Starting this year, all freshmen are required to take PE regardless of whether they are in a sport, and sports have been raised from 2.5 credits to 5.0. According to Athletic Director Kim Cave, the decision to make freshman PE mandatory was made in compliance with state education codes.

“There’s no opting out because we’re supposed to be doing [classes] in the first place,” Cave said.

In addition to making PE mandatory for students, the new policy also changed PE from a quarter-long class to a semester-long class. Because the length and credits of PE were doubled, the credits of sports were doubled as well to maintain consistency.

The new policies have had mixed reviews from students. The doubling of sports credits has been met with enthusiasm from students, and according to Cave, many students are “pretty excited that it counts as five credits.”

Some students feel that increasing the credits from school sports was the right decision because it better reflects the work athletes must dedicate to their sport.

“I do wish that all my sports would have counted for a semester because I feel like they’re worth a semester,” senior Hayley Stevens said.

However, many students have also expressed discontent with the policy that makes freshman PE mandatory.

“I’m so mad,” freshman Mia Venuti said. She is in cross-country, and she plans to join soccer and track. “Part of my reason for doing three sports this year was so that I don’t have to do PE.”