The Racquette

Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News

Residence Life and the Fitness Center have teamed up to offer students an alternative workout choice scheduled to open next semester, Fall 2008 in the Lehman residential building. Located in what is currently the sunken lounge in Lehman North, this new state of the art fitness center will feature cardio equipment similar, if not exact, to the cardio equipment currently in the Shane T. Shaul Fitness Center.

While the Lehman Fitness Center will not feature free weights, according to John Horan, Director for Campus Life, it will feature other equipment such as cardio balls, medicine balls, and light hand weights. Tanya Hewitt, Director of the Shane T. Shaul Fitness Center stated that there will be some equipment in the Lehman Fitness Center that is not in the current fitness center such as virtual reality bikes. These exercise bikes act as if you were playing a video game while riding them. Student will be able to compete against each other and ride against their own personal best. Hewitt said that another change will be in programming for the area. She states, "You're going to see some classes in there and there's going to be more programming." Horan also plans for this area to have a small changing area.

With the newly activated 24 hour card system in place as of Fall 2007, Residence Life is making sure that access to the Lehman Fitness Center does not affect the security in the Lehman residential building. According to Horan, the fitness center area will be secured with doors hooked into the card access system so that it can be open to all residential students, not just those that live in Lehman. This will make it so that students using the fitness center will not have access to the residential halls.

To prepare the sunken lounge to become a fitness center, there needs to be several types of work done to the area. Walls, ceilings, and lighting fixtures need to be modified, electrical work needs to be done to allow for equipment, equipment has to be purchased, and air circulation systems need to be installed for proper airflow. Construction is expected to begin shortly after commencement for the scheduled fall opening.

The Lehman Fitness Center will have staff that is trained and supervised by Hewitt. According to Horan, they want to make sure there are people that are trained to be there to offer assistance as needed. The fitness center will also be open and closed, not open all day every day. Horan states, "We're very excited about it. Many campuses are offering these types of amenities to enhance student life."

While there has not been any formal student feedback, Horan has heard some student feedback and says that there seems to be a great deal of excitement surrounding the opening of the fitness center. Horan states, "What it will offer Lehman residents is a convenience, but it will offer other students an opportunity."

In scheduling the times of the Lehman Fitness Center, Horan states that he hopes to pay attention to when the demand is greatest at the current fitness center to ease some of that demand. For more information on the progress of the Lehman Fitness Center, look for future articles in The Racquette.

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