Ben Stock
Equinox Staff
Keene State has decided to start up an intramural sports program that students, and not just sports players, can be involved in at a less competitive level.
Sports have always been a huge part in human activity. Games and competition are a fundamental aspect to nature and drive that we must succeed and overcome. College sports and the participation in these events play a significant role in the college experience. I have the opinion that with this intramural program, more students will be able to apply themselves to these physical activities. It has been proven that physical activity improves both mental and physical health of anyone who participates in it.
According to the CDC, “Physical activity on brain health happen right after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition for children 6 to 13 years of age and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults.” Physical exercise also improves cardiovascular health and reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes. In the United States alone, the obesity rates are at an all-time high. “From 1999–2000 through 2017–2018, the prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.” (Obesity is a common, serious, and costly disease) (Pg.1)
With these high rates of obesity, I believe that increasing physical exercise will greatly improve the health and wellbeing of people. Young adults especially those in college, need to realize the importance that physical activity will have, not only will it improve your body but also their overall mental health. Many young college students do not allow themselves to become motivated in physical fitness when it is a near daily necessity. It is no surprise that the rise in popularity of social media and devices that take up a lot of people’s time during the day can cause many to avoid new experiences and even explorations in new activities, or even a build up of anxious stress from the constant distractions that we face in our modern web connected culture. The natural and primal ways of team based sports have seemed to become lost with many people who have become too caught up in their own distractions, and desperately need to feed this hunger.
I also believe that with intramurals establishing competition as well as new connections with the new groups is beneficial to many students at KSC. With campus activities becoming limited at the college due to recently updated COVID-19 restrictions, it is hard for students especially those who live on campus to really find something to involve themselves in. The lack of connections being made is having a tremendous toll on people who have been accustomed to these basic human expressions of physical endurance and the thirst for being competitive. Sport is a great and healthy alternative for individuals to participate in. I hope that many of the students at the college try and motivate themselves to involve themselves with these intramural activities and could really feel like a rewarding experience during these stressful times.
Ben Stock can be contacted at:
bstock@kscequinox.com
