I attended high school in rural Oklahoma, where Friday night football games were attended religiously. I went to every home game and followed our women's basketball team to the state championship. While most of my friends in high school were athletes, I was never athletically inclined. I met my high school physical education requirement with a joke of a PE class. We walked four laps and played a half-hearted game of volleyball everyday. As a Prospective First Year, the fact that varsity athletics wasn't big here was just fine with me. I was tired of my community's reverence for athletic competition. But ever more, I was tired of wellness being defined narrowly and solely by varsity athletics.

We all come to Macalester seeking different experiences. For many students, athletic competition is an integral part of their life at Macalester. The articles that appeared last week raise important questions with respect to how Macalester values (or does not value) competitive athletics. I understand the authors' frustrations and believe that they merit serious consideration. However, James Stewart's article reminded me of high school (which was of course unpleasant), and presented a limited definition of wellness. The assertion made by Stewart and by Koller that smokers (of both cigarettes and marijuana) are over-represented at Macalester is misleading. According to information from Winton Health Services, Macalester students smoke both substances at about the national average for college students (surprise!). In addition, Stewart asserts that Macalester's culture does not value physical effort. Perhaps he thinks so because he is operating with a limited definition of "physical effort."

My step aerobics class is so popular that there is barely room for all the people who would like to participate (and many students have dropped out—turned off by the overcrowded, under-ventilated classroom). Many of my friends take advantage of the yoga and kick boxing classes. Haitian Dance, offered every fall, is in such demand that only juniors and seniors are able to register. Over 40 people danced in the Fall Concert. The outing club is about to embark on spring break backpacking trips. All of these activities are popular with students and should be considered part of what Macalester defines as wellness. If Stewart's argument is that our competitive athletics should be improved because our campus lacks wellness, then he does not even consider the many forms that wellness can take and his argument is at best simplistic. We should all consider more deeply how varsity athletics fits into the overall picture of wellness and into Macalester's culture as a whole. With the current budget crunch and the opportunity presented with the new wellness complex design, it is important that students think seriously about how they want to define physical fitness at Macalester.