Money is hard to come by for school Gym
The gym lacks in both money and equipment
Editorial Staff
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Opinion
The hardest part about working out is committing yourself to the idea of getting off your bum and making your way to the gym. The gym should be a safe haven, away from stress and drama, and a place to release your aggression by way of grunts, panting, and sweat. However, we've noticed that at NDNU, students are usually more frustrated at the gym than away from it.
There is a need for proper gym equipment and a useable workout space. NDNU is largely an athletic institution, and the university recruits large numbers of athletes. The school also has just as large a figure of non-athlete students, staff, and faculty who take interest in the gym. Or at least those of whom might take interest in the gym if more sufficient equipment and space could be provided.
As mentioned in article in this issue, the gym weight room has not been updated by way of equipment since its first conversion into a weight room in 2003. Much of the equipment has accumulated rust, broken, or doesn't run smoothly anymore due to age and lack of maintenance. Some machines with pulley systems are rougher on the body than they are beneficial because of their dilapidated state. The room doesn't have a uniform set of free weights, and the leather sitting surfaces on equipment is oftentimes cracked or worn through to the underlying wood before they are replaced. The roof of the gym also leaks in at least two places and affects practice for certain teams and open gym time. Those are the problems.
How can NDNU attempt to fix them? As a key component in the athletics program, could the gym not be properly maintained with allocated funds from the program? Campus Life encompasses any service that the students of NDNU might partake in, including the gym. Could that department's
share of the Student Activity's Fee every NDNU student contributes to as part of their overall bill somehow go toward the restoration of the gym or some of its equipment? Or once every few years, could NDNU simply allocate funds from its operating budget to provide a more cohesive and productive athletic workout environment?
About 400 students currently live on campus. The workout room can fit approximately 12-15 students working out at the same time. There are only two treadmills, two stair-climbers, two electric bicycles and only one of many other kinds of equipment. That means less than four percent of the on-campus population can be in the weight room at any one time, and that would be a
tight fit in itself. A thought on many students' minds are for the expansion of the facilities, which would be a huge endeavor on part of the university. However, with retention and recruitment continuing to go steadily upward, plans might have to be put into action in order to accommodate the growing numbers.
There is a need for proper gym equipment and a useable workout space. NDNU is largely an athletic institution, and the university recruits large numbers of athletes. The school also has just as large a figure of non-athlete students, staff, and faculty who take interest in the gym. Or at least those of whom might take interest in the gym if more sufficient equipment and space could be provided.
As mentioned in article in this issue, the gym weight room has not been updated by way of equipment since its first conversion into a weight room in 2003. Much of the equipment has accumulated rust, broken, or doesn't run smoothly anymore due to age and lack of maintenance. Some machines with pulley systems are rougher on the body than they are beneficial because of their dilapidated state. The room doesn't have a uniform set of free weights, and the leather sitting surfaces on equipment is oftentimes cracked or worn through to the underlying wood before they are replaced. The roof of the gym also leaks in at least two places and affects practice for certain teams and open gym time. Those are the problems.
How can NDNU attempt to fix them? As a key component in the athletics program, could the gym not be properly maintained with allocated funds from the program? Campus Life encompasses any service that the students of NDNU might partake in, including the gym. Could that department's
share of the Student Activity's Fee every NDNU student contributes to as part of their overall bill somehow go toward the restoration of the gym or some of its equipment? Or once every few years, could NDNU simply allocate funds from its operating budget to provide a more cohesive and productive athletic workout environment?
About 400 students currently live on campus. The workout room can fit approximately 12-15 students working out at the same time. There are only two treadmills, two stair-climbers, two electric bicycles and only one of many other kinds of equipment. That means less than four percent of the on-campus population can be in the weight room at any one time, and that would be a
tight fit in itself. A thought on many students' minds are for the expansion of the facilities, which would be a huge endeavor on part of the university. However, with retention and recruitment continuing to go steadily upward, plans might have to be put into action in order to accommodate the growing numbers.
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