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Equality gets a workout over VMI fitness
standard;
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
October 3, 1996,
When the Virginia Military Institute begins admitting
women next fall, male and female cadets will take the same physical fitness
test. But
the experts disagree about whether that's fair.
The Virginia Military Institute sparked a controversy
recently by insisting that female cadets be measured against the same
physical
standards as male cadets.
The school (VMI) agreed to end its 157-year all-male
tradition after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that as a public institution,
it can't
exclude women. It now takes the position that it will
treat women exactly the same as it does men - both in physical fitness
standards and
haircuts.
VMI also requires all its cadets to have their heads
shaved.
Whether that's fair depends on whom you ask. But there
is little dispute that many women, especially those who train, are perfectly
capable of passing the VMI physical test.
First of all, VMI says meeting the standards is not a
prerequisite to enroll or graduate for men or, starting next fall when the
first women
enroll, for women. The test consists of five pull-ups,
60 sit-ups in two minutes and a 1.5 mile run in 12 minutes.
The school won't expel anyone who can't complete the
test, but the tests account for 25 percent of a student's physical education
grade.
Other comparable military institutions expect less,
physically, from women than from men, especially in activities requiring
upper body
strength.
Paul Davis, an exercise physiologist in Virginia who
testified on behalf of VMI, said that criticizing VMI for insisting on
identical standards
is nonsense.
"If you bang on the door, saying, 'I want to come in,
just give me a shot,' and the court says, 'Come in,' then you shouldn't say,
'I want
those standards changed,' " said Davis.
Socialized pull-ups
What percentage of young women could meet those
standards?
"With the deplorable state of physical education in this
country, probably 90 percent of young women and 50 percent of young men
would
fail," he said. "But with training, I think 30 percent
of young women could pass it."
On the other side of the debate are Dr. Christine
Haycock, a leading figure in sports medicine, and Ava Walker, associate
director of
research at the University of Minnesota's Laboratory of
Physiological Hygiene.
They said VMI should have eased some requirements for
women, following the example of the armed service academies.
"VMI is just being smart aleck," said Haycock, 72, a
semiretired New Jersey surgery professor, one-time Olympic fencing prospect,
and
former fast-pitch softball pitcher.
She and Walker agreed with Davis on only one point -
that about 30 percent of women, with some training, could pass the VMI test.
"Not some 5-1, thin little girl, she couldn't do it,"
said Haycock. "But a girl with some muscle on her."
Walker said she doesn't think that it is fair to require
women cadets to do pull-ups because society doesn't encourage most girls and
young
women to develop upper body strength, so far fewer of
them do.
"Women certainly are capable of doing pull-ups if they
are socialized to it," Walker said. "I have seen female gymnasts who could
knock
off 50 pull-ups."
Walker, who is in her early 40s and describes herself as
somewhat over ideal weight, said that even at her age she thinks she could
pass
the test.
"It think it would take me about five or six weeks to
train to do the five pull-ups," she said. "I'm sure I could do the rest."
It is possible that the fitness standards are more of an
issue to outsiders than to the women who might want to enter VMI.
Mike Strickler, VMI spokesman, said none of women
expected to apply for the first coed VMI class has complained about the
standards.
Vindictiveness or equality?
But the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of
Virginia and the National Organization for Women (NOW) have complained. The
ACLU said, "True equality means making some allowances
that recognize the differences in the sexes." And NOW, focusing on the
requirement for shaved heads, said VMI is "just being
vindictive."
Will the requirements - if they are left in place -
prevent women from entering VMI?
"I would think that any girl motivated enough to want to
go to VMI would probably be able to pass," Haycock said.
She said the pull-ups would be the most difficult
standard for women.
"When I was that age I could have done it," Haycock
said. "I was 5-7 and weighed 157. I was a softball pitcher, and I had good
upper
body strength."
Dr. Arthur Leon, head of the University of Minnesota's
Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene, who knew Haycock in the service,
recalls
seeing Haycock "strike out the side" in an Army softball
game after relieving a male pitcher.
Haycock said that VMI could benefit from having women in
its classes.
"When girls first went to West Point they were required,
like the men, to wear combat boots for field training," she said. "Most
developed
severe blisters, got shin splints and were miserable.
But it wasn't just the girls. A lot of fellows had the same problems."
West Point decided to switch all cadets to sports shoes.
"That proved to be a big boon - not just for the girls,"
Haycock said. "It decreased the number of injuries for men as well. So they
were all
glad they switched."
How should a young woman train to pass the running and
bent-knee sit-up requirements?
Jog or run and do sit-ups most days of the week,
starting slowly, and then add distance for running and repetitions on
push-ups, experts
say.
Walker said that there are exercise machines that can
help with pull-ups.
"You adjust them so you start lifting 50 percent of your
body, doing 15 repetitions. Do it most days, then add a little more weight
each
week until you are lifting your entire weight."
Haycock said high school girls probably can get help
from football coaches or trainers if their football training rooms have
weight rooms
with the proper equipment.
Otherwise, she suggests setting up a pull-up bar in the
home.
Use a step stool to adjust how far the pull-up must be,
she said. Start with the bar a few inches above the chin and do 10 or 12
pull-ups.
As it becomes easier to do them, lengthen the distance
of the pull-up, by starting from a lower spot on the stool, she said.
Eventually a young woman, if she has the potential,
should be able to do at least the five pull-ups required by VMI, she said.
- Any questions, suggestions or comments? Call 673-9083
and leave a message with your name and phone number for Star Tribune
medical writer Gordon Slovut.
Physical standards for military academies and the armed
services
Each of the institutions listed below has devised
different physical requirements for recruits and students on the basis of
their own historical
data and standards.
Virginia Military Institute
This is the only military institution that has identical
physical standards for men and women. Students do not need to meet these
requirements for acceptance, only for graduation. The
physical test represents 25 percent of their grade.
Men Women
Pull-ups 5 5
Sit-ups in 60 60
2 minutes
1.5 mile run 12:00 min. 12:00
U.S. Air Force Academy
Applicants for the U.S. Air Force Academy must be able
to complete these physical requirements for acceptance into the academy. In
order to graduate, they must be able to complete a more
rigorous test by their junior year, or they are out.
For acceptance:
Men Women
Pull-ups: 4 1
Sit-ups in
2 minutes: 49 46
Push-ups: 24 9
300-yard 65 seconds 79 seconds.
Shuttle run
To graduate:
Men Women
Pull-ups: 7 1
Sit-ups in
2 minutes: 58 60 in 2 min.
Push-ups: 35 18
600 yard 2:03 min. 2:23 min.
run:
Long jump: 7 ft. 5 ft. 9 inches.
#With training, women found to be better at sit-ups.
U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Students must pass this physical fitness test twice a
year. They are graded on their physical ability, and without sufficient
proficiency will fail
the military requirements for graduation.
Men Women
Push-ups in 42 18
2 minutes:
Sit-ups in 52 50
2 minutes:
2 mile run 15:54 min. 18:54 min.
U.S. Army
Recruits between the ages of 17 and 21 must be able to
complete this series of physical events in order to complete basic training.
Older
recruits have different physical standards.
Men Women
Push-ups in 42 18
2 min.
Sit-ups in 52 50
2 min.
2 mile run 15:54 18:54
U.S. Marine Corp
Recruits must achieve these minimums once during
training.
Men Women
Pull-ups 3-20 Hang on bar for 16 sec.
Sit-ups 40 in 2 min. 22 in one min.
