Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-04-05
Physical Education a
Most Valuable Course
At Colby College

given dt SoiUy SoAAC6O ~
members Of the mems and women's
divisions is physical education which
Is required four years Of the women
of the college and two of the men
before. they are allowed to graduate.
In recent years all college author
tiles have seen the absolute necess-
ity Of courses in physical education
for the upbuilding of the bodies OF
the college students, many of whom
would allow their brain work to so
overbalance any physical exercise as
to severely injure their health. AS
a result of the Investigations OF
prominent medical men, colleges all
over the world have adopted courses
in physical training which are head
ed by men and women of wide ex-
perience which teach students the
fundamentals of the care of the body
through physical exertion.
At Colby college, c. Harry Ed
wards is at the head of this most
vital department and for the last
three years he has been working I'M
tiringly to raise the standards of his
department to a par with many of
the other institutions throughout the
country. When Mr.. Edwards came
to Colby the department was run in
rather a slip-shod fashion with prac-
tically no work required of the stu
dents before they would be allowed
to graduate. In the fall of 1921 Mr..
Edwards came to Colby from the
Springfield Y. M. c. A. college, one
of the highest ranking institutions of
its kind in the country.
In the three years that he has been
in Waterville, Mr.. Edwards has put
the department on it's feet and has
made the physical training compul-
sorry to the college men for at least
two years. In connection with this
work Mr.. Edwards has been made
director of athletics at Colby and
has striven hard to put across teams
in assisting all of the varsity coaches
and taking general charge of the ath-
letic department..
Members of the freshman and
sophomore classes are required to
report in the college gymnasium
three hours a week and are sent
through strenuous exercises under
excellent supervision with the
thought of body upbuilding always
foremost. Now there are four sep
arate divisions Of the work with each
section having anywhere from 35 to
so men. The freshmen are given
elementary work while the second
year classes sare given harder and
more strenuous work.
In the women's division. the physi-
cal education is under the direction
of Miss Corrine Van Norman, who
came to Colby two years ago to fill
the place of Mrs. Bertha Andrews,
who resigned in the spring of 1922.
The work in this department is we'll
organized and carried on from late
fall until early spring each year. In
the early part of the fall and late
spring. TIL, members of the women's
division participate in all varieties
Of games such as basketball, base
ball. field hockey, archery and volley
ball. Midwinter events are held in
skating and other winter sports.
The work of the women's division
differs from that of the mems in that
the women are required to take the
physical education work throughout
their college course in order to re-
ceive credit for their graduation.
The work is carefully laid out and a
definite program followed through
the four years so that the graduates
from Colby college are we'll fitted to
start their life work in more ways
than merely intellectually. The
members of the freshman and soph-
omore classes are required to at
tend their classes in physical train
ing three hours a week while the
two upper classes receive only two
hours of instruction weekly.
Courses in hygiene and physiology
are offered to both divisions and are
required of the freshmen of both
classes. Advanced courses of value
in hygiene and sanitation as well as
physiology are offered by Prof. Ed
wards to upperclassmen and these
courses have proved to be very pop
ular with the mems division.