UNC gives its final swim test to seniors

This is a rather odd graduation requirement...

Next year, it will no longer be requirement

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

On a recent Friday morning, a line of bathing-suit clad students stood beside a campus swimming pool, waiting to jump in.

They had come to convince the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that they were worthy of a college degree - which they were not, in UNC's eyes, until they could swim 50 yards and tread water for five minutes.

For many, it was an annoying inconvenience, for others a moment of pride in conquering their fear of water. But it also was a small slice of collegiate history. This was the last swim-test day at one of the last remaining colleges that require it.

Following a wide-ranging curriculum review, this year's seniors are the last at UNC who must pass the test to graduate.