In a poll, 72-percent of N.C. A&T students said they used the Campus Recreation Center before it closed at the end of the fall 2022 semester for renovation. With the recreation center still being closed and not having any foreseeable reopening date, students are finding new ways to stay active and fit in their daily lives on campus.
The closing of the campus gym has made opportunities for exercise harder for students.
Many students play pickup basketball on different courts around campus to pass the time. Due to the non access of a recreation center, courts on campus have seen a massive uptick in students playing games to stay in shape.
Sophomore electrical engineering student, Kailes Collier, explained how he has been staying active on campus without having access to the recreation center.
“I am a regular at the gym so it sucks that I can not get in there everyday because it messes up my gym schedule, plus I do not have a car to drive to any of the gyms locally, so now I just play three on three at the courts by Moore Gymnasium whenever I have days off from work to stay some type of active,” Collier said.
Researchers report that 40 to 50-perecent of college students are considered physically inactive. Several students shared frustrations with the renovations and questioned if it was really necessary. For many, they relied on the gym to stay active.
Sophomore accounting student, Jaylen Hackett, spoke on his frustrations with the timing of renovations.
“I do not think that it was smart of them to start renovating the gym in the middle of December when I am sure it was known that it would not be done in time for the Spring 2023 semester,” Hackett said. “It would have been better if they started in the summertime and it could have been finished when we came back in the fall because now we are paying for a gym that we are not even able to.”
Freshman student Jasmine Bastien would exercise at the gym about three times a week last semester. While the recreation center is closed, Bastien decided to cut down on snacking and eating fatty foods to stay in shape. She feels a more timely renovation would have been more effective and would have students less frustrated.
“Though the renovations may have been necessary, to begin the process in the middle of the school year was somewhat inconvenient for students,” Bastien said.
The most recent update on renovations was posted Jan. 31, 2023 to the Campus Recreation Center stating that the building will be open Feb. 1, 2023 from 8 am to 9pm for GroupX classes only, until further notice.
