Lincoln University, a historically black institution in Pennsylvania, doesn't have much in the way of a core curriculum. To graduate, you can take one year of foreign language or two courses in computer science ("Computers for Health Education" counts). They do make you take some intro survey sorts of courses in the humanities, but the science requirement is baggy and the math requirement for liberal arts majors is weak. But there is one area where the people at Lincoln won't compromise: body mass index.

Lincoln's core requirements includes "health & wellness." Everyone takes a course called "Dimensions of Wellness." And, according to the website, "freshmen will be tested for BMI & fitness; those who do not meet criteria take HPR 103." HPR 103 is an exercise course. And for a number of seniors, it's the one thing standing between them and graduation this spring.

More than two dozen seniors at Lincoln University, in Oxford, Pa., are in danger of not being able to graduate this spring -- not because they're under disciplinary probation or haven't fulfilled the requirements of their majors, but because they were obese as freshmen.

All had body mass index (BMI) scores above 30 -- the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' threshold for obesity -- when they arrived on campus in the fall of 2006, but none have taken college-sanctioned steps to show they've lost weight or at least tried. They're in the historically black university's first graduating class required to either have a BMI below 30 or to take "Fitness for Life," a one semester class that mixes exercise, nutritional instruction and discussion of the risks of obesity.

It might sound like a joke, or a violation of individual rights, but James L. DeBoy, chair of Lincoln's health, physical education and recreation department, said he sees it as his "professional responsibility to be honest and tell students they're not healthy."

Ninety-two students, 19 percent of the freshman class of 484 that entered three years ago, had BMIs of 30 or greater. While most of those students took the class or demonstrated to DeBoy's department that they had lost weight, about 25 have neither proven they've lost weight nor signed up for the class. DeBoy began notifying the students about their unfulfilled requirement earlier this month, spurring an article Wednesday in The Lincolnian, the university's weekly student newspaper.

Students interviewed for the story seemed upset by the requirement and, perhaps, a bit blindsided by it. "It's not up to Lincoln to tell me how much my BMI should be. I came here to get a degree and that's what the administration should be concerned with," said Lousie Kaddie, a sophomore.

Plus, the logic is totally faulty. BMI isn't a reliable index of health--if you are exceptionally fit, and you carry lots of muscle, you may test as overweight. And if you are underweight--perhaps even eating disordered--Lincoln's requirements do nothing for you. Then there is the question of the semester-long fitness course. American College Health Association president and director of student health at UVa James Turner says he's "never heard of something like this before" and that he doesn't know of any studies suggesting that a semester-long exercise class is "effective to help someone lose weight in the long term."

I'm a huge fitness nut. I exercise every day, and believe it's vital to everything from mood to sleep patterns to energy level to mental acuity to managing chronic pain to just being healthy. But I don't think colleges and universities should be in the business of creating phys ed requirements--particularly when that involves singling people out as Lincoln has done. Shouldn't it be enough to do some basic education about healthy lifestyle choices as part of the res life program, to back that up with healthy menu options in on-campus cafeterias, to support student-led clubs centered on sports and fitness--and then to get on with the business of education?

UPDATE 12/7: Lincoln has dropped the requirement.