Setting Bible teaching as a priority, the Biola's early curriculum paid considerably less attention to physical health. In 1942, Dean Samuel Sutherland made controversial decision: P.E. would be mandatory.
Under the headline “Regulated Physical Exercise,” a September 18, 1942 edition of The Chimes lists the details of the recreational periods, which would take place weekday afternoons and all day on Saturday.
The consequences of skipping out on P.E. were strict:
“This form of discipline has included the election of a court on each floor…The duty of this group is to report infractions, not maintain discipline.”
More serious offenders might face “a higher court of appeal” which was designated to “handle more flagrant cases.”
Gym-less in downtown L.A., P.E. class marked a significant hassle. Students filed into school buses, heading to nearby Elysian park for activities ranging from softball to horseshoes.
The first few outings drew student criticism. But after awhile, the criticism subsided.
Biolans saw P.E. as a witnessing opportunity. In an October 1942 edition of the newspaper, a few accounts of P.E. evangelism were published:
“In the line of physical exercise, already there have been opportunities for witnessing,” the story reads. “One girl, who herself is a convert from Catholicism, was privileged to give the plan of salvation to some Mexican children.”