Students looking for a non-physical class to fulfill their physical education requirement are in luck.
The Health Resources department at Dick's House will offer a new P.E. class this term called "The Dartmouth Experience," which is designed to help students cope with health-related issues.
The course will cover four topic areas: alcohol and drugs; stress management; nutrition and weight; and sexual experiences and relationships, said Ken Jones, associate director of physical education.
Jones said this offering reflects the changing nature of the P.E. requirement to include educational as well as fitness courses.
He said the P.E. requirement has evolved to include a focus on activities and lifestyles.
"The next step is wellness and an understanding of how wellness affects fitness," he said. "It seemed appropriate that we should have an offering along these lines."
The course will tell students where to go for help and to find out more about these issues, Jones said.
Janet Sims, assistant director for health service outreach, said the course will be offered as a P.E. class because it was too difficult to get it approved as an academic class and it is consistent with the P.E. program's new vision.
In college, "students are on their own for the first time and they are learning how to deal with feeding themselves and dealing with relationships and alcohol. It's a natural thing to give students this kind of information," Sims said.
The P.E. department offered a similar course last fall but significantly revised the curriculum based on student feedback. The largest change will include an expanded unit on sexuality and relationships.
The course will consist of lectures, exercises, discussions and two hour-long meetings each week.
Different faculty members will teach the course's different units. Gabrielle Lucke, coordinator of health education programs, will teach the section on alcohol along with Jessica Roberts '97.
Lucke said she will work with a national group called On-Campus Talking About Alcohol to emphasize "low risk drinking choices." But she said her goal is to promote awareness rather than abstinence.
The other faculty members include College nutritionist Marcia Herrin, Psychiatry Professor Mark Reed, Women's Health Program Director Janice Sundas and Coordinator of Sexual Assault and Awareness Programs Heather Earle.
