After Rodney gym closes, officials seek replacement

This semester the Rodney Fitness Center has been closed due to a lack of attendance and a decrease in the university's budget, causing students to find other places to exercise.

Interim associate director Barry Miller said the RFC had very low participation over the last several semesters, with an average of eight students an hour.

Miller  said the RFC wasn't up to the university's standards.

"It was too small to serve. It was not a comprehensive fitness center," he said.

Originally converted from a dining area in 1997, it was not only too small, but also did not meet the standards of the other fitness centers on campus, he said. The available capacity in Rodney was only about 25 to 30 students, compared to the 100 student capacity at the Hen House.

In addition to size problems, keeping the RFC running was costly. 

"Just to staff it costs between $4,000 and $5,000 a year," Miller said. "To upgrade all the equipment would also cost a lot of money.

Miller said the other fitness sites on campus, such as the Independence Fitness Center and the Harrington Fitness Center, have available capacity and are fully equipped with strength training and cardio equipment. Unlike Rodney, these locations were designed to be fitness centers and serve that purpose much better.

"The numbers have been poor for a long time. The argument was, how can we justify keeping it open? We are spending your money, and we believe the money would be spent better elsewhere," he said. "We do not want to duplicate services where we don't have to."

Although there is available capacity at the three fitness centers on campus, many students are still experiencing overcrowding and think keeping Rodney open would help space issues.

"The Carpenter Sports Building is really, really crowded. There was a line of ten people once," Freshman Nik Arun said. "Sometimes it's more convenient just to go for a run."

Miller said the overcrowding issue is situational.

"Everyone tries to work out at the same time, mostly from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.," he said. "If you only want to use one machine, you will have to wait. It all depends on the machine you want."As for the future of the empty space at Rodney, there are plans to convert it into something both useful and beneficial for the students.

Now that student government elections have concluded, the chosen representatives from both Rodney and Dickenson will form a student committee to decide the best replacement for RFC. However, they are heavily encouraging student opinion on the matter.

"A lounge or a game room, that would be cool," Freshman Christina Napolin said. "Some place you wouldn't need an access pass, and anyone could go."

Associate Director of Residence Life Jim Tweedy said some students have suggested a coffee shop, hoping that it could be student-run.

Other ideas have included another lounge area, an open room for aerobic classes and even a smoothie stand.

"A late night place to eat would be good," suggested Arun. "Especially since the dining hall always closes so early."

Although Tweedy does not believe there is adequate space in RFC for anything extravagant, he insisted the space could be made into something useful. 

"We are considering all the ideas that are coming in," he said. "But we still have to be cost-cautious. We certainly won't be doing any sort of renovations."