The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
Veale next on USG's makeover list
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Lab until 9 p.m.? Veale closes at 10 p.m. Looking for a quick afternoon spin on a stationary bike? Get in line behind two other students.
To curb perpetual student dissatisfaction with Veale Athletic Center, USG is working with administrators to propose plans for improvement to the facilities.
Students have long complained about the lack of equipment and unusual hours for the facilities, but USG is finally prepared to fix a point of great student concern.
"Veale has been the topic of many discussions among students on campus, so USG decided to look into how they could help to improve Veale," said USG Arts and Sciences representative Cemile Kahveci.
A few weeks ago, USG sent out a short survey in their newsletter asking for specific student concerns and complaints. While a number of students returned helpful results, USG would still like to hear more opinions in order to offer administrators a comprehensive plan for improvement.
Kahveci also commented that the survey responses have been fairly predictable. Of the long list of complaints, students mainly commented on the hours, equipment, and user-friendly feel of the facilities. Students suggested that the hours be made more conducive to student schedules, that equipment be updated and extended, and the facilities become more user-friendly in general.
Of the three categories of concern, equipment appears to be the major complaint among students.
"Veale needs some new weights," said junior Perry Evangelista. "Particularly, the dumbbells have loose heads that feel like they are going to fall off. The last thing I want when I'm bench pressing with dumbbells is to have a weight fall on my face."
Evangelista also recommended that Veale invest in a donkey calf raise machine: "All complete gyms should have one."
In addition to equipment, students are also dissatisfied with lack of variety of exercise opportunities at Veale, preferring to exercise elsewhere.
"Personally, I like 1-2-1 fitness better because they not only have staff on site to help you with your exercises if you need it, they also have a lot of fun workout classes – something Veale doesn't have," said Katie Kirkpatrick.
Another of the biggest complaints is Veale's scheduling.
"There is a lot of conflict with varsity and intramural trying to share spaces with one another," said Andrew Osten, a member of the men's tennis team. "When the tennis team tries to use the courts on Saturdays, they are usually all booked. Veale definitely needs to publish a schedule because of all the scheduling conflicts."
Students are also rather concerned with the appearance and convenience of Veale.
"I would prefer Veale to be more aesthetically pleasing, especially the aerobic room," said Marta Worwag, captain of the women's tennis team. "Also, the general layout of Veale is very awkward. Everything is so spread out. I would prefer the aerobic and weight lifting areas to be closer to each other and just completely redesigned our facilities aren't very visible and do not compare to others that I have seen."
"The cardio room is much too small," agreed Osten.
The cleanliness of the facilities is also a major issue with students.
"1-2-1 is a far cleaner facility. With the looming threat of MRSA [staph infection], cleanliness should be a top priority in any facility, and I do not think that it is at Veale," said Evangelista.
In order to alleviate these concerns, USG has been working with administrators at Veale since fall semester. Kahveci and Marian Anderson met with Dave Diles during the fall to discuss concerns with the facilities and mention possible areas of improvement.
"He was very receptive to our suggestions, even asking us what we thought of his suggestion, commented Kahveci. "He told us that we would bring up these suggestions to his boss and see what they could do."
Kahveci also mentioned that the swipe machine, now a fixture upon entering Veale, was a result of the initial meeting.
The duo will be meeting with Diles again before the end of the semester to propose a concrete plan from the survey results. However, improvements to the facilities won't be seen until the fall semester at the earliest.
"Most likely the changes will be made over a long period of time, but hopefully we could see improvements in hours or equipment," said Kahveci.
