Picked this one up off of Fark, about students who can’t graduate until they prove they can swim 4 lengths of the pool, and I have to say I’m amazed.

Granted, I was raised by a man who spent four years in the Coast Guard, and who quickly taught me that learning to swim was critical to safety.

Despite a plethora of lessons when I was a kid, I also didn’t learn to swim myself until I was about 8 and my parents put a pool in the back yard. (Motivator!) I didn’t learn how to dive until I was about 13 and I’m not sure I could swim properly for four lengths myself.

But there are so many situations where knowing how to swim is critical here in the States. Too many pools, ponds, oceans, boats, etc.

If you don’t know how to swim, I urge you to learn how — especially if you plan to have kids of your own — you don’t want to be the helpless person standing on the shore while someone you love is in trouble.

And I applaud MIT and other universities for maintaining this graduation requirement.