Boston College is in the middle of a project that will not only require its students to swipe in before entering its workout facility, but also swipe their IDs before starting any cardiovascular machines. School officials will monitor how many students come into the building and what devices receive the most use so they can best accommodate visitors.

But BC administrators have also suggested the information may be used to monitor students on a more personal level. Leaders will have access to each exerciser’s workout information — how often they come to the gym, how long they work out for while there and what machines they use — to determine if someone could be an exercise bulimic. If the school thinks that someone shows signs of having this disorder, it could seek the person out and suggest they receive treatment.

College students are usually 18 to 22 years old — they are adults. Exercising is personal, and a college is not responsible for suggesting to its students that they change their behaviors because their actions may harm them.

When students swipe into dining halls, they do not have to swipe again before biting into a fattening cheeseburger. No school official monitors how many cigarettes students buy on their ID cards. The same should apply to college workout facilities.

When students graduate, no one will be standing over them to look out for what their best interests are. With children, it is different. Children have their parents to watch out for them and keep them healthy. But adults are allowed to make their own choices, even if they are detrimental to their health. College is the place where people learn how to handle this freedom from their parents; they don’t need the school to fill that role.

Sometimes, those choices are out of a person’s control, though — as in the case of exercise bulimia. Like most eating disorders, people who suffer from exercise bulimia obsess about working out, according to a 1996 CNN article. The disorder is also linked to depression, and it requires therapy to get over.

A school should not be involved with such a personal problem. It is up to those close to the person to make sure a compulsive exerciser receives help. They will be more intoned to the person’s character than data could ever be.

A person with this disorder is likely to be in a fragile emotional state, and schools should not risk making people feel worse about themselves for the slight possibility that the student will listen to advice. With such private matters, it is best for colleges to know their place.