Swim Test for College Graduation

[David77]

Many colleges required prospective graduates to pass a test in swimming before anyone could graduate.

Before women were admitted to Notre Dame in the early 70 ties, all the men prospective graduates took their swim test in the nude.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1628252/posts

[David77]

Many colleges required prospective graduates to pass a test in swimming before anyone could graduate.

Before women were admitted to Notre Dame in the early 70 ties, all the men prospective graduates took their swim test in the nude.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1628252/posts

[justnude]

This was also true for the University of Maryland. As an undergraduate we took swim lesons in the old Cole Field House pool. We were required to take class nude-only the teachers wore a suit.

[curmudgeon]

A little off topic, but this reminded me of a friend from high school who drowned in the lake his freshman year at Notre Dame in 1963. He couldn't swim and was trying to save someone else. Bless you, Joe!

[Trailscout]

Well, along with the swimming, looks like a little bit of self-confidence with one's body got taught too back in those days. It wasn't quite naturism, but pretty darn close.

I had swimming in college and it included a little bit of basic water rescue. It's a good thing to know. Probably should be mandatory.

[Rabid_Clam]

While in Viet Nam I was swimming with a couple friends and some local girls. We were hanging off a surf board just talking and having fun. The current slowly pulled us out quite a distance and several left the board to swim for shore. I was left alone clinging to the board with one of the local girls who could not swim. She lost her grip and all I saw was the top of her head from the eye brows up. She was perfectly still in the water and would have drown if I hadn't taken her and brought her to the board. She sputtered all kinds of sea water and after she got her breath back we made for shore. Is the only time I saved a life but was glad I had at least seen how it was done so I could do what I had to do at that time to save that one person.

[David77]

My highest praises to you, Clam.

[Florida Cracker]

When I attended college here in Florida back in the seventies, all students had to pass a swim test or take a semester long swim course (it counted as a phys. ed. credit. We did not swim nude, but everyone is at the test and for the class changed into swim suits in the locker room together. The test was pretty hard ... jump in, swim one hundred yards using an accepted swim stroke, swim on your back for twenty-five yards, and float motionless for one minute. With all the water we have here, it was a great idea to require swimming.
Florida Cracker

[KetchumMaine]

quote:

Originally posted by Florida Cracker:
When I attended college here in Florida back in the seventies, all students had to pass a swim test or take a semester long swim course (it counted as a phys. ed. credit. We did not swim nude, but everyone is at the test and for the class changed into swim suits in the locker room together. The test was pretty hard ... jump in, swim one hundred yards using an accepted swim stroke, swim on your back for twenty-five yards, and float motionless for one minute. With all the water we have here, it was a great idea to require swimming.
Florida Cracker

Yes, but with all of the GATORS you have there, swimming can be dangerous.

[Indy dude]

My father attended Notre Dame in the late 60s and indeed tells me about swimming in the buff. I will have to ask him about the student drowning in the early 60s and see what he has heard. I know that as a graduate of the ND class of 92 I heard nothing...but God Bless your friend, what he did was a couragous thing.

[Guiness]

Graduated from the University of North Carolina and was kind of sad to see them doing away with it but it was kind of random, you could have a 4.0 in Math Sciences but not graduate from college because you didn't pass the swim test.

It was very easy though.

[Florida Cracker]

At my college, you took the swim test as a beginning freshman. If you did not pass it, you had to take the swimming course and you had four years to learn how to swim. No one that I ever heard of was denied their degree because of it. I thought it a great idea.
Florida Cracker

[David77]

When I went to tne U.S. Naval Training Station (boot camp) at Great Lakes in Illinois in 1944, we each had to be able to swim and float before we could "graduate" from boot camp.

[Guiness]

At Carolina you had four years to pass. Lots of people put it off until close to graduation.

[foux003]

I also had to take a swim test in my freshman year at UNH. I was also a trained rescue diver, but failed my collage swim test. They said I splashed to much.