The Elm Student Newspaper
Students raise issues with LFC, Cain
Katie Bierzonski
Students have complaints about some
equipment in the LFC's weight room.
Photograph by Lauren McLoughlin, Elm photographer.
Many Washington College students want to see the Lifetime Fitness Center and Cain Gymnasium open longer -- specifically, early mornings during the week, and both earlier and later hours on weekends.
Many students expressed an interest in working out in the mornings before class, but the weight room does not open before 11:45 a.m. Since many students have afternoon classes, along with late afternoon extracurricular activities, the LFC's hours are not available to them. One student suggested that the gym be kept open from 7 a.m. 11 p.m., in order to allow people to work out before classes, and also late at night if they have a busy day.
Weekend hours for the gym are another concern for students. Transfer student Aimee Caldwell-George asked for longer hours on the weekend because she works during the day.
"The facilities that we are talking about must try to meet the needs of faculty, staff and students," commented Athletic Director Bryan Matthews. "To juggle these needs, we have to consider our hours of operation, and the facilities themselves, along with the issues of staffing, budget constraints, and actual usage."
Matthews continued, "We must try to achieve balance, in seeing if enough people use the facilities to makes it worthwhile to staff it. One option to consider is changing the schedule during the cold winter months, since LFC and Cain gym use increases during this time. We have adjusted this schedule in the past and are open to listening to students' needs."
There are also complaints about the equipment available in the LFC's weight room. Senior crew team member John Leekley asked for Hammer Strength equipment. "There's plenty of room in the weight room to put more machines in there, and the stuff we have is totally out of date. An upgrade would be really nice."
Linda Hooks added, "I think the gym should have another treadmill because sometimes I have to wait so long to use it. It would be more beneficial because the indoor track is so cold."
In addition, many students agree that the current equipment needs repair.
"The weight machines aren't smooth at all," said Karl Denney. "They need repairs and also need to be oiled.""We do have a repair contract with a company that comes four times a year," Matthews explained. "They do a complete overhaul of the equipment as well as regular maintenance.
"However," he continued, "we cannot compete with a health club's facilities, as we have the difficult task of meeting the needs of students as well as faculty and staff, from strength training to cardiovascular health."
Other students complained that the LFC track surface caused shin splints when they ran long distances on it, among concerns that it is unsafe in other ways as well.
"If you're walking around the LFC track, it's impossible to see the lobby most of the time. Someone could very easily be attacked, and it's a situation so easily remedied by getting new, see-through curtains" according to Laura Sauter
The athletic department is willing to try other options with a consensus from the students that change is needed. Matthews also added that he is aware of the demand for the treadmills, which are heavily used, and is working on procuring more for the weight room.
For intramurals, though, there may not be as much of a problem. "From the perspective of the Intramural Department, the Cain and LFC Facilities do the job quite nicely," commented Andy Wisk, the new director of intramurals at Washington College. "IM Soccer is served very well by the field house in the LFC. I anticipate that the other activities that we have planned will work just as well in these facilities."
In addition to the LFC and Cain Gymnasium, the Casey Swim Center has an open swim from 7-9 a.m., noon-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. every weekday, and is also open from 1-5 p.m. on the weekends. The LFC is open from noon to 5:00 p.m. on the weekends. Until the weather gets too cold, the outdoor track is open to everyone from early morning until dusk.
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