A healthy student body

The continuing expansion of the undergraduate student body creates the need to expand facilities as well. The University's heath and fitness services are one area showing the strains of growing use. Anyone who has ever been to Dillon Gym knows that there are often lines for equipment. It is clear that health and fitness services on campus need to be augmented. The University recognized this need some time ago, and the final report of the Task Force on Health and Well-Being, released in 2004, recommended among other things the physical expansion of facilities in Dillon Gym. Given the little progress that has been made on implementing this recommendation, however, this expansion is likely to remain unrealized for some time. In the interim, the University needs to consider other options to augment health and fitness services.

One option, which was recently suggested by the USG Senate, is the establishment of satellite gyms in the residential colleges. Much like there are game rooms and TV rooms, facilities could be established containing popular equipment, for example a treadmill and an elliptical machine. Students who only go to the gym to use such equipment would be much more likely to exercise in their residential colleges if these facilities existed, rather than walking to Dillon and facing the possibility of waiting in a long line. There is of course the risk that these machines might be vandalized, which is currently a problem with game equipment in many of the residential colleges. If, however, the University were to invest in such facilities, they would incur little additional cost by including security cameras as well. Cameras would insure that any vandals are caught and would discourage prospective vandals from disturbing the equipment.

The satellite gyms in the residential colleges can nonetheless be only a temporary solution to the high demand for health and fitness facilities on campus. The University must expedite as much as possible its plans to expand Dillon. There are indeed several tempting possibilities for doing so. The Stephens Fitness Center could be expanded into the area currently occupied by the temporary Dillon Court facilities, for example. For the time being, methods must be found to shorten lines at Dillon and ensure that all students' health and fitness needs are met.