Regardless of one's college major, most states require every
undergraduate to enroll in physical education courses. In state universities, these are legislative
regulations, no exceptions. Actually,
only P.E. instructors cared; but, you know: the law is the law. Why else have
lawmakers? Administrators didn't care.
They just wanted forms filled in.
As the rules didn't say anything about what a P.E. class
had to be to pass muster, at Cal State San Francisco, John Haake and I signed
up for girls' archery.
We didn't have to change, or shower, or sprint to the
next class in the few minutes remaining. And if it rained, we didn't even have
to leave the library.
The targets were set up at the football field, a comfortable
walk from the main campus building. Neither of us was particularly
skilled. Big deal! Neither were any of the girls. And nobody cared, not even the
instructor. She told us she was grading
us on showing up and on helping each other. BUT we had to retrieve our own
arrows.
The best part about the practices was that between every
volley of arrowing, we all sauntered to
the targets and back together. Girls do talk a lot.
After a while, we were actually hitting the targets
oftener than not. One girl made a bulls
eye once. She had the instructor sign the target. She took it to her sorority.
I hadn't planned it, but all through high school and
college, I only went to a regular P.E. class a total of three semesters -- in tenth
grade, once Cal. State San Jose, and once at Cal State S.F.
At Berkeley they let you play noontime basketball. Several fellows made themselves a team (of
sorts) that would do. At San Jose they insisted that, if you were going to
teach, you had to play on a squad of some sort three times a week. One semester of that qualified for P.E.
credits.
I wasn't cheating my body, and, clearly, nobody cared. My sister, who followed me to S.F., asked me
if the archery girls had to wear “those awful gym outfits.” When I said no, she said she would sign up
for the next semester. I don't remember
if she did or not. Probably not, because she began dating a basketball player. The
basketball court was nowhere near the football field.
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