LPAP courses need wide-ranging change

By Thresher Editorial Board     11/12/24 9:57pm

Picture this: You’re a senior. After four years of churning out every major requirement and elective known to man, you’re ready to graduate. You eagerly submit your spring semester courses in Esther (who asked for a redesign, by the way?), only to be stopped in your tracks by the last, looming task on your plate: the LPAP.

And, of course, every other senior has run into the same issue as you.

Popular lifetime physical activity program classes, like yoga, pilates and scuba diving, often see over 50 seniors register, but can only hold 20 each.

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Although classes like tai chi and mental training have merit, the relative course demands speak for themselves, with a paltry 8 and 14 seniors respectively. “Lifetime” physical activity programs should teach skills that are applicable and accessible throughout people’s lives — even beyond Rice. 

We need to offer more LPAP courses that cater to the interests of students: Offering two sections of pilates is a great start, but needs to be extended to other areas, as well. We would like to see course offerings on biking or rock climbing, or bring back the Outdoor Education LPAP offered fall 2022. 

LPAPs are also exclusively taught by professional instructors. Students have experiences that extend far beyond academics, especially at this university, whether it be a decade of professional dance training, nationally recognized golf records or professional meditation-yoga certifications. Student-led ROPE courses show that students are trusted to educate and keep their peers safe.

It seems like a wasted opportunity for our peers to not host classes that showcase their talents through LPAP courses, similar to how they do with college courses. Allowing peer-led LPAP courses would not only increase availability, but also further foster a sense of community and leadership among students without increasing recreation center costs.

Furthermore, the grading systems in many LPAP courses feel unnecessarily harsh. While attendance should be encouraged, many LPAPs are overly strict with their requirements, without exceptions for illness or other academic commitments. Additionally, some of these classes, which should be easy As with regular attendance, contain final exams graded by incredibly particular instructors who dock points for (literally) a toe being out of line — we’re writing from personal experience, if you can tell.

Among the countless grades that we deal with, we certainly do not need to further burden ourselves with an ‘A’ grade in an LPAP course. Surely, a satisfactory/unsatisfactory system would suffice in this case, with a focus on participation and effort.

As registration continues for the spring semester, LPAP courses that work for and are actively worked on by students would leave them gaining far more from this part of their Rice journey. 

Editor’s Note: Thresher editorials are collectively written by the members of the Thresher’s editorial board. Current members include Riya Misra, Spring Chenjp, Maria Morkas, Sarah Knowlton, Sammy Baek, Shruti Patankar, Juliana Lightsey, Arman Saxena and Kathleen Ortiz.

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