Recent data shows that students who regularly work out or engage in physical activity report having significantly more confidence, lower rates of anxiety and depression, increased rates of happiness, and even higher GPAs than those who don’t frequent the gym. How does the average UChicago student feel about this statistic, and how do their perspectives stack up against data from other colleges? At the Maroon, we endeavored to find out.
For many students, college is the first time they are living without their parents and have complete freedom to set their own health and wellness habits.
In response to such a huge transition, some will cling to junk food and procrastinate until 4 a.m. every night, while others will take college by the horns, getting involved with social groups, eating and sleeping well, excelling in the classroom, and hitting the gym. Yet the UChicago academic environment can complicate just how much time is left over for the gym.
It is no question that students at UChicago experience intense academic rigor within the pressure-cooker environment of the quarter system. In fact, UChicago was ranked second on Business Insider’s list of “the top 50 colleges where students work the hardest.” All of this work means that UChicago students likely have less free time than those studying at other colleges for health, wellness, and working out.
For instance, Fareen Dhuka, a rising fourth-year neuroscience major and visual arts minor, expressed this concern when reflecting on her freshman year in which she became too consumed with school. “I remember freshman year I was so focused on grades and the pre-med grind that I barely made time for anything else, and that made me completely burned out by spring quarter.”
In truth, the demanding atmosphere makes UChicago the perfect breeding ground for a student to be bogged down and have limited time for self care, exercise, or wellness. “I do know many students here with a terrible work-life balance who, if possible, could stand to benefit from the grounding power of exercise,” David Spitz (S.B. ‘24) said. “A lot of common health problems come from something off in sleep, diet, or exercise.”
Spitz’s comments are also backed by recent data. For instance, the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) Spring 2023 national survey of over 55,000 undergraduate students found that approximately 76 percent of students are experiencing moderate to serious psychological distress.
Yet, there is considerable evidence that physical activity for college students can lower stress and increase feel-good hormones. Harvard Health Publishing released a study reporting that one in ten adults in the US suffer from depression and that exercise is an effective treatment.
Luckily, UChicago students have adopted this effective practice of routine exercise to provide a relief for this stress.
Arlie Jackson, a rising fourth-year computer science major, came in knowing that working out was a non-negotiable for her, leading her to join the club crew team. “I know what works for me,” she told the Maroon. “An important part of that is being outside and active.”
Further, Jackson remarked, “Rowing is a very social sport and it gets me outside on the water nearly every day. It’s exercise, being outdoors, and good friends all in one—it’s done a lot for my wellbeing the past few years.”
Similarly, Dhuka chose to prioritize healthier lifestyle habits after a stressful first year at UChicago. “It has been really important to me to make time for active activities I enjoy, like lifting, dancing, and studio art. I’ve been much more relaxed as a person since making that change.”
Fortunately, this trend towards exercise appears to extend to the greater UChicago student body as well.
Eitan Fischer, a rising second-year business economics major and avid gym-goer, claimed that “a surprising amount of people work out at UChicago.”
Spitz, who works out five to six times per week, agreed, explaining, “In my eyes, Ratner and Crown are always full of people, and it looks like a ton of the students are taking advantage of the facilities.”
For Spitz, exercise in his daily routine is now habitual and he sees many positive effects. “Working out is such a habit at this point that I feel worse when I don’t do it. In regards to mental health, I can attest to the fact that weightlifting is a fantastic way to maintain a good mental balance.”
Additionally, Spitz, who suffers from chronic migraines that have made it hard for him to do certain types of exercises, has benefited from the controlled nature of weight lifting. “It is possible that weight lifting helped reduce the frequency and intensity of my migraines as well.”
Dhuka found her solution to staying active through dance and lifting “I still do both dancing and lifting at UChicago. I do the kathak style of dance with Apsara, the classical Indian dance group. We put on shows twice a year and practice very consistently during the weeks leading up to them.”
Even though the types of activities students at UChicago are engaging in to stay active vary from kathak dance to intramural soccer and everything in between, the value of exercise to the well-being of students is indisputable.
One example backing the relationship of mental wellbeing and exercise was captured by a study at Purdue University that tracked the impact of a physical education class as opposed to a regular academic class on students. Christopher Slaten, an assistant professor in Purdue’s College of Education, compared 100 students enrolled in semester-long yoga or kickboxing classes with 100 students similar in gender, class year, and race who made no visits to the rec center.
Upon completion of the semester, Slaten found that the fitness-class students displayed lower stress levels, significantly higher confidence, increased levels of happiness, and even improvements in their grades. “Even previously strong students made gains,” he said.
Given the clear importance of exercise, some students feel that UChicago’s Core Curriculum, which does not integrate health and wellness into its syllabus, could benefit from incorporating more physical activity.
For instance, Fischer favored the idea of swapping out a movement class for one of the existing Core requirements. “People might not have gotten the opportunity to explore physical activity enough and, just like humanities or language is important, our physical well-being is just as, if not more, important.”
However, the support for these changes was not unanimous. “I can only imagine how goofy a group of UChicago students from a Sosc class would look when forced into a gymnasium to play field hockey or something. My gut says that this would not be a good idea,’’ Spitz said.
Jackson was also against this addition but for a different reason. “I don’t think that physical activity should be a part of the Core. A personal commitment is much more compelling than a requirement.”
“However, I would love to have electives that focus on physical activity, for example swimming or martial arts,” she added. “I recently took a modern dance class and really enjoyed it because all of class time was spent moving. I think students should have the opportunity to take classes where they aren’t just sitting all the time and learn skills that will be useful for the rest of their lives.”
Is it up to UChicago to facilitate and encourage exercise as something for students to explore more, like they do within the Core through the mandated bio, Civ, and Sosc sequences? Or is exercise a personal commitment, something that each person has to make time for on their own?
