New Jersey school requires freshmen to go on 55-mile hike

Article excerpt

St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, has made a grueling five-day, 55-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail mandatory for all freshmen, a tradition spanning more than five decades. The school's commitment to this endurance test reflects a deliberate educational philosophy, though the article does not fully elaborate on the stated rationale. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman explores the program's origins and significance in this segment, treating the requirement as a distinctive institutional feature worth examining rather than as controversial or punitive.