Students complain about crowded weight room facility

By Michael McIntyre
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

It seems that with each passing academic year, admissions attempts to recruit more and more students, without the proper accommodations. Having enrollment up is not a problem. But as the student body grows, so should the campus facilities.

Lack of dorm space is not the only problem plaguing the ever-expanding Norwich University. Classrooms and the mess hall are also becoming more crowded.

The increase of students has also increased the number of student-athletes. Combine that with a school that is predominately made up of ROTC students, and you get a campus filled with fitness-conscious students. For a campus that promotes physical fitness the way Norwich does, there is one facility which is severely lacking.

According to Athletic Director Tony Mariano, "the large population that utilizes the facility, and the size of the facility," is a problem.

There are two main issues that students would like to see resolved. One of those issues is the conflict between athletes and students who use the gym for personal benefit.

"More people seem to be using the gym than in past years. When you combine that factor with teams who use the gym for pre-season and post-season workouts, it complicates the matter even more," Mariano said.

From early afternoon until just after the dinner hours, the Plumley Armory facilities are extremely crowded, according to George DuJack, 22, a senior electrical engineering major from Troy, NY.

"It is intimidating at times because of peak hours during the day that everybody has off. Whole teams come in and they get to use the equipment that they want," DuJack said.

DuJack also stated that during the fall months, especially, the weight room is predominately occupied by members of the football, hockey, and wrestling teams.

The football team, whose roster is composed of between 65-70 players, usually occupies the gym between 4-7 p.m. during the week.

According to Assistant Football Coach Marc Klaiman, the team does not purposely try to control the gym. With class schedules to work around, it is difficult to coordinate another time when the team can work out together.

"We have been told we cannot reserve the weight room, and we do not want to reserve the weight room," Klaiman said.

One possible solution to the traffic problem in the weight room would be to have scheduled times set up for individual or group uses.

"If there were a posted schedule for when certain teams use the gym, it would be easier for other students to avoid working out during those peak hours. Either that, or don't have whole teams go to the gym at once," DuJack said.

But according to Mariano, making a schedule that would accommodate everybody would be nearly impossible.

"One of the things that is difficult to do is set aside separate times for individuals or groups, because we have so many people who want to use the gym," Mariano said.

Mariano stated that because of limited space people need to be able to compromise a little and attempt to work around the problem.

"People need to adjust their schedules and be a little more flexible with their workout times," Mariano said.

If posted schedules are too difficult, perhaps having more than one facility would be a reasonable solution.

"My ideal situation would be to have two separate gyms. But since we don't have that, we need to do the best with what we have," DuJack said.

Klaiman agrees that having more than one gym may improve the current situation. He feels that separating athletic teams from individuals would suit everyone's best interests.

"Personally I would love to see a varsity weight room and a weight room for the rest of the student body. A lot more people would be able to get involved with physical fitness," Klaiman said.

But space and scheduling conflicts are not the sole issue.

"The main problem with the gym is that a lot of the equipment is broken, and so everybody uses the same things. If the existing equipment was maintained better, more people could work out at the same time," DuJack said.

According to Mariano, keeping up with repairs on the existing equipment is more difficult than it sounds.

"We have an individual who repairs the equipment, but he usually works on a 4-6 week cycle. So if something breaks in between that time, we either have to fix it ourselves or wait for a certain part to come in," Mariano said.

If fixing the equipment is too much of a hassle, Mariano agrees that the logical thing would be to improve the quality of the gym.

"The trend is that more and more people are working out. The next step would be to get some more equipment, which we hopefully will," Mariano said.

For newcomers to the gym, the experience factor can play a role. A beginner in the weight room may feel threatened, being in a small space with others who have been lifting weights for years.

"I am sure there are some who are intimidated to a certain degree, such as individuals who are just beginning to work out. It is only natural. I think those individuals need to find a time when it is not as crowded. I have been down to the weight room as late as 10 p.m., and there have been people in all of the rooms, but in very small numbers. That may not be appropriate for some individuals, but it is definitely a time to go and get a good workout without being bothered," Mariano said.

The gym is available for students every day from 5:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. at night. DuJack also offers a solution, stating that the gym is never crowded on the weekends or during weekday mornings.

Working out during the morning hours, however, conflicts with class schedules. Most people don't have the luxury of being able to exercise at any given time during the day. Therefore, changes must be made to accommodate the ever-growing population of students wanting to use the gym.

"There are a couple of things in the long-range plan of the university. I think it will help if we can enlarge the facility in Plumley and get some more equipment.

According to Klaiman, there have even been talks of combining facilities to improve the quality of the gym. "The school might connect Andrew's Hall to Krietzberg Arena. If and when that happens, there would be a new weight room facility," Klaiman said.

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