Every year, ninth grade students at White Plains High School in Westchester, New York, are required to attend a class where they go in the pool every other day to learn swimming and kayaking. This class serves as their gym class and is called aquatics.

There are three levels in aquatics: one, two and three. Each level is separated in the pool. The first level is in the shallow end for students who do not know how to swim; the second level is in the middle of the pool for intermediate swimmers; and the third level is in the deep end for advanced swimmers. The class’s purpose is to help students improve their swimming skills and to ensure the pool is used throughout the day. Otherwise, the cost of maintaining it would outweigh the benefits.

I believe aquatics should not be mandatory for all students. These classes can be problematic due to student insecurities, the risk of illness, unsanitary conditions and the fact that they are unnecessary for experienced swimmers.

Requiring adolescent teens to put on a bathing suit and get into a pool in front of their peers is a vulnerable position to put them in. Early teens, who are just starting puberty, can be insecure and uncomfortable with their bodies. They may find aquatics difficult to attend. These are also freshmen who are entering a new environment and adjusting to high school life. Aquatics can increase their anxiety levels, making an already stressful time even more overwhelming. Additionally, less experienced swimmers may feel embarrassed when they are excluded from more enjoyable activities like diving.

It’s also unhealthy for teens to go into a pool one period and spend the rest of the day with wet hair. People often cough and sneeze in the pool, which spreads illness.

Ninth grader Christina Herten said, “I have aquatics first period, and I have thick, long hair, so all day my hair is wet and cold. When I got home one of the cold winter days, I developed a fever.” Christina is just one of many students who have become ill after attending aquatics.

Even though the pool is cleaned at the beginning and end of each day, by eighth or ninth period it becomes visibly unclean. Hair ties, hair products, chewed gum and strands of hair can often be seen floating on the surface. The water is also dirty from sweat, makeup and a lack of deodorant among some students.

One student, Neve Aikman, said, “I have eighth period aquatics, but one time I had to make up a class and went first period. There is a drastic difference in the water cleanliness when you compare first and eighth period.” It is not healthy for students to be exposed to that level of uncleanliness during the school day.

Many students are already strong swimmers and are familiar with aquatics curriculum. Attending these classes is a waste of time for them, especially when they could be in a course that teaches them something new. Some students in aquatics are also on the school swim team and practice in the pool after school, making these classes even more unnecessary for them.

There is a strong argument for making aquatics classes optional. If enough students, faculty and parents support the proposal to make aquatics and elective rather than a mandatory course, we can make this change happen.