By Emilia Benton

Last week, the University unveiled plans to renovate the Recreation Center. And frankly, it’s about time. With all of the improvements that the finished product is going to have, along with the fact that the renovations won’t begin until November, it’s unlikely that it will be complete before I graduate next spring. However, I suppose I should at least be glad that it won’t be completely shut down in the meantime.

Although it is currently very lacking in quality, I have been an avid user of the Recreation Center since my freshman year (mainly because for me, it’s much easier to consistently work out than to consistently eat healthier). Many of the upcoming changes, such as adding more windows and widening the staircases, don’t really seem to correspond with what actually needs improvement in the facility.

The main aspect of the Recreation Center that needs improvement is the size of its rooms and the amount of machines it has, both in the cardio and weight-training rooms. The cardio room has 11 elliptical trainers, six treadmills, seven bikes, four rowing machines and five stair climbers, which clearly isn’t enough to serve 13,000 students, as well as faculty and alumni (all of which are currently permitted to use the facility). I have found that unless I go work out before class in the mornings (or snag an elliptical machine right when the center opens during the weekends), I may as well not even bother trying to beat the crowds that fill the cramped rooms in the afternoon or evening hours, particularly when physical fitness classes are held at the Center. Several commuting students have commented that these inconveniences have led them to purchase outside gym memberships.

I also don’t think I have ever been to the Recreation Center on a day where a machine has not been out-of-order. In fact, the Recreation Center closes for two weeks during winter break every year for “maintenance purposes,” yet, when it re-opens, the same machines still have “out of order” notices taped on them. Additionally, while the cardio room has two televisions, one of them hasn’t had working sound in over a year, making boredom hard to overcome while working out.

The Recreation Center’s weekend hours could stand to be changed, too. It opens at 11 a.m. during the weekend, and there are always several people standing in line outside of it at this time, proving that plenty of people would likely take advantage of earlier opening hours.

In the meantime while the Recreation Center is being renovated, I would recommend students looking for a better workout take some of the many for-credit physical fitness classes offered at the University. For my major, I am allowed to take up to eight credits in physical fitness classes; I have so far taken yoga, pilates and aerobics dance, each worth two credits. These classes (which range from sports such as volleyball and tennis, to courses in gymnastics and weight training), are easy, and they could potentially boost your G.P.A. so take advantage of them! At the same time, it would probably be easier on many students if these courses offered a “drop in” option for students not taking them for credit on a given semester. The Physical Fitness Center (the building where most of these classes are held) also has an indoor Olympic-sized pool available to the University community.

Many students are probably in agreement that it would have been more productive on the University’s part to have gotten started on this “project” sooner; hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy some of the Recreation Center’s improvements while I am still here.

Emilia Benton is a junior print journalism student. You may e-mail her at [email protected].