No, CWRU is not notorious as a supergroup of bodybuilders, but many of our students choose to take advantage of the facilities that we pay for with our outstanding private school tuition. I’m not going to lie, I complained a lot about Veale before the most recent changes. The weight room was messy, the pool was open at inconvenient hours and schedules were never posted to tell when the track was closed. Since, there have been many improvements that have fixed these problems. Thanks to the continuous efforts of students, the gym has longer hours and information is more accessible. These efforts are great, but not enough, especially due to how these changes were brought about.

But complaints have not ended. Instead of creating a recreational center for students to use as they please, One to One Fitness has taken over our athletic center. Whereas most universities offer opportunities for students to be helped by a trainer, see a dietician or take a fitness class for free, One to One has added that as a bonus charge for Case Western Reserve University students. Its business has become our school. The classes that are offered by the off-campus fitness center just recently affiliated with our university, though available, can only be taken for a significant price. In the one class that has been offered free of charge to students, only ten people per time slot were allowed to sign up, and the class filled within minutes of students being notified. Just down the road at Cleveland State University, the fees for classes such as these are included in their tuition, and this is not uncommon. Most schools across the nation, both public and private, understand that this is something that is included with the cost of attending a university. How, with the increasing price of schooling every year, are our needs not met the same way? Why are we not holding ourselves to the same standards?

It does not end with the offerings of fitness classes.There have also been major changes in the services that used to be offered as a courtesy. We now must pay an additional charge for something as basic as a towel, and, as of last week, those who pay for the service can only get one at a time. Though the fee may not seem like much to some, the principle of small charges for something like that is unacceptable. We pay a hefty amount to this university each year to have the opportunity to use facilities that have been built for us as we please, and tacking on extra charges both discourages students from being active and gives more opportunities to those with a higher financial standing.

There are simple solutions to these problems we are facing in the gym. As students we should be given the opportunity to take these classes for free, since we pay the cost to attend school here, just as students can at most universities around the country. The services that were previously free should not have a new added charge, and students should be encouraged to go to the gym on campus, instead of being pushed away by added charges and membership fees. If we are really working toward a healthier university and positive life changes for students, then these alterations should be no problem. In the long run, having these opportunities will help students to become more active and will encourage them to continue this lifestyle after leaving CWRU. That’s when they can start paying a gym membership, too.