, there's a rumor to the effect that a student drowned decades ago and they don't want to let it happen again. I have no idea if it's true at Williams or anywhere else in particular.

 

[Biggs_Darklighter]

I'm always very surprised to hear about someone who cant swim. Its a basic survival tool. How the fuck you make it to college? Do you avoid water? Do bathtubs scare the fuck out of you? I mean seriously, learn to fucking swim.

 

[mayfly13]

I hate virtue signalling, but I'm gonna say this:

I highly suspect that swimming pools are places where sneers or looks of racism hurt the most.
You're half naked and feeling vulnerable, and what if some racist goes: "We're sharing the water with them!"
That DOES happen occasionally over here, with Arabs

If I were a Black mom, I wouldn't risk exposing my kid to that

 

[rockcasbah]

In Canada, you can’t even get admitted to a University without being able to hit the five hole from the high slot.

 

[rockcasbah]

I’d be interested in seeing the Minutes if the meeting that established the requirement for a swimming test and learn their reasons.

 

[mayfly13]

You guys never swam outside of leisure pools?
They triage swimmers: here's the beginners' lane, the medium skilled ones, the advanced lane.
Beginners are often the butt of a joke by assholes.

"81% of students that took the college’s "beginner swim course" were “domestic students of color” while only 3% were domestic White students."

Imagine how it looked with that College. Not good.
The organizers were morons, for not thinking things through

 

[mayfly13]

I'm sure there's more to the story.
And also imagine having a pool full of White swimmers, and then "Oh, here come the Blacks and Asians". They all go to lane no.2.
The whole setting could have been ok or ludicrous, depending on how the swimming schedules were made.

 

[rockcasbah]

Whatever they’re doing, they’re doing it right:

“The college has many prominent alumni, including 9 Pulitzer Prize winners, a Nobel PrizeLaureate, a Fields medalist, 3 chairmen of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, 14 billionaire alumni, 71 members of the United States Congress, 22 U.S. Governors, 4 U.S. Cabinet secretaries, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a President of the United States, 3 prime ministers, CEOs and founders of Fortune 500 companies, high-ranking U.S. diplomats, foreign central bankers, scholars in academia, literary and media figures, numerous Emmy, Oscar, and Grammy award winners, and professional athletes. Other notable alumni include 40 Rhodes Scholars[12][13] and 17 Marshall Scholarship winners.”

 

[rockcasbah]

Swimming is valuable!

I didn’t post their sports program record but its also pretty impressive.

 

[rockcasbah]

Doesn't sound like a bastion of MAGA Racism to me after having looked into them
past the particularly partisan pontification from an interested interest group...

I probably wouldnt have made a splash at Tuskeegee. So what?

“ you can bank somewhere else”

 

[LittleDixie]

why would a college have a swim requirement for graduation?

Because being able to swim is a basic human skill.

 

[rockcasbah]

I had my kids swimming before their 1st birthday because i live on the water.

Not sure it’s required for a university.

I like how its required for graduation, not admission. ($)

 

[rockcasbah]

They might be on the banks of something. Lot of water in the general area.

No, but Route 7 is nearby.

Their “look both ways” degree is top notch.

 

[oggbashan]

There is a campaign in the UK to get swimming lessons for all Junior school children because being able to swim is seen as a useful life skill. We still get people drowned every year who have never learned to swim. The real problem is access to swimming pools. Locally it took 40 years to get a swimming pool.

My Australian school now has TWO Olympic-sized pools and a diving pool. My children's various schools have one small pool with a three-foot depth between the six schools...

 

[groundagefielding]

That sounds so weird. Some people even can't swim. I don't think it's such an important part of not graduating a student because of it. Studying is a complicated process, and fortunately, students are allowed to use some sources as https://essays.studymoose.com/essay-maker to get help with any tasks. But How can they pass a test if they have hydrophobia for example?