<p>Can someone explain this?</p>
<p>Tbone</p>
<p>Simple swim test for CC'ers required to graduate. Can be done anytime over the 4 years.</p>
<p>Not required for engineers, as they're smart enough to build themselves boats if NYC floods.</p>
<p>or simply take beginners swimming p.e. class......or be on the swim team...</p>
<p>What's the purpose of the swim test? I mean the initial one when this policy was launched.</p>
<p>probably the same reason cornell and MIT have one....why that is i dont know but its not really all that unusual</p>
<p>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, ^^</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>More practical reason would be during WW2, when the US made all students graduating from college be able to swim.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>What's wrong with wearing a speedo?</p>
<p>Nobody else wants to see it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What's wrong with wearing a speedo?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"What's wrong with wearing a speedo?"
Just don't wear one, please.</p>
<p>is it even in penn?</p>
<p>no, Columbia's swim test is not in penn - neither the school nor indeed the state.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>LoL @ engineers building their own boat/catapult.</p>
<p>It makes more sense for, say Cornell, which is surrounded by and cut into a strange shape by numerous gorges, and they have had many students in the past die from swimming in the gorges :/ But I'd imagine that at Columbia, you'd have a much higher chance of drowning in an unlifeguarded pool, which would just be stupid, than of drowning if the island floods....lol.</p>
<p>funny you mention that... I was just watching a program on the History Channel (that really shows my geekiness) on how a big hurricane that hits New York, Katrina-style, is inevitable (especially since the last one was in 1938) and how it would flood like all of Brooklyn and half of Manhattan.</p>
<p>I fail to see how swimming the equivalent of 10 city blocks before passing out of exhaustion would help someone.</p>
<p>Ahaha my school district was anal about the swim unit (probably the reason why I would never consider a swim team in my life ever.) I swam laps for entire gym classes---no breaks. Consequently, Columbia's swim test doesn't sound too horrible.</p>
<p>oh no guys i can't swim i float. do they make exceptions for heavier people? the fat makes it so i cannot submerge myself underwater. oh no this is really bad i might have to reconsider</p>