The HPE and HPEY classes threatened for cancellation earlier this year have found a new home and will be available for students for the fall 2008 semester as part of the Continuing Education and Outreach (CEO) Department, Provost Mary Ann Swain confirmed in an e-mail to Student Association Vice President for Academic Affairs Matt Landau on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

‘This is just a huge win for everyone, a huge win for students in that we’re gaining additional courses instead of having some taken away. I think this is a great win for everyone,’ said Landau, who has been campaigning to save the classes for months.

Landau found out about plans to change the Department of Health and Physical Education’s curriculum in the middle of November, and met with various faculty members, the Student Affairs department, the Recreational department and eventually the Provost to try to fight the decision. He also contacted political leaders like Mayor Matt Ryan to gain local support.

‘I just felt that the change that the HPE department wanted to make made no sense, that these were very popular courses that many students wanted,’ Landau said. ‘It was something that was worth fighting for.’

A special meeting of the Harpur College Council, which is made up of one-third students and two-thirds faculty and administration, was called for the first time in its 32-year history in late November.

The council passed a resolution during that meeting calling for a reinstatement of the classes and a possible move to a new department.

‘After that vote there were more meetings with the administration,’ Landau said. ‘A lot of meetings.’

The compromise resulting from the meetings will allow for Campus Recreation Services to continue facilitating the classes by providing the instructors, facilities and equipment needed. The classes will then be offered through the CEO Department, so that students can continue to get credit for them.

‘I’m glad that Continuing Education is able to provide an avenue for our students to pursue some of their physical activity interests beyond those that will be made available by Campus Recreation Services or the Health and Physical Education department,’ said Joel Thirer, director of the Health, Physical Education and Athletics Department.

There was however never any intention to eliminate all activity classes, according to Binghamton University spokesperson Ryan Yarosh.

‘The HPE curriculum and the choices of classes were modified,’ Yarosh said. ‘The planned curriculum modification is going to offer students the opportunity to take both the wellness and activity component of the general education requirement in a single class, rather than making most students enroll in two separate classes.’

‘The intention is to make it easier to fulfill the general education requirement,’ he added.

Both students and the administration said they were satisfied with the result.

‘When HPE made the decision to eliminate classes we tried to find a new academic home to house these courses,’ said Clyde Robinson, director of Campus Recreational Services. ‘We were successful in getting a new home through Continuing Education.’

Robinson said student outcry about elimination of PE classes was one of the reasons his department took such a proactive approach in saving them.

‘These classes fit our mission of what Campus Recreational Services is,’ he said. ‘They provide a lifelong learning experience for students and meet our wellness component, so we feel that our students should have the opportunity to be exposed to that, particularly the Outdoor Pursuits program.’

According to Landau, the relationship between the administration and the students is an important campus issue.

‘I don’t think that the administration is just working to find ways to make us angry,’ Landau said. ‘I think it’s important for the administration to talk with the Student Association leader very frequently and if that person has a good relationship with the administration I think that it can make things much easier.’

Students seemed happy with the decision.

‘I think that the classes are an enriching part of the PE curriculum and it makes the requirements more enjoyable to fulfill when you’re allowed to do something you really like,’ said Mary Davis, a BU student majoring in geological sciences and environmental studies, who took an HPEY class in backpacking last fall.

‘I know some students who made the decision to come to Binghamton partly because these classes were offered so I’m really glad they’re going to stay,’ she said.