Our athletic system at Sarah Lawrence seemed at first to be quite ideal. Athletics are not compulsory, other than an hour’s outdoor exercise each day, which may take any form at all, walking, riding horseback, or even bicycling. Even this is elastic, and two hours one day and none for two days afterwards seems to suffice.
We have for exercise, besides the above-mentioned activities, archery, tennis, fencing, swimming, deck tennis, badminton, and occasional week-end hiking trips at Bear Mountain. With such a varied list of sports it seems unnecessary to ask for more. But the situation is this: We miss just terribly the association with others that hockey, basketball and such sports give. After all, these others are individual (except the hiking trips, which arc few and far between, and in which a small percentage participate; and the riding, which is only for those who like it, can ride, and are sufficiently allowanced by their families.
One can strike up some sort of an acquaintance with anyone one has the desire to, on the hockey field, but is this true of sports of the other type?
Ordinarily, association in class would give sufficient contact with one’s fellow students, but, with our once-a-week seminars. “Well, what can anyone do?”
And those of us who are used to such sports miss the glorious exercise and physical exertion, and the nice tired feeling that we won’t be able to enjoy for too many years, and might as well make use of while we can.
This piece was first published in Issue 2 of The Keynote, an early student journal, in December 1928.